Edgar Allan Poe's short story masterpiece, "The Cask of
Amontillado," tells the story of a man's desire to gain the ultimate revenge upon a man
who had borne him a "thousand injuries"--though the acts of unkindness are never
revealed by the murderous narrator, Montresor. Montresor has decided that his
acquaintance, Fortunato, must die for the unnamed wrongs and insults that have been
made against him. Montresor plans his revenge carefully, making certain that two things
will be accomplished: He will not be caught--there will be no form of retribution; and
Fortunato must recognize, before dying, that Montresor is his killer. Montresor succeeds
on both counts.
Luring Fortunato into the Montresor family
catacombs--which doubles as a wine cellar--on the pretense of sampling a rare bottle of
Amontillado, Montresor leads him into the far recesses of the crypt. When Fortunato, who
is already drunk, is caught unaware, Montresor chains him to a wall and proceeds to seal
up the remaining side with mortar. There, Montresor leaves Fortunato to die,
where
For the
half of a century no mortal has disturbed
them.
Why Montresor waits for
50 years before revealing his secret is unknown. Perhaps he is on his deathbed, and he
wishes to ease his conscience in the presence of a priest; or maybe he is passing on his
tale to a surviving relative or friend. In any case, Fortunato's murder will not be
discovered during Montresor's lifetime, and Montresor can revel in the fact that he
committed the perfect crime against his greatest enemy.
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