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The Fool Costume
Fortunato’s fool costume is a clear symbol of the role he plays in the story, that of the naïve fool who is tricked to his death. Not content with simply striking out at Fortunato, Montresor goes out of his way to completely manipulate Fortunato, that is, making a fool out of him. When taken together with Fortunato’s name, which means “fortunate” in Italian, Fortunato’s fool costume has another layer of meaning. Before Montresor’s revenge, one might call Fortunato a fortunate fool. As Montresor describes, he was happy, popular, and wealthy. However, Montresor’s revenge transforms this fortunate fool into “fortune’s fool.” The phrase “fortune’s fool,” originally coined by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, means someone whose fortunes have reversed as if they were toyed with by Fortune, here treated as a fickle and ever-changing force. Haplessly led to his death, Fortunato’s luck runs out. At the end of the story, the jingling of bells on his cap are the only sign left of Fortunato, as if he has completely been subsumed by his role as the fool.
The Montresor Family Crest
Montresor’s evocative family crest, depicting a golden foot stepping upon a biting snake, symbolizes Montresor’s attitude toward revenge as something he must achieve at all costs. The foot and the snake appear to represent Montresor and Fortunato, however, it’s not necessarily clear which of the men represents which image. It seems likely the Montresor crest would choose to represent itself as the golden foot that tramples the impudent snake that bites them. However, in looking at the two characters, Montresor, sly and secretive, acts more like a snake who, stepped on by hapless and unwitting Fortunato, takes him down with them with a deadly bite. As Montresor implies that Fortunato has achieved more wealth and status than he currently has, reading Fortunato as the golden foot also illustrates how the Montresor family has fallen from their once illustrious status. Either way, the snake’s teeth in the image are eternally sunk into the foot that crushes it, locking both together forever. In the same way, Montresor has entombed Fortunato in the family vault, embedding him eternally within the family history.
