Montresor analysis post.
I am going to talk a lot about episode 87 and then a bit about other episodes.
I watched a guy talk funny on YouTube and here is it roughly translated;
“Ego produces most of our thoughts. We think that when we interact with the world, talk to people, that those things generate thoughts inside us. But no. What enters us are raw materials, materials from which the ego composes thoughts. But what thoughts it creates depends on what you have experienced, what traumas you have, how you were raised. What you have understood to what extent and how certain things, what conclusions you have drawn based on a certain understanding you had. What decisions based on these conclusions you have started to make and what patterns have been created based on making certain decisions. What you have seen, smelled, experienced.”
So the stuff that are being said here are very impressive to me and I adore it.
And it reminded me of Montresor.
Montresor is raised in a very religious community. In it, for reasons unknown to us yet, he is seen from birth as a sinner.
“You’ve had the devil inside you since the day you were born” - Monty’s mom.
If it’s by his mother, or by the whole community, we don’t know. We know that at the end he seems to be the scapegoat of them all, (if the robed figures do indeed symbolize his old community, idk they may symbolize just other people over all.) but let’s assume that ig? Going by that thinking Montresor is raised in a place where everyone blames him for stuff.
Let’s quickly go over the facts we get from the flashback:
We’re in a church.
There’s dirties cloaked figures, faceless, that are wearing white robes. The robes themselves are dirtied, suggesting that those people are themselves not ‘clean’ ‘pure’ or free of ‘sin’
Montresor asks them who they are and what do they want.
A figure reaches out from under the cloak- let’s also point out that everyone in this flashback is cloaked. As if the robe itself is a protection from the dirt? Perchance? (You can’t just say perchance☝️🤓)
The robes can suggest that they’re hiding themselves under the pretense of something pure/righteous and do not let the dirt stain them.
They may hide who they really are or their intentions.
The person who touches him on the chest -Duke and Annabel railing scene style- stays quiet for a moment “…” before saying that “You’re wicked.”
And THAT burns. That handprint burns.
The cloaked figures hand itself turns black, and the DIRT from the cloaked figures robe, atoms dissolves itself and burns Montresor leaving a mark.
Here’s the visual for the first time it happens and later on we get a whole panel of how the line infront of him is dirtied and the whole line after passing by him is cleansed.
Okay so we pretty clearly get the meaning of this, but let’s go over this panel by panel.
Montresor bends over holding onto his chest and making the ouch-sounds, and bro doesn’t get a break because the next hand is already reaching out for him, as the now cleaned ‘Mr.Yee Wicked’ goes away.
Montresors notices and says ‘WH- hold on’
But the next figure already is saying “You are selfish.”
And it’s dirt leaves its robe, creating a burn on Montresor’s back.
The figures keep coming with comments like “Gluttonous.” “Stupid.” “Depraved.” to which all Montresor objects, getting more and more agitated.
As I said, the whole line infront of him is dirtied, waiting for their turn to get rid of their dirt-sins-wrong doings, by blaming it on him, or projecting or whatever.
I’ve wanted to write down list over where which blame is placed but it doesn’t show past these three’s, and I don’t want to assume too that it was meant symbolically, but it would’ve been cool if it was.
Heart? - Wicked.
Upper back - Selfish.
Left Shoulder - Depraved? Or Wretched?
Either way the Wretched comment is where he breaks with a “Please.”
Now for everyone that is as English as me, id like to just quickly summarize that the word Wretched means being in a miserable, unfortunate, or deserving of pity state.
(If I’m wrong, do so correct me.)
Either way it suggest in religious context being removed from the God. Which well, is the source of life and everything overall.
Also let’s quickly say that the handprints leaving burns means them having a lasting effect on Montresor. They burn him. The accusations and judgments, handprints symbolizing different vices, condemning him, have long lasting effects on him.
Montresor is in the next panel curled up nearly, he hugs himself with his long hair covering his face, (in shame?) and his right eye being visible in emotion of like I’d say conflict? He is hurt by so many people here, he asks them to “Just leave me be.” I think that panel describes a lot of his childhood. He doesn’t understand what’s happening or why they’re doing this to him.
