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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.
Montresor makes this comment of Fortunato just before he gets into the main part of the story as a means to set the stage for why he chooses amontillado as a lure. Whether or not Montresor is truly sincere in praising Fortunato’s knowledge of wine, that he refers to Fortunato’s connoisseurship as a weak point slyly characterizes Fortunato as a drunk. His calling Fortunato a man to be respected and feared is strange because Fortunato does not appear a formidable foe at all. He appears to be in poor health, and all too easily duped by Montresor.
He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.
This first physical description of Fortunato’s dress seems to characterize him for the duration of the story. He’s not only drunk, but focused on drinking more, hence the amontillado proves the ideal lure. His costume for the carnival is motley, that is, a fool’s garb, and accordingly, he behaves rather foolishly. In his eagerness to drink amontillado, he completely ignores the strangeness of the situation Montresor has lured him into. As Fortunato’s voice fades at the end of the story, the bells on his cap become the only sign of his presence, as if he is subsumed by his fool’s costume.
