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In what year was the story The Cask of Amontillado set?

The text of "The Cask of Amontillado" does not specify the year in which the story is set. It was published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1846. Montresor, the fictitious narrator, states that Fortunato's bones have not been disturbed for fifty years, so one might guess that the event occurred in the 1790's. Montresor twice mentions that he was wearing a roquelaire, which was a knee-length cloak named after the Duc de Roquelaure, a...

The text of "The Cask of Amontillado" does not specify the year in which the story is set. It was published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1846. Montresor, the fictitious narrator, states that Fortunato's bones have not been disturbed for fifty years, so one might guess that the event occurred in the 1790's. Montresor twice mentions that he was wearing a roquelaire, which was a knee-length cloak named after the Duc de Roquelaure, a French nobleman and Marshal of France who died in 1738. Fortunato's murder apparently occurred sometime in the 18th century. The roquelaire was a practical garment. It would have been a useful type of cloak for Montresor to have been wearing, since he could have continued to wear it unencumbered while he was building his stone wall.


Speculative Analysis


It seems most likely that Poe intended the reader to assume that the story was originally written as a letter to a confidant, or confidante, whom Montresor addresses as "You, who so well know the nature of my soul." This letter had been discovered among the papers of the recipient and somehow found its way into the hands of an editor named Edgar Allan Poe, who translated it into English from French or Italian and published it in an American magazine.


Some readers have suggested that the narrative represents a confession to a priest by a man who would have been in his eighties or nineties and possibly on his deathbed. The problem with that interpretation is that there is no indication of a second person being present. A priest or any other interlocutor would be expected to make interjections and ask questions, if it was Poe's intention to present the story as a viva voce confession. 

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