Him hugging himself with his hands holding his shoulders tightly amidst the burning handprints dooo create a visual. Are his hands atp holding him together or are they part of the blame, but now self inflicted? Does he believe all of that? Maybe he knows it’s not real but still it does force the thoughts and bad beliefs.
He must feel it to be wrong, OR he believes it, but he must’ve noticed as he grew up that others weren’t holier than him.
When a hand reaches to his forehead to say “You are worthless.” He SNAPS.
He does NOT let that touch him. He fights against it all then, with
“So what if I am.” He replies looking up. (Idk if the way the sentence is multiplied and lowered on opacity suggests it being said before, or a ringing effect.)
It continues with:
“Does it make you feel holy?!” “Like yer better than me!?” “Like y’all ain’t sinners yerselves?!”
Which hi? Okay so he may accept all those things, and believe them deep inside? Negative stuff being repeated to us as we grow up DO fuck up our brain, and worm inside it. They create beliefs because even IF we are so lucky to understand on an intellectual level that something may not be completely true, the wound itself was created on a deep emotional level.
If you’re told as a child that you’re an pathetic little crusty Cheeto thief-goblin then that may trigger an insane emotional reaction. You trust adults, if the ones that are your guardians say shit, you believe them ofc. They are keeping you alive, you need their love and approval to survive and grow.
So words like pathetic, Cheeto, and thief fx can leave marks on us, make us feel ashamed so insane degrees. And fear and shame are two main sources of a lot of feelings, that may be masking them.
So even understanding that you’re not a Cheeto might’ve left such an emotional scar on you that until you feel those feelings that were stopped back then and turned into a trauma, you won’t be left free of it and will be haunted. And for the emotions to flow, you also need a new logical understanding of what happened and why you’re not a Cheeto or why being a Cheeto is not wrong. You need to see on both levels that it’s a misunderstanding or not a wrong doing.
Anyway that Worthless comment ENRAGES Montresor. All the other comments lead him to feel anger, shame? Sadness? But that one triggers him more that the T-word (🚂)
“Worthless, y’say?” “Worthless!?” Monty screams looking around, he is circled by the purified freaks, “YOU.” “NEED.” “ME.”
Which fuck yeah, okay so he understands that everyone around him is a ‘sinner’ as well, and that they’re using him as a scapegoat to feel better about themselves. This is and understandable source of insane anger.
Now the fuck ass bitch of the mf year comes in, aka his Mother who I’ll call Samantha because I don’t want to type Monty’s mom 24/7.
Samantha- I’m kidding, his mother shushes him, calms him down as she reaches for him, and holds him- or rather has him in her clutches! As she doesn’t HUG him ladies and gentlemen, she holds her hands clasped around him.
Let’s add to this that his mother’s robe is colored RED. And her right hand has a golden cross ring.
Which HI OKAY. Okay. Funny thing, this might be a reach BUT, overall wearing a cross necklace is supposed to mean bearing your own cross, as in bearing your own hardships and suffering and pain etc, not rejecting it.
In literature such as Dostoyevsky the cross necklace is used often in ways as to show one taking the consequences of their actions and bearing them. Or as in exchanging them to show brotherhood.
Either way, I may be looking too much into stuff yk? But she’s wearing it on her middle finger which lol, but she’s wearing it on her hand, not around her neck, and she puts her hands around in a pseudo hug which is actually a cage next to the other burns on his body.
Is it meant to symbolize her trapping him by using religion? Or Samantha putting her own wrongs and blames on him as well? Her burdens? We’ll get back to that later.
Monty is huffing and puffing bcus he just had a rage attack, and his mother asks him “Are you picking fights again, my treasure?”
I’m shitting myself full live ultra HD because this implies that him trying to fight for himself and rejecting himself being worthless is declined.
He is not allowed to do so.
Why doesn’t his mother allow it? Because feelings as shame and guilt can be used to trap people. That’s what narcissists does usually taking facts mixing up words and phrases to make the other person seem guilty and in blame.
Holy Samantha is calling this ‘picking a fight.’ And the ‘again’ suggest that she’s been bending perceptions to her like and presenting the reality in her fancy.
