“The Cask of Amontillado”

by Edgar Allan Poe

THE LITERARY WORK

A short story set in the 1700s or early 1800s in Italy or France; published in 1846.

SYNOPSIS

An aristocrat lures his enemy into an underground passageway with an offer of rare wine and buries him alive there.

Events in History at the Time the Short Story Takes Place

The Short Story in Focus

Events in History at the Time the Short Story Was Written

For More Information

Edgar Allan Poe’s horror stories have always been associated with his own tragic life, but they are also closely tied to American popular culture in the 1800s. Written in an era that valued sensational subjects, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a perfect example of this link to America. The story’s focus—revenge—and its climactic scene—burial of a living man—were chosen in part to fit the American reader’s appetite. Poe sets most of the story in the gloomy underground tomb of a European aristocrat, far from the familiar United States. Leading readers there, the narrator relates a mysterious, horrifying story from his past.

Events in History at the Time the Short Story Takes Place

An ambiguous setting

One of the rules Poe followed in his writing was to avoid excess. He believed that every detail in a story should be chosen carefully so that it helped to contribute to the mood he was trying to create. Any other details, he thought, should be left out. As a result, many questions raised in “The Cask of Amontillado” go unanswered. It is even uncertain exactly where and when the story takes place. Most critics agree that the story is set somewhere in Italy, as the narrator’s references to his “palazzo” (the Italian word for palace) and his knowledge of Italian wines seem to indicate. Some disagree, however, and place the story in France. Although the name of the narrator’s enemy, Fortunato, sounds Italian, the narrator himself, Montresor, has a French name. Furthermore, the narrator uses French words like “flambeaux” (torches) and “roquelaire” (cape), shares two bottles of French wine with Fortunato during their descent into the vaults, and refers in the beginning of the story to the weaknesses of Italians, naming Fortunato and “his countrymen” in the same breath, thus implying that Montresor himself is not Italian.

As for the time in which the story is set, most clues point to the 1700s or early 1800s. The Masons, of whom Fortunato is a member, founded their Italian and French branches in 1726, and the roquelaire that Montresor wears was a popular fashion accessory in the 1700s and early 1800s. These uncertainties of time and place may seem frustrating to curious readers, but they add—as perhaps Poe intended—to the aura of mystery in the story.

The carnival season

The carnival season in eighteenth-century Italy and France was the highlight of the year. Usually lasting a week or more, it was a time for parties, feasts, parades, and costumes. In these Catholic countries, the carnival season was the last chance to have fun before Lent—a forty-day period of fasting and penitence—so there was a great deal of merriment. Women dressed as male characters from comic plays, and men dressed as female characters. Students wore sailor’s uniforms, and sailors dressed as artists. The black mask and cape worn by Poe’s Montresor and the court jester’s costume favored by Fortunato were both popular as well. Disguised revelers at the carnival threw confetti at the crowd, walked on stilts, ate fine foods, and drank plenty of wine. The festivity of such a carnival setting serves as a stark contrast to the dark underworld of Montresor’s vaults in the short story.

ANTIMASONRY IN THE 1800S

The Freemasons, still a practicing society today, were popular in the United States in Poe’s era. At the time “The Cask of Amontillado” was written, however, an increasing number of suspicions had been raised about the practices of this secret group. In 1826 three men kidnapped a Masonic prisoner from his jail cell in New York. The prisoner had announced that he would soon publish the Freemasons’ secret rituals; outraged citizens therefore assumed that his kidnappers were Masons with something to hide. This crime resulted in a huge backlash against the secret society, including a state legislative investigation, the formation of an “Antimasonic” political party, and the general sense among many that Masons were immoral at best, criminal at worst.

Catacombs and funeral rites

Although it may seem odd for Montresor to store his wine and his family’s skeletons in the same underground vaults, it should be noted that burial customs were rather different in eighteenth-century Europe than they are now. In Palermo, Sicily, when someone died, his or her corpse would be walled up in underground tombs known as catacombs. After six months, the flesh having disappeared, the skeleton would be ready for display. The catacombs were brightly lit so that each skeleton could be seen holding a card with the person’s name and title. In the case of public officials who died in Sicily, the dead bodies would be displayed in chairs on the main floor of churches, with two officials placed nearby to fan away flies. Elsewhere, human bones were laid in decorated boxes to be viewed by relatives. Clearly, the “long walls of piled skeletons” that greet Montresor and Fortunato during their journey through the catacombs were no oddity in eighteenth-century Europe (Poe, “Cask of Amontillado,” p. 466).

