The Fall of Fortunato in The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

The Fall of Fortunato

When Edgar Allan Poe wrote his short story The Cask of Amontillado, little did he know that it would easily become one of the most criticized works in literary history. A gripping tale of a hatred stemming from countless usurpations, it would be hard to not see an obvious motive for murder. However, as Graham St. John Scott discusses in his brief criticism, the death of Fortunato by the hands of Montresor may delve much deeper than a lust for revenge. He argues that an essence of divinity surrounds the murderer, where an evil surrounds Fortunato. Using Calvinism, he says that this story is not one of cold blooded homicide, but of the classic dichotomy of good versus evil.

Scott leads his argument by discussing both of their names. The name Fortunato literally means fortunate, which is stemmed from the latin fortunare, meaning blessed by the goddess Fortuna. In the Reformed Calvinistic Christian tradition, it was seen that anyone who embraced good fate from any doing other than of God was blasphemous. This could very well be a motive for Poes murder; to kill the heretic who felt his good fortune was not of Gods divine plan. Also, a look at Montressors own name brings some curious speculation. In French, Montresor, or mon tresor, means my treasure. From a religious standpoint, this treasure would be none other than Jesus Christ, who was sent to do gods bidding on Earth. This treasure was something untouchably sacred, so it is no wonder it would be him chosen to kill Fortunato. Although some may argue that Gods own treasure committing an act of murder defeats the idea of the all loving God described in scripture, Montresor himself never lays a hand on Fortunato directly; in fact, he gives Fortunato plenty of opportunities to leave the vaults they walk into. It is his own lust that leads him deeper into the catacombs, which, according to the Bible, is act as awful as murder. Fortunato lived a life of sin, therefore God sent Montresor as his own to rid the world of him.

As Fortunato and Montresor enter the extensive vaults, Fortunato asks of the arms, or family symbol, of the Montresor family. Their emblem is a huge foot dor [of gold], in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel. The motto for the family reads Nemo me impune lacessit, which translates to No one attacks me without paying dearly. At face value, the motto shows a clear meaning: Montresor had taken a thousand punches at the hand of Fortunato, and now was the time for him to show his darker side. The emblem, on the other hand, speaks much more loudly. Montresor, as discussed before, could be seen as a religious treasure who is sent to vanquish evil. This treasure is the Golden Boot seen in the family crest, which is stepping on a snake who is struggling to free itself. The snake is often seen throughout literature as a symbol of the devil himself. In the Bible, it was the devilish serpent that tempted Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge in the book of Genesis, which was considered the first sin of humanity. This golden boot is then crushing this snake to signify a holy mandate: that good will always win out against evil, no matter the magnitude of evils efforts.

Finally, as Fortunato breaths his last breaths, he calls out For the love of God, Montresor! to which Montresor mimics the same words. These words, taken quite literally, mean just what they say: an ill act for the love of God. These final words are argued to be merely coincidence; however, as evidence shows, there was a motive for this. Graham St. John Scott clearly shows how Poe uses Montresor as an agent of God, who will do whatever he can in his power to rid all that is unjust. Everything that he argues points to the holy purge in this dark tale, and although it can be seen from any number of views and interpretations, the idea of God as a central character is hard to refute.