And her fancy is keeping control over Montresor.
“My treasure.”
So this is a whole thing, which I suspect most of us already know of but let’s go over it for the sake of clarity.
His mother calling him ‘Montresor’ which can be directly translates to ‘My treasure’, and now it’s cute when it’s in the style of ‘My pumpkin’ pie’ but it’s rather giving ‘MY PRECIOUS.’ As in Gollum.
He belongs to HER. His autonomy is hers. He is not to misbehave- but actually he IS to misbehave, because that’s what keeps him trapped! If he sins, he needs HER to atone. How else is he to be forgiven? (Samantha is flashing us her Colgate smile my loves, she is NOT against this situation.)
His mother traps him in a cycle where he will always misbehave, and everything he does will be shown in that light, he’s either hopeless or selfish, and she DOES want him in that cycle, for him to endlessly try to not misbehave and always fail, and always have to depend on her for atoning for failing.
The next scenes will explain this better,
Montresor looks down at the arms wrapped around him and says “Mother.” In shock on his face. But not ‘Mother?’ But as in a statement.
Also back up, she is wearing a red robe. It’s not stained. She does not feel at fault or blame. And maybe it’s because her son is her main outlet. The white can symbolize righteousness, or devotion. Red may symbolize power or sin? Probably power, since she’s in power of him.
Anyhoo, she says
“Holler all you want. They’ll never hear you.”
Aka you’re helpless, no matter what to do they will never hear you = understand you = accept what you say. This can be a shaping belief to have, it’s no use to defend yourself because the crowd is deaf.
This is critically damaging because it’s partly truth in this situation. The cloaked figures won’t listen to what he has to say, he’s the worst of them all, all he says is bound to be bad.
This also dismisses the idea of trying for change or reaching for justice by peaceful means. They won’t listen anyways. You have to act in other ways.
“How don’t you understand yet?”
She’s insinuating he’s behind on something and it’s he who doesn’t understand, it’s all an illusion in his head. She’s planting doubt atp in his head too. Like darling? Why tf are you so behind, throwing a fit in a public server. Be ashamed- if you want ig.
“You are not one of us.”
Isollllation. Isolation is DEATHLY. Detaching him from all of them again would force him to think that she is like nearly a god for being there for him or loving him.
Making him dependent on her. He is to feel worse by overall, and it all comes at the end of the day of if she’ll be pitiful enough- or god forbid ah if she is forced to love him because he’s her child and it’s not even her choice to pity him! It’s forced! - and will grant him ‘acceptance’ or a form of it.
She won’t leave him. And her abandoning him should scare him. (Maybe this is a reach, I’d like to say that I’m theorizing real hard rn) but Samantha not wanting Montresor to leave her could indeed be swapped around into a way in which he feels her fear instead, so she gains more control. Typical narcissist behavior ig.
I feel ashamed? Nahhh, it’s all you G. I am angry? No it’s YOU who is raising your voice at ME. I’m the poor victim. LMAO IG?
I don’t want to be left alone? (Again?) (or to bear all the shame alone?)
Well, let’s switch it around and make YOU scared of me leaving so that I’ll be ensured you won’t leave me.
Ok next is just Monty looking at the big ass cross on the wall hit up by light and shit, as his mother holds him and keeps talking.
Btw id like to point out the effect of the windows. They have those diamond bars patterns. They’re ALL over Samantha’s smexy red H&M robe. They’re like prison bars, and it can ofc suggest her trapping him, or them both being trapped. I mean she herself is trapped in her own emotions and who she is, and she’s doing it to him too bcus that’s what she is doing to herself, unconsciously or not. The patters seem to do that to us.
“We walk with the lord, always.”
“Never question his plans.”
The statement of him not being one of them and then these being said suggest that he doesn’t walk with the lord and that he questions his plans- by questioning stuff? By questioning how he is treated? Very extreme show of how religion can be corrupted and bent for one’s own use. You could take overall a lot of wisdoms or Facebook quotes and do tf u want with them, and Montresor’s mother is quite a person.
“And He smiles upon us for our devotion.”
