Similarities Between A Rose For Emily And The Cask Of Amontillado

When one thinks of death, there is normally a sense of sadness and mourning associated with it. This is not the case in either William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” or Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado”. These two short stories deal with death from a completely different angle. In these stories, both main characters seem to gain satisfaction and happiness through the death of another character, even if these deaths require what would in normal circumstances be considered horrible acts in any other circumstance.
In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the main character, Emily last name, is the last aristocratic member of her society. Left with her father’s house and not much else, the town seems to care for Emily, if for no reason other than

obligation. Because of this, Emily seems to feel entitled to a majority of the things she requests. As such, when rumors of her new lover, Homer Barron, leaving town start to surface, Emily takes drastic measures to ensure he will stay with you- forever. Buying arsenic from her local drug store, she poisons him and hides his body in her upstairs bedroom for decades. It is through his death that Emily gifts herself the satisfaction of knowing this man will never leave her.
In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”, the story's narrator, Montresor, tells the tale of the day that he murders his fellow nobleman, Fortunato.

Cross over an insult of which the context is never revealed, he plots to murder his peer while he is drunk. Through a series of lies and manipulation, Montresor manages to convince Fortunato to join him in his wine-cellar. As they continue further into the depth of what will become Fortunato’s crypt, Montresor continuously offers wines of different varieties to Fortunato in order to keep him in his inebriated state. Fortunato begins to develop a cough, at which point Montresor suggests that they go back, stating that the further down they go, the worse the dampness and mold will become. Despite this, Fortunato, insists on continuing, stating that "the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough,” which only serves to further emphasize Fortunato’s lack of awareness at the danger he has put himself in (141). When they come to the cellar, Montresor tells Fortunato that the Amontillado is within. Fortunato enters, but never emerges again. Montresor reveals to his audience that he chained Fortunato to the wall of the cellar and bricked the entrance close, entombing Fortunato alive. As the story concludes, Montresor revels in the satisfaction of having successfully murdered Fortunato, revealing that these events have taken place some 50 years ago, and to the day in which he is recalling it, he has never been

caught, as Fortunato's body still hangs from the chains where he’s left him.
Though these stories differ in many ways, such as the murderer’s motives, there is an overlapping theme of satisfaction brought by death. In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily’s fear of abandonment is sated by the death of Homer Barron, as now he can never leave her. In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor’s need for revenge is sated by what he describes as the perfect murder; not only does he successfully manage to rid himself of Fortunato, but he does so without getting caught. I found both of these stories to be quite interesting, as not only do both of the characters commit murder, but they get away with their crimes. These two stories seem to be perfect demonstrations of satisfaction brought on by death.