Cask of Amontillado by Edgar a Poe

Symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado"

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" contains many rich symbols.

It is a story deeply shrouded in mystery and destruction for the character of Fortunato, and although Fortunato does not realize it, he is going to meet in his fate on the night of the carnival. What is worse, is that he will meet this untimely death at the hands of someone he believes to be a friend.

Fortunato's friend Montressor is not really his friend at all, and he lures Fortunato down into the catacombs and dungeons in order to show him a cask of Amontillado that he has acquired. Believing Montressor to be his friend, Fortunato follows him into the catacombs. The first noticeable symbol in the Poe's story is the black silk mask and cape that Montressor puts on before he enters the catacombs. It is representative of the death and evil that will soon find Fortunato (The Cask, 2002).

Montressor's entire reason for luring Fortunato into the catacombs is to get even with him. He believes that Fortunato has insulted him and his family, and although he pretends not to be angry he knows that he must get even with Fortunato, and he decides that killing him is the only proper way to accomplish this. Some of the symbolism related to this comes from Montressor's family coat of arms. Depicted on it is a foot crushing a serpent that has been its heel. According to Montressor, he is the foot and Fortunato is the serpent (The Cask 2002). The only way to avenge the wrong that Fortunato has placed against his family is to crush him. Of course, Montressor is not going to physically crushed Fortunato. Rather, he is going to see that he dies a horrible and slow death walled up in the catacombs below.

The Cask of Amontillado itself is a symbol, which warns those who have wronged someone to be wary of gifts from them (The Cask, 2002). Fortunato should have realized that Montressor was not going to simply overlook the insult to his family, but Fortunato, being of good disposition and happy nature, believed that Montressor had forgiven him, and that the Cask of Amontillado was a gesture of good faith and a present of forgiveness. Fortunato, whose name means fortunate, was not fortunate in this case.

Some of the less obvious symbolism includes the parallels between 'cask' and 'casket,' relating to the wine that Fortunato would have gotten to drink and the ultimate final resting place where he ended up. Other symbols include the fact that all three names mentioned in the story, Fortunato, Montressor, and Luchesi, are all related to treasure or wealth, and the contrast between the dankness of the catacombs and the dryness of the sherry (Poe's 2003).

Another symbol in this story is the outfit that Fortunato is wearing. He is dressed as a fool or jester, and this is how he is perceived by Montressor. The trowel that Montressor is carrying it is also symbolic of the Freemasons, and Fortunato mistakes it as acknowledging his friend's membership into this group. In actuality, it is the trowel that Montressor plans to use to wall up a small space in the catacomb with Fortunato inside (McClelland, 2002).