Script
Written by legendary poet and short story author Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” unfolds a devious revenge plot with a score to be settled and a vengeful narcissist ready to settle it. On a night of carnival celebration, the story’s narrator, Montresor, leads the reader through his murder plot of an old acquaintance, Fortunato, whom he believes has wronged him. Montresor is a pragmatic and proud man, and this perceived insult sends him down a rabbit hole of revenge, revealing his true, egomaniacal nature. This story fits in seamlessly with Poe’s catalog of dark, gothic tales that are meant to reveal depressing truths about our reality. In this instance, Poe uses Montresor to portray a dangerous, egotistical mindset through the character’s narcissistic nature and obsession with the prestige of his name, creating a commentary on the dangers of narcissistic individuals being in positions of power or influence. Montresor’s monologue about Fortunato’s weaknesses corroborates this argument through its deliberate sentence structure and detailed analysis of Fortunato’s profile.
Montresor recounts the story from his perspective and, more importantly, in the past tense. This indicates that Montresor is acting as a biased storyteller, meaning that not all that he says can be interpreted as fact. This becomes important when discussing the supposed insult that Fortunato made because the reader has no way of knowing whether Fortunato created a problem or Montresor’s narcissistic nature led him to fabricate a problem in order to assert his intelligence and superiority over a seemingly inferior opponent. This is an early indicator of Montresor’s narcissism, as a common trait of these people is an inflated sense of self and ego. When translated from French to English, mon trésor means “my treasure.” This being his name insinuates that Montresor is prideful in his character and has a great sense of self-worth. This leads us to believe that Fortunato’s alleged insult hit Montresor hard and damaged his ego, leading to the vengeful plotting that follows. Montresor does not understand why a man who he perceives as lesser can slander him and this manifests in an unrelenting lust for vengeance. This leads him down the rabbit hole of a murder plot that drives the story.
Within the first few paragraphs, Poe sets up the conflict and characterizes Montresor as both egotistical and narcissistic. Montresor spends an entire monologue detailing his analysis of Fortunato’s life and weaknesses. Montresor believes himself to be a mastermind in his revenge plot, carefully describing his thought process in saying “He had a weak point –this Fortunato –although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared” (Poe para. 3). Montresor feels that he is the genius that could break Fortunato, whom he views as lesser despite respecting his value outside of their circumstance. He does, however, revere some attributes of Fortunato, which could be him further propping up the gravity of his eventual success. It is important to note that Montresor begins the referenced statement with the weakness, prioritizing the negative aspects of Fortunato over the positive. This is a common choice that Poe makes when writing Montresor’s thoughts, saving any positivity that he has for after the negativity. Poe also uses this style in Montresor saying “Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere” (para. 3). This stylistic choice accentuates Montresor’s narcissism in his perception of others as inferior. He prioritizes the traits that he believes make Fortunato a quack over his skills and abilities.
Narcissists are also more prone to hold prejudice against large groups, and Montresor fits this criterion as well. He expresses his distaste for the Italian people in remarking that “For the most part [Italians]… practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionares” (para. 3). Montresor’s mention of deception in the quote could be his moral justification for his actions by way of referencing Fortunato’s assumed sins. Not only does Montresor poke fun at the stereotype that Italians pretend to be cultured to impress foreigners, but Poe also creates dramatic irony from this statement by having Montresor make it painfully obvious that he is planning to betray Fortunato. This irony helps to grow the tension as Fortunato walks closer and closer to his doom. As the story progresses, the reader realizes that Montresor is going to murder Fortunato while he remains oblivious to this fact. Another ironic element is Fortunato’s name, meaning lucky, and when juxtaposed with the literal perceived meaning of Montresor’s name, creates a foil dynamic between them. While Montresor is cold and calculating, Fortunato is drunk, pompous, and foolish throughout the story, fueling Montresor’s disgust for him. This dynamic strengthens the argument that Montresor could be imagining the insult that Fortunato made or perceiving it as far more serious than it was intended. Montresor’s inflated sense of pride is threatened by a man who he perceives as a fool being in a position of power and influence, so he perceives that threat as a sort of defamation. This is another reason that Montresor could be targeting Fortunato with his rage. For a narcissist like Montresor, a fool being of equal or higher status is infuriating and fuels their worst impulses.
In most stories, a man as flawed as Montresor would be the antagonist and would not achieve his goal at the end of the day. Instead, Poe chooses to depict Montresor as the primary voice and in a predominantly negative light throughout the story, as he is shown to have no interest but the murder of an acquaintance. In doing this, Poe creates a scenario where the dangerous, impulsive mind prevails over reason, mirroring situations that come about in our world when dangerous personalities or ideologies are given power. Poe’s writing prowess is on full display in this story, as his careful choices in sentence structure tell the reader everything they need to know about Montresor’s psyche. Poe chooses not to take the conventional approach and lets this character succeed in every sense of the word. Through this decision, Poe turns the story into a cautionary tale about the dangers of revenge and an egotistical mindset. When a person with narcissistic qualities is placed in a position of power or influence, that power and influence can easily go to their heads and create a monster like the one that Poe crafts in this story. This is compounded with the fact that, while Poe hints that Fortunato is a successful and powerful man, he is only depicted as a drunken fool, calling into question the legitimacy and merit of those who control the world.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” American Studies at the University of Virginia, 2009,
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/POE/cask.html. Originally published in Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1846.
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“The Cask of Amontillado”. YouTube, uploaded by PoeMovies, 8 February 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fhExYkBl4Y&t=263s
“The Cask of Amontillado”. [Digital Photograph]. tvtropes, 2022,
static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_cask_of_amontillado_by_raineing_d60k4qr.jpg
Featured Image
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