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.His preoccupationwith money is reflected in the names Montresor, Fortunato, Luchesi ( Luchresi in theoriginal version) treasure, fortune, and lucre which, as David Ketterer pointsout, all add up to much the same thing (The Rationale of Deception [Baton Rouge: LouisianaState University Press], p.110).17.It is ambiguous, though, whether Montresor s stated goal is finally achieved.JayJacoby argues that Fortunato dies prematurely, since he is silent at the end and does notcry out in pain when Montresor s flaming torch is thrust at his head and falls at his feet. 43 The Cask of Amontillado in Its Cultural ContextThus the avenger s plan of making himself known to the victim as an avenger is foiled.SeeJay Jacoby, Fortunato s Premature Demise in The Cask of Amontillado, Poe Studies, 12(1979): 30 1.18.Through this statement, Poe may be trying to show just how fatuous Fortunato is,for Amontillado is a sherry.Moreover, the fact that it is Spanish brings into questionMontresor s vaunted expertise about the Italian vintages. It is conceivable Poe himselfdid not know the facts about Amontillado, though one would think as a devoted drinkerhe would have.19.See G.R.Thompson, Poe s Fiction: Romantic Irony in the Gothic Tales (Madison:University of Wisconsin Press, 1973), pp.13 14; Thomas Pribek, The Serpent and theHeel, Poe Studies, 20 (1987): 22 3; James E.Rocks, Conflict and Motive in The Cask ofAmontillado, Poe Studies, 5 (1972): 50 1; Kent Bales, Poetic Justice in The Cask ofAmontillado, Poe Studies, 5 (1972): 51; Ketterer, The Rationale of Deception in Poe, p.112;J.Gerald Kennedy, Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing (New Haven: Yale University Press,1987), p.142; and Mabbott, Collected Works, p.1266.20.See Marvin Felheim, Notes and Queries, 199 (1954): 447 8; Vincent Buranelli,Edgar Allan Poe (New York: Twayne, 1961), p.72; Edward Wagenknecht, Edgar Allan Poe:The Man Behind the Legend (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963), p.161; Edward H.Davidson, Poe: A Critical Study (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964), p.202;Stuart Levine, Edgar Allan Poe: Seer and Craftsman (Deland, Florida: Everett Edwards,1972), p.87; Walter Stepp, The Ironic Double in Poe s The Cask of Amontillado, Studies in Short Fiction, 13 (1976): 447 53; and Eric Mottram, Law, Lawlessness, andPhilosophy in Edgar Allan Poe, in Edgar Allan Poe: The Design of Order, ed.Robert E.Lee(London: Vision, 1987), p.160.21.Beneath the American Renaissance, Chapter 2. J OHN T.I RWI NA Platonic Dialogue; Eureka as Detective Story; Marked witha Letter; The Tetractys and the Line of Beauty; Letter as NodalPoint; A Shared Structure; Thematizing the Act of ReadingThat reflexiveness is associated with infinity in Poe s figurations of self-consciousness should not surprise anyone familiar with his writings, for Poewas intrigued by the subject of infinity and dealt with it in several works,including his late mystical-mathematical treatise on cosmology, Eureka.Ofhis various discussions of the topic, the one most significant for our presentpurposes is the imaginary dialogue entitled The Power of Words (1845)published less than a year after the appearance of The Purloined Letter. The fact that The Power of Words is a Platonic dialogue between twospirits named Oinos and Agathos (the One and the Good) is especiallyrelevant to Poe s detective stories, given the Platonic trajectory that wesuggested runs across the three tales.(Regarding the name Agathos, recallthat the goal of the journey from the cave to the realm of pure light is theidea of the good.)The dialogue between Oinos and Agathos takes place in the future,after the destruction of the world.Oinos, a recent inhabitant of the earth, is a spirit new-fledged with immortality seeking instruction about theafterlife from the angel Agathos, who informs him that this questioning isonly proper since not in knowledge is happiness, but in the acquisition ofknowledge. But Oinos wonders whether, if a spirit s happiness consists inacquiring knowledge, there must eventually be a limit to such happiness, forFrom The Mystery to a Solution: Poe, Borges, and the Analytic Detective Story [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.His preoccupationwith money is reflected in the names Montresor, Fortunato, Luchesi ( Luchresi in theoriginal version) treasure, fortune, and lucre which, as David Ketterer pointsout, all add up to much the same thing (The Rationale of Deception [Baton Rouge: LouisianaState University Press], p.110).17.It is ambiguous, though, whether Montresor s stated goal is finally achieved.JayJacoby argues that Fortunato dies prematurely, since he is silent at the end and does notcry out in pain when Montresor s flaming torch is thrust at his head and falls at his feet. 43 The Cask of Amontillado in Its Cultural ContextThus the avenger s plan of making himself known to the victim as an avenger is foiled.SeeJay Jacoby, Fortunato s Premature Demise in The Cask of Amontillado, Poe Studies, 12(1979): 30 1.18.Through this statement, Poe may be trying to show just how fatuous Fortunato is,for Amontillado is a sherry.Moreover, the fact that it is Spanish brings into questionMontresor s vaunted expertise about the Italian vintages. It is conceivable Poe himselfdid not know the facts about Amontillado, though one would think as a devoted drinkerhe would have.19.See G.R.Thompson, Poe s Fiction: Romantic Irony in the Gothic Tales (Madison:University of Wisconsin Press, 1973), pp.13 14; Thomas Pribek, The Serpent and theHeel, Poe Studies, 20 (1987): 22 3; James E.Rocks, Conflict and Motive in The Cask ofAmontillado, Poe Studies, 5 (1972): 50 1; Kent Bales, Poetic Justice in The Cask ofAmontillado, Poe Studies, 5 (1972): 51; Ketterer, The Rationale of Deception in Poe, p.112;J.Gerald Kennedy, Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing (New Haven: Yale University Press,1987), p.142; and Mabbott, Collected Works, p.1266.20.See Marvin Felheim, Notes and Queries, 199 (1954): 447 8; Vincent Buranelli,Edgar Allan Poe (New York: Twayne, 1961), p.72; Edward Wagenknecht, Edgar Allan Poe:The Man Behind the Legend (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963), p.161; Edward H.Davidson, Poe: A Critical Study (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964), p.202;Stuart Levine, Edgar Allan Poe: Seer and Craftsman (Deland, Florida: Everett Edwards,1972), p.87; Walter Stepp, The Ironic Double in Poe s The Cask of Amontillado, Studies in Short Fiction, 13 (1976): 447 53; and Eric Mottram, Law, Lawlessness, andPhilosophy in Edgar Allan Poe, in Edgar Allan Poe: The Design of Order, ed.Robert E.Lee(London: Vision, 1987), p.160.21.Beneath the American Renaissance, Chapter 2. J OHN T.I RWI NA Platonic Dialogue; Eureka as Detective Story; Marked witha Letter; The Tetractys and the Line of Beauty; Letter as NodalPoint; A Shared Structure; Thematizing the Act of ReadingThat reflexiveness is associated with infinity in Poe s figurations of self-consciousness should not surprise anyone familiar with his writings, for Poewas intrigued by the subject of infinity and dealt with it in several works,including his late mystical-mathematical treatise on cosmology, Eureka.Ofhis various discussions of the topic, the one most significant for our presentpurposes is the imaginary dialogue entitled The Power of Words (1845)published less than a year after the appearance of The Purloined Letter. The fact that The Power of Words is a Platonic dialogue between twospirits named Oinos and Agathos (the One and the Good) is especiallyrelevant to Poe s detective stories, given the Platonic trajectory that wesuggested runs across the three tales.(Regarding the name Agathos, recallthat the goal of the journey from the cave to the realm of pure light is theidea of the good.)The dialogue between Oinos and Agathos takes place in the future,after the destruction of the world.Oinos, a recent inhabitant of the earth, is a spirit new-fledged with immortality seeking instruction about theafterlife from the angel Agathos, who informs him that this questioning isonly proper since not in knowledge is happiness, but in the acquisition ofknowledge. But Oinos wonders whether, if a spirit s happiness consists inacquiring knowledge, there must eventually be a limit to such happiness, forFrom The Mystery to a Solution: Poe, Borges, and the Analytic Detective Story [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]