The Cask of Amontillado

“I must not only punish but punish with impunity.”

Montresor thus lays out his mission. He plans to punish Fortunato but will attempt to do so with no ill effects upon himself. This line also ties into the Montresor family motto: “No one attacks me with impunity” (211). This element of irony highlights something like hypocrisy in the narrator.

“There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house.”

Montresor reveals how he has orchestrated his house attendants to be out of his way during his plan. This demonstrates the level of his calculative deception. He has set his plan in motion so that he can carry it out undisturbed.

“‘It is father on,’ said I; ‘but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls.’”

This “white web-work” refers to the nitre that grows over the catacomb walls. The nitre results from the decomposing bodies that surround the men, recalling the theme of death and decay. Like a web, it is a metaphor for how Montresor ensnares Fortunato with deceit.

“‘Enough,’ he said; ‘the cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.’”

The nitre has caused Fortunato to cough, illustrating the theme of morbidity. The line is a pointed hint toward Fortunato’s death. He will surely not die of a cough; Montresor has other plans for his demise.

“A huge human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the heel.”

This describes the Montresor family crest, which can have two interpretations regarding the characters. First, Montresor could be crushing the snake’s head out of vengeance for its bite. Second, Fortunato could be crushing the snake Montresor, who in turn “bites” him such that he is not attacked with impunity.

“Nemo me impune lacessit.”

This phrase means “No one attacks me with impunity” (211). It is the Montresor family motto and illustrates the character’s motivation. While Montresor refuses to be attacked with impunity, he nevertheless wishes to attack (or “punish” [161]) Fortunato with impunity such that he faces no ramifications. He ensures this happens.

“‘A mason,’ I replied.”

Montresor responds to Fortunato proclaiming that Montresor is not a Freemason. Montresor assures him that he is a mason, but the line is an ironic pun referring to stone work. Montresor works with stone to wall Fortunato into the catacombs.

“We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to flow than flame.”

Montresor and Fortunato descend ever farther into the catacombs. As they pass down into the crypt, they become surrounded by entombed corpses, illustrating the theme of death and decay. They also approach Fortunato’s eternal resting place.

“Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris.”

Death and decay come to the forefront of the story. Human remains surround the men, foreshadowing the murder. Fortunato has unknowingly been ensnared and will join the remains—though he will be buried alive.

“As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.”

Montresor finally begins, unhesitatingly, to enact his devious plan. These lines recall Montresor’s reference of being a “mason.” He has hidden his building materials—his stone and mortar—under a pile of bones, becoming the mason. The fact that he premeditatedly hid these materials shows yet more aof his thematic calculated deceit.

“I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied.”

This statement demonstrates Montresor’s lack of conscience. He has carried out his revenge upon Fortunato and feels “satisfied.” Montresor expresses no hesitation or regret at his actions, raising the question of his capacity for empathy.

“‘Ha! ha! ha!—he! he! he!—a very good joke, indeed—an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo—he! he! he!—over our wine—he! he! he!’”

In these lines, Fortunato laughs because he believes Montresor is playing a joke on him. He laughs—much like a jester, as he is dressed—at this thought. Montresor, however, merely continues immuring Fortunato.

“I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up.”

Montresor puts the keystone into place, sealing Fortunato’s fate. This also recalls the extended metaphor of the keystone. As both the final stone in a wall and the valve where a tap is placed on a cask, the keystone symbolically marks the cask as a tomb.