The Freemasons

Founded in the Middle Ages as a guild for stone workers, the Masons or “Freemasons” became a powerful social force in eighteenth-century Europe. By mid-century, this former labor union had become a secret society of aristocrats and common people devoted to the ideals of free thought, rationality, and social betterment. Because of the group’s secrecy, however, they were suspected of all sorts of evil behavior. One French police code referring to the Masons warned: “Enemies of order seek to weaken in people’s spirits the principles of religion and of subordination to the Powers, established by God” (Jacob, p. 6). More specifically, the Masons were often accused of having loose morals, being anti-Christian (which many were, since they valued reason over faith), and threatening the power of various governments.

Most evidence points to the conclusion that Freemasons supported social change, but not in the revolutionary style attributed to them by their critics. Nevertheless, the established institutions in eighteenth-century Italy and France—especially the Catholic church—had reason to be concerned about the spread of this secret society. Most Masons did not hesitate to speak their minds, even if it meant challenging a higher power—or a friend. Perhaps this straightforwardness is what gets Fortunato into trouble with Montresor in Poe’s story.

The Short Story in Focus

The plot

“The Cask of Amontillado” is the story of what may be a perfect crime. Narrating events that took place fifty years before, Montresor, a European aristocrat, begins the tale by explaining that Fortunato, a neighboring aristocrat and fellow wine connoisseur, had, after a series of slights, insulted him. Although Montresor never reveals what this insult was, he is angry enough about it to plot Fortunato’s murder. The key to Montresor’s plan is that he must succeed not only in punishing Fortunato, but also in escaping punishment for the crime himself.

Finding Fortunato on the street one night during the carnival season, Montresor greets him warmly (Fortunato is not aware of his ill feelings) and mentions that he has bought a cask of what he thinks is a fine Spanish wine, Amontillado. Aware of Fortunato’s pride about his wine-tasting abilities, Montresor explains that he is not sure if the wine is truly Amontillado, and that he needs an expert to taste it and decide. Fortunato, already drunk and excited by the chance to display his skill, needs no urging. He rushes off with Montresor to the latter’s palace in search of the wine.

Since both Montresor and Fortunato are in carnival disguise, and since Montresor has made sure that his servants will be gone, no one witnesses the two enter the palace together. Carrying torches, they wind through a series of rooms and then descend into Montresor’s vault—an underground passageway that serves as both a wine cellar and a burial ground for his ancestors’ bodies. The passageway is damp, and when it causes Fortunato to cough, Montresor, pretending to be concerned, tells him he should leave. This reverse psychology works like a charm, for Fortunato becomes even more determined to reach the treasured wine. As they walk through the catacombs, surrounded by the skeletons of Montresor’s relatives, they share two bottles of French wine. Fortunato, now in a drunken stupor, makes an obscure sign and explains to Montresor that it is a gesture of the Masons. Montresor, in response, produces a trowel from under his cape, foreshadowing the climax of the story.

Luring Fortunato into a small room, Montresor chains the bewildered man up. Uncovering some stones and mortar buried nearby, he begins to wall up the entrance to the room. Fortunato, still garbed in the costume of a court jester, gradually realizes what is happening to him and screams to be let out. When this fails, he laughs for a moment, guessing that perhaps Montresor is just playing a practical joke on him. Soon, however, his drunken laughter ceases, and aside from the jingling of the bells on his fool’s cap, Fortunato falls silent. The last stone finally laid into place, Montresor’s carefully planned crime has been committed successfully—except for the possible punishment his conscience deals him.

The criminal mind in the public eye

Although many tales of violent revenge had been written before Poe composed “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe’s story is significant because it is a psychological tale. Narrated by a boastful murderer, it opens a window onto the criminal mind as Poe saw it. At the time the story was written, interest in the workings of the criminal mind was significant. Increasingly publicized criminal trials and other literature that featured criminal characters spurred Americans to talk more than ever before about the nature of and reasons for criminal behavior.

