Montresor's Insanity

Luring an unsuspecting rival into the deep catacombs of the Montresor family and eventually resulting in an inhuman death, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” stands out from contemporary “mystery” in that instead of leaving the reader asking “who” and “how,” The Cask of Amontillado spurs the relevant question “why” (Baraban 47). Composed in 1846 shortly after Poe rose to fame due to a complexly written poem,: “Poe envied the success of lesser writers and entangled himself in bitter battles with these rivals, which lead to his banishment from the New York and New England literary circles” (Poe 390). Throughout the narrative discussion between Montresor and Fortunato indicate the wealthy aristocratic lineage of Montresor’s family, however

Though many readers argue for the insanity of Montresor through his brutal and inhumane actions, this claim can be dismissed with the varying levels of textual evidence supporting his rational and calculated steps taken to redress whatever wrong was committed upon him (Baraban 50). The character and actions of Montresor can be attributed to more than mental instability, his personal dialogue in recounting his murderous acts fifty years after their happenings is indicative of his sound mind. Instead the reader must consider the underlying messages Poe included within the text to fully comprehend the complexity of Montresor’ character. The main theme of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado gravitates towards the human flaw of jealousy, lending Montresor the first impression of being slightly irrational, however through further consideration his character can be described as calculative, passionate, and

“‘The Montresor’s’ I replied, ‘were a great and numerous family’” (Poe 393). Deliberately using the past tense to describe the decaying state of the Montresor family, Montresor implies how his family had seen much better times. Montresor evidently valued his family name much more than what it was actually worth; living in their past glory. Further hurting the sensitive wound of Montresor’s family, Fortunato admits causally his ignorance of Montresor family motto or arms (Poe 393). Being a man described as someone to be respected and feared, Fortunato undoubtedly further insults Montresor’s sense of familial worth. The passion displayed by Montresor concerning the lineage of his family makes the reader consider whether the transgression leading to Fortunato’s death was aimed at the Montresor family instead of directly at Montresor himself (Baraban 52). Simultaneously a calculated and passionate crime, the murder of Fortunato was to avenge the decreasing family worth. Re-analyzing the quote from the beginning of The Cask of Amontillado: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 393). Specifically, the “thousand injuries,” nobly taken in a stoic manner by Montresor were undoubtedly slights of personal level while the single “insult” which lead to the death of Fortunato was most likely an offence concerning the