The theme of freemasonry in A Cask of Amontillado The fundamental question in Edgar Allan Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado" is the nature of Montresor's motive for vengeance which he "swore" to obtain when Fortunato "dared to insult himself" (209). Montresor believes that a wrong is “unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such by the one who committed the wrong” (209). As Montresor strives to make his revenge known to Fortunato, the author's references to Freemasonry in his use of characterization, setting, and irony indicate Montresor's motive. Fortunato throws back a bottle of wine in a "gesture [Montresor] ​​didn't understand," a sign of the Freemasons, a secret society of which he claims to be a member (212). This secrecy is emulated in Montresor's slaughter of his enemy. Montresor's deadly act, himself, and ultimately Fortunato are shrouded in secrecy. Montresor's destruction of his enemy is carried out at dusk. He leads Fortunato through the darkness "down a long and winding staircase" "into the deepest recesses of the catacombs" "at the farthest end of the world"....