Inside the mind of Edgar Allen Poe: Psychoanalysis of “The Cask of Amontillado”
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As one of Edgar Allen Poe’s best works, The Cask of Amontillado is filled with irony as the individual is driven to kill Fortunato as a result of his numerous insults. The character, Montresor is filled with the Psychological concept known as Id as he acts on his own desires and impulses without even feeling a tinge of guilt. While Montresor is fueled by the element of Id, Fortunato’s concept is that of the shadow projection. Therefore, based on a psychological approach, one would theorize that Poe expresses two different aspects of himself; (one side portraying him as the victim and the other portraying him as the root of all evil.) By utilizing Psychological Criticism, one can conclude that Poe’s life and experience have a legitimate effect on the character’s own complex psychology.
For example, Montresor represents a dark and charismatic character as he temps Fortunato with Amontillado to proceed towards the cellar and catacombs. This individual doesn’t seem to feel any slight regret towards the crime he committed against Fortunato as he’s able to remember every detail of the event despite the fact that it has been approximately fifty years. “Poe begins by describing, in characteristically precise and logical detail, Montresor’s (and Poe’s) idea of perfect revenge.” (Delaney, B; pg 1.) “Perhaps the most chilling aspect of reading Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” for the first time is not the gruesome tale that Montresor relates, but the sudden, unpredictable, understated revelation that the murder, recounted in its every lurid detail, occurred not yesterday or last week, but a full fifty years prior to the telling.” (DiSanza, R.) However, some could speculate that at least for a brief moment, he felt a certain amount of affection for Fortunato. “Montresor actually refers to Fortunato as “my friend” and “my poor friend” six times, and seems to be giving him multiple chances to escape his fate.” (Delaney, B; pg 1.)
Fortunato on the other hand, has his own fair share of psychological aliments. For example, Fortunato seems to suffer from alcohol addiction as this is precisely how Montresor is able to draw Fortunato towards his lair and bring him to his demise. “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.” (Poe, 6). As a result, Fortunato was abnormally warm, gullible, and trusting towards Montresor. When under the influence of any alcohol, one’s best judgment is impaired. Additionally, Fortunato is also a victim of extreme pride. For example, Montresor gave him numerous opportunities to turn back and go home however, he refused the offers numerous times trusting that Montresor would be true to his words regarding the Amontillado. ‘“Come,” I said, with decision, “we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi — “ “Enough,” he said; “the cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” ‘(Poe, 45).
Poe’s psychology is clearly known within both the narrator of the story as well as the victim in the story. For instance, Poe’s darker desires can easily be portrayed through the eyes of Montresor while Fortunato’s character reveals a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. “While Poe is clearly not Montresor, and Montresor is not Poe, it is worth noting that in Montresor, Poe appears to have created a craftsman who is nearly his equal, but whose purposes run counter.” (DiSanza, R). For example, Throughout Poe’s life, he seemed to suffer from a severe case of the Oedipus complex. At a young age, Poe’s mother died from Tuberculosis while his father had died from alcohol consumption. Poe was adopted into John Allen’s family. Poe and his adoptive father argued greatly over his gambling and alcohol problems which could explain the strain he had with his father. Furthermore, while attending school in Richmond, Poe was often excluded from the activities his peers engaged in as a result of his mother being an actress with very little money. This left Poe feeling isolated and thus relating very well to The Cask of Amontillado. The fact that Montresor had killed Fortunato as a result of an insult to his family lineage, could possibly be conveyed as him trying to obtain closure with the situation as Poe himself is trying to obtain closure. Furthermore, Poe relation to the character Fortunato can be explained by the great amount of losses in his childhood, mainly with important women figure in his life. After the death of both his mother, his foster mother, and his numerous wives Poe developed a form of paranoia of being alone. It is then logical that Fortunato in a sense, acts a shadow projection as he projects Poe’s innermost feelings of hopelessness and abandonment. The fact that Montresor chose to brick Fortunato in a vault on the far in illustrates this.
As a result of displaying so much of his pain and self-misery, it’s no wonder that, this short story is one of his greatest pieces of literature. All of the characters are strapped with so many psychological concepts and hints of irony. Since Montresor possesses Id, he is more vulnerable than the average individual to give in to his own temptations and desires despite how wrong they may be. By utilizing psychoanalysis we as Poe’s audience, are able to understand the connection that manifested between himself and the characters. Furthermore, by reading this tale, we are able to gain a broader understanding of Poe himself along with the environment and era that plagued him.
Works Cited:
Pruette, Lorine. “A Psycho-Analytical Study of Edgar Allan Poe.” The American Journal of Psychology 1920: 370. JSTOR Journals. Web. 6 June 2016.
DiSanza, Raymond. “On Memory, Forgetting, And Complicity In ‘The Cask Of Amontillado’.” The Edgar Allan Poe Review 2 (2014): 194. Project MUSE. Web. 6 June 2016.
Delaney, B. “Poe’s The Cask Of Amontillado.” Explicator 64.1 (2006): 33–35. Scopus®. Web.6 June 2016.
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado,” in Complete Tales and Poems (Edison, N.J.: Castle Books, 2002), 232.