In the first half of the 1800s, unemotional and self-confident criminals began to appear on the pages of crime magazines. Two brothers, Joseph and Frank Knapp, on trial for murder in 1830, epitomized this personality type. Reflecting on the character of these defendants, their prosecuting attorney, Daniel Webster, declared:

Here is a new face given to murder, a new character given to the face of Moloch [an Old Testament god to whom children were sacrificed; no knitted brow, no bloodshot eye of passion disfigured the countenance of the assassin; but all was calm, smooth, and unruffled;... all was done in deliberation of purpose, and with consummate skill of execution.

(Webster in Reynolds, p. 179)

The behavior of these notorious men parallels that of Montresor in Poe’s short story. Montresor’s calculating mind, skillfully controlled actions, and unrepentant attitude are evident throughout the story. From the beginning of his revenge plot, Montresor takes care to keep his victim unaware of his intentions:

It must be understood that neither by word or by deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to

POSSIBLE SOURCES FOR “THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO”

smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

(“Cask of Amontillado,” p. 465)

Indeed, on the night that Montresor seeks his revenge, he shows the depth of control he has over human emotions, cleverly manipulating Fortunato’s vanity to ensure that he will accompany Montresor to his palace. Explaining his doubts about the quality of the wine he has bought, Montresor mentions to Fortunato the name of a rival wine-taster:

“As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me—”
“Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.”
“And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.”
“Come, let us go.”
“Whither?”
“To your vaults.”

(“Cask of Amontillado,” p. 465)

A master of reverse psychology, Montresor is by far a cleverer man than Fortunato—especially when the latter is drunk. Montresor’s criminal success comes not from physical strength or bravery but from shrewd planning and control. Every detail of his revenge plot—from the protection offered by the carnival season to the placement of the stones and mortar—is carefully planned and executed.

At one point near the end of the story, however, Montresor reveals what may be a loss of self-control. For a brief moment, as he finishes the job of walling up Fortunato, Montresor says that his “heart grew sick” (“Cask of Amontillado,” p. 468). Although he quickly explains this sickness away, claiming it is due to “the dampness of the catacombs,” his comment raises the possibility that Montresor feels a pang of guilt for his actions. This possibility adds another level of intrigue to an already tantalizing portrayal of cold-hearted criminality.

Poe’s Montresor must have been constructed with the public imagination in mind. Not only does he represent a familiar character type, but his moment of “sickness” adds a touch of ambiguity to this criminal type. Curious Americans, already debating the finer points of criminality in the 1800s, welcomed this fictional addition to their collection of nonfictional antiheroes.

Sources

Poe once wrote that “the truest and surest test of originality is the manner of handling a hackneyed subject” (Poe in Silverman, p. 93). If this is true, then his originality was definitely put to the test when he wrote “The Cask of Amontillado.” A work that followed the general trend toward horror and sensationalism in popular literature, Poe’s tale drew its plot directly from several recently published stories, including some of his own.

Events in History at the Time the Short Story Was Written

The Gothic tradition and popular sensationalism

Although Poe’s stories were unique in many ways, they drew heavily from both literary traditions and popular tastes. A half century before Poe wrote “The Cask of Amontillado,” the Gothic tradition of European romantic writers had begun making its way into the stories, novels, and poetry of American writers. Poe took full advantage of this influence; his stories, including “Cask of Amontillado,” are some of the best examples of this form of writing.

Gothic fiction, which grew out of England and Germany, created supernatural worlds in which mysterious and unlikely things could happen; paintings came to life, spirits lurked in corridors, and dead bodies rose from their graves. Living in dark mansions or castles, Gothic heroes were often isolated from the rest of the world and suffered from illness, a troubled memory, or some kind of mental disturbance.

One of Poe’s favorite types of Gothic story was the “tale of sensation,” also quite popular with other Americans at the time. In these stories, characters would describe the sensations they experienced while on the verge of death—usually a particularly gruesome kind of death. By the mid-1800s, the majority of the population in the United States could read. For this reason, printed materials were being produced for the general public rather than an educated elite, as had been the case in the past. Intended for the common reader, “tales of sensation” and their spin-offs became big sellers in the marketplace.

