The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado Summary | The Cask of Amontillado Summary

The narrator, Montressor, begins by telling the readers that he has vowed revenge on a man named Fortunato for some unknown insult. He explains that he has given no hint of malice to Fortunato and has continued to smile to his face.

Fortunato's weak point, it seems, is the pride he takes in his vast knowledge of wine. He is truly a connoisseur, as is Montressor. One evening during carnival season Montressor, wearing a black silk mask, encounters Fortunato, who is dressed in a jester's outfit and who appears drunk. Montressor starts to lay his trap by telling him he has acquired a pipe of what he has been told is Amontillado, and he would like the opinion of someone else as to whether it is authentic. He tempts Fortunato further by pretending that he will ask someone named Luchesi, which of course makes Fortunato even more interested in the pipe.

Fortunato urges Montressor that they should go right then to the vaults, and though he feigns false concern for Fortunato's health due to the dampness and niter-laden catacomb walls, Montressor leads the way. As they make their way down to the Montressor family vaults, Fortunato begins coughing again and again Montressor pretends to be concerned and acts as if he will turn and go back. When Fortunato insists on continuing down, Montressor offers him some wine to calm his cough. They toast, and then move on.

The men begin to discuss the Montressor family coat of arms, which is, "a huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" (pg. 99). Their motto is, "Nemo me impune lacessit," which means, appropriately enough, "No one provokes me with impunity."

They forge on, drinking the wine and discussing the niter covering the walls. Fortunato suddenly makes an odd gesture with his hands. He explains that it is a secret gesticulation of the masons and demands that Montressor prove his claim that he too is a mason; Montressor produces a trowel from his coat.

They continue further down into the vaults. Upon reaching the end of a catacomb, Montressor is quickly on Fortunato, chaining him to the wall before he can escape in his drunken state. As Montressor methodically builds a wall to block the entrance to that section of the catacomb, Fortunato sobers up, his cries quickly turning from disbelief to terror. When the wall is almost finished, Fortunato tries to revert into denial, acting as if Montressor's deeds are all a jest that they will sit together and laugh about one day.

Finally, in desperation, Fortunato cries out, "For the love of God, Montressor!" - but Montressor only mocks him and continues walling up the entrance. When Fortunato makes no more sound, we assume he is either dead or unwilling to give the satisfaction of an answer. Montressor seems somewhat disappointed, perhaps because Fortunato did not suffer long enough, but he seems proud that his crime has never been discovered, and that for over half a century, no mortal has disturbed the wall.