The Cask of Amondtillado - January 2020

[John Dishwasher]

Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: At first, I thought that Poe might have been influenced by Dumas' novel, but again coincidentally, both Dumas' novel and Poe's short story were published in 1846!

That's so striking that you wonder if both of them were influenced by a third party. That would be a fun reference to track down for some scholar who isn't me.

[Shirley (stampartiste)]

Exactly my thoughts! I wondered if such an incident (someone found murdered in some catacombs in Italy) actually occurred around this time (1846), and it made international headline news. It would make for some interesting research!

[Sara, New School Classics]

Just what sprang to my mind when I read your post--wonder if this was a sensational event that made the papers, like the discovery of a body in the catacombs that would have stirred them both. Too odd a coincidence...clever of you to catch it.

[Jen from Quebec :0)]

Last week I had a 12 hour bus ride to get to a Doctor Appt in Montreal, so I plugged in my laptop to *finally* listen to this one (and also read along).

1st thoughts? I had no idea that it was SO SHORT! I thought that this was novella length for some reason. Alas.

2nd - the 2 most repeated words in the story were 2 that I could only guess the definitions of! (The 2 words being 'Nitre' and 'Amontillado' itself).

3rd - Anyone else LOL at the joke made by the main character about the MASONS? His victim asks if he's 'part of the brotherhood of Masons' and makes a hand signal, the MC says 'yep- I AM a mason' and holds up a trowel! Funny.

I liked this story, but wish it were longer...perhaps KNOWING what these huge INSULTS were that LED to this whole thing...? --Jen from Quebec :0)

[Heather L]

Jen from Quebec :0) wrote: "the 2 most repeated words in the story were 2 that I could only guess the definitions of! (The 2 words being ‘Nitre’ and ‘Amantillado’ itself).”

Amantillado is a type of sherry.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amont...


Nitre, or niter, is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter or saltpetre. Breathing potassium nitrate can irritate the nose and throat and cause sneezing or coughing. It can be especially dangerous for those with asthma or who are sick.

[John Dishwasher]

Jen from Quebec :0) wrote: "perhaps KNOWING what these huge INSULTS were that LED to this whole thing...? ..."

Yes, I too would like to hear an insult which would justify this punishment. Come to think of it -- an insult that insulting should merit some kind of prize instead of a punishment. Wait, this reminds me of that bar scene in Steve Martin's film version of Cyrano d Bergerac (Roxanne) where he's going through that list of all the things his nose has been called.

Excuse me. Tangent over.

[Sara, New School Classics]

The impression I have is that the insults themselves would seem petty to us...probably related to their expertise with wine.