Montresor's Insanity

GETTING TO KNOW A MADMAN’S BRAIN
People have always been trying to explore human mentality, to figure out how the brain works. They have been particularly interested in psyche of madmen. Many writers also share that interest and one of them is Edgar Allan Poe, who, in his “The Cask of Amontillado”, presents a character, whose insanity leads to a murder. His name is Montresor. Vowing revenge, because of some insult, which one of his acquaintances, Fortunato, ventured upon, he tells him, that he has bought a cask of what passes to be Amontillado, but, not being sure, whether it is really it, he wants his advice. He leads drunken Fortunato, who does not suspect anything, to his vaults where he fetters him to the wall and then bricks him up in
He easily gets angry and is very sensitive about other’s people opinion about him. He is vain and proud, as a result unable to stand an insult, which, to his mind, damages his reputation. Because of his vanity and pride, he treats a supposed insult, coming from Fortunato to him, as a serious hurt, although Fortunato does not even suspect, that Montresor can want revenge for something he has done. On the other hand, for Montresor, this murder is something quite natural. He says at the beginning of the story: “It is equally unrepressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him, who has done wrong” (p.1). Montresor admits that, in his opinion, his revenge is equally painful for Fortunato as the insult is for
He says in the first few lines: “At length I would be avenged. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (p.1). The whole murder is arranged in details, he tells his servants to take a day off, so that no one can see him going to the vaults with Fortunato. Knowing about his connoisseurship in wine, Montresor skillfully makes Fortunato eager to go with him, claiming that he has rare and precious Amontillado. When he found Fortunato, Montresor says: “I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter” (p.1) and then cleverly says: “As you are engaged, I’m on my way to Luchesi. If any one has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me--” (p.1). Montresor takes advantage of Fortunato’s pride. Acting naturally, he gives no reason for anybody, including Fortunato, to suspect him to be mad or to have bad will. At the beginning, Montresor says: “It must be understood that neither by word or deed I had given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will” (p.1). During the fifty years of keeping his secret to himself, no one considers him mad and he reveals the truth only before his death by saying: “You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to the threat” (p.1). Most of the time, he behaves as a normal