A literary battle

From May to October of 1846, Poe published a series of essays entitled “The Literati of New York City.” These essays were often as full of personal gossip as they were of literary critiques. The essays ridiculed many of Poe’s former friends, who had shunned him in the wake of a number of unpleasant incidents in which Poe was entangled, including a romantic scandal involving the married poetess Fanny Os-good. Poe’s essays included several bitter personal attacks, and many of his victims chose to respond with equally harsh words about him. After satirizing Poe in fiction and challenging him openly in published letters, one respondent, Thomas Dunn English, portrayed Poe in a most unfavorable light in a novel published in 1846:

Him with the broad, low, receding and deformed forehead, and peculiar expression of conceit on his face.... He never gets drunk more than five days out of the seven; tells the truth sometimes by mistake; has moral courage sufficient to flog his wife.

(English in Meyers, p. 200)

What bothered Poe perhaps even more than these personal slights was a charge of plagiarism—that is, stealing someone else’s writing and passing it off as his own—that English also leveled against him. Poe sued English successfully for libel, but not before writing “The Cask of Amontillado,” published in November 1846. Many critics claim that English’s “insult” drove him to write this revenge story. According to this theory, Poe is the vengeful narrator Montresor, while the role of English is played by Fortunato.

The temperance movement and literature

In August 1849, a month before his death, Edgar Allan Poe joined the Sons of Temperance, a club formed for the purpose of reducing excessive drinking in society. A notorious alcoholic throughout his life, Poe had long remained on the fringes of the temperance movement; he recognized the harm alcohol was doing to him and wanted to stop drinking. As the circumstances of his death indicate, however, he was never able to escape the power of the bottle; Poe fell into a fatal coma after an overdose of alcohol.

In a public announcement about Poe’s decision to join their group, the Sons of Temperance wrote: “We trust his pen will sometimes be employed in [our] behalf’ (Silverman, p. 97). This comment, voiced too late to have an impact on Poe’s work, was probably a reference to the growing popularity of temperance literature at the time. One temperance group, the Washingtonians, had already commissioned an 1842 novel (Franklin Evans) from the young Walt Whitman that depicted the evils of alcohol. After being arrested for attempted robbery, the title character, Franklin Evans, laments what drinking has done to his life:

It were a stale homily, were I to stay here, and remark upon the easy road from intemperance to crime. Those who have investigated those matters, tell us, however, that five out of every six of the cases which our criminal courts have brought before them for adjudication, are to be traced directly or indirectly to that fearful habit.... None know—none can know, but they who have felt it—the burning, withering thirst for drink, which habit forms in the appetite of the wretched victim of intoxication.

(Whitman, pp. 147-48)

Although Poe would have rejected the “preachy” style of such a novel, many critics have suggested that “The Cask of Amontillado” was a temperance work of another sort. Certainly, Fortunato’s drunkenness leads in part to his downfall; he would not have been so slow to discover Montresor’s intentions had he been sober. Moreover, it is partly his desire to taste the rare wine that prompts him to follow Montresor to the vaults. These elements may not prove that Poe was a temperance writer, but they do indicate his acknowledgment of the debilitating power of alcohol.

Poe’s final chapter

“The Cask of Amontillado” was published after months of literary squabbling with local writers. After its publication, however, Poe did not receive much of a critical response to his story; many people, it seems, could not tolerate Poe the person and so they decided to ignore Poe the writer.

This silence was probably not Poe’s main concern, however. His young wife, who suffered from tuberculosis, was on the verge of death. In December 1846, a New York paper reported that Poe, too, was ill and desperately in need of money and food. Poe’s health and his wife’s death were reported on in great depth in the following months. Meanwhile, the merits of “The Cask of Amontillado” remained largely unremarked upon. Although “The Cask of Amontillado” later came to be recognized as one of his most “unified” works, a story in which every element is essential to the plot and tone, most Poe reviews in the years that followed its publication dwelled on his poetry or on earlier stories.

For More Information

Jacob, Margaret C. Living the Enlightenment: Free-masonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” In The Short Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. Edited by Stuart Levine and Susan Levine. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976.

Myers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1992.

Reynolds, David S. Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive Imagination in the Age of Emerson and Melville. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.

Silverman, Kenneth, ed. New Essays on Poe’s Major Tales. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Vaussard, Maurice. Daily Life in Eighteenth Century Italy. Translated by Michael Heron. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962.

Whitman, Walter. Franklin Evans or The Inebriate: A Tale of the Times. New York: Random House, 1929.