Saturday, August 24, 2013

In "The Cask of Amontillado," what is your general impression of Fortunato?

You have asked a really interesting question for a number
of reasons. Firstly, remember the point of view of this excellent short story. We see
everything from the perspective of Montresor, whom astute readers will realise may not
be the most reliable of narrators. This therefore might cause us to doubt some of what
Montresor tells us about Fortunato, especially the first paragraph, when Montresor
protests how much Fortunato has wronged him:


readability="7">

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as
best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge.



It is hardly likely
that Fortunato, if he had insulted Montresor so badly, could be so naive about trusting
himself into Montresor's hands and delving deep into the Montresor catacombs with only
his enemy for a companion.


However, apart from these
debatable facts, we do know that Fortunato is a wine
connoisseur:


readability="6">

He had a weak point - this Fortunato - although
in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his
connoisseurship in wine.



This
of course, as the narrator observes, is his Achilles heel, and is used ruthlessly by
Montresor to tempt his victim down into the catacombs and to meet his revenge. The cask
of Amontillado of the title is what Montresor pretends he has brought and wants
Fortunato to sample for him to test its worth. Note how Montresor tempts Fortunato to
sample the wine for him by saying that he is going to another Italian noble to test it
for him, Luchesi:


readability="7">

"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi.
If anyone has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me
-"



This of course plays with
the pride of Fortunato who considers himself an expert in wines such as Amontillado, and
thus the trap is sprung and Fortunato is led captive to his fate by his one weakness -
his knowledge of wine.


Note that Fortunato apart from this
weakness is described as a "man to be respected and even feared". This description makes
Montresor all the more remarkable for his ability to detect his enemy's weakness and
plot how he can use it to bring about his downfall.

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