“But when He tests you, you get angry. You think you know better.”
Well what a way to spin and tamper with his emotions. His anger is not rightful. What he feels is wrong. People around him judging or abusing him is right or a test or whatever, and if Monty was devoted he wouldn’t feel like this.
Which is insane for as many reasons as you can think of. Anger to unjust is the right emotion, lmao it’s even mentioned in Bible, so she’s bending the words to her will.
Then, she reaches out for his hair in this very motherly manner of tucking it behind his ear, saying “You are faithless, my son.” “You have earned your misery.”
Okay so also to say, her tucking his hair behind his ear like this is crazy brainwashing. The physical touch and motion shows love and affection. While the words she speaks are of the opposite. We can see her mouth through most panels and she is show smiling, she is calm, she is content saying all of this.
Also the fact that she uh like takes the hair away for his ear to be out in the clear like dawgs on the beach, maybe in a way so he listens.
Montresor objects again.
“I’m not. I didn’t.”
Woah gender reveal ahh colors. He objects to being faithless, which may mean that he believes in god but thinks himself too wicked, and that’s why God does nothing for him? I’m unsure, as in episode 81 we get this golden stuff:
“Say, love Will? D’you wanna know a secret?”
“God’s never saved anybody. ‘Specially not the faithful.”
We could assume he means himself. I at first thought he meant himself when he was a believer but then if he went being non believer he wouldn’t say that God doesn’t save ppl because God wouldn’t exist I guess. So God chills but he’s mean in Monty’s opinion?
“Even in the good book, they always end up worse off. At the end of the day, all you can rely on is yourself. So maybe try growin’ a backbone, yeah?”
Okay so crazy good, because we can see where his belief of only relying on yourself comes from. It’s from the fact that he probably had to save himself from the situation he was in when he was younger. No magic hocus pocus apparated him out of the church, no Voldemort giving him a gun in the forest. He was all on his own, and he probably strongly believes he always will be.
Also in Wills gray ass shattered like pieces of glass flashbacks (William you’re so incredibly talented in being mentally unwell I feel better abt myself) we can see Monty’s comments to Will.
“Stop them you useless piece a shit!”
“Well? What’ll it be pal? Hightail it like a wimp, or die standing up?”
“Yer a damned fool, Will.”
“What a bootlicker” - “s’pose you’d know.”
“Hell, Will! S’the matter with you!?”
“I love you so much we should move out and live on a farm and see who kills who first.”
And by all those comments we get yet another glimpse into Montresor’s world.
William in Monty’s eyes is someone weak and helpless. Who has read FP ifykyk, I would love to write abt that, it’s another important part to Montresor’s character but idk if I should do so here, as idk how tf to spoiler anything.
Okay, and what is his reaction to weakness or helplessness? It’s a reaction of protection!
As in, rejecting portraying weakness or feeling helplessness or any act of it, and defying it, is a form of saving himself from the pain that those things brought him, as he associated being that with being trapped, used, manipulated. He can’t afford himself to have such weak spots, he has to be the opposite.
There’s a delicious other side to this but ig if I’ll get bored in a month or so I’ll write abt the current fp.
Next panel after Montresor objecting is his Mother smiling and telling him “The prove it.”
“Pray.”
And she pushes him down to kneel, looming over him. Also to mention, her brighter blonde hair is insane because he has dirty blonde hair. Hi?
His hands shake as she forms them into the praying hands, and he tells her “B-But I can’t.”
“And why not?”
“I’ve forgotten the words. Could you remind me how it starts? I need your help, Mother.”
(Also is she leading the church or what? Why is she ‘Mother’ and not ‘mother.’ So she has a superior lore in the church as a nun or smth idk?)
Montresor here is ready to pray and ask for forgiveness, but he doesn’t know the words any longer, and he is vulnerable in asking for help, he literally says out loud the ‘I need your help, Mother.” Which is crazy work for a guy like him. Sadly it’s the wrong person to ask for such, but it’s the only person perhaps he believes he can ask for that. She didn’t seem to leave him even if he’s born as this massive sinner from the beginning.
Then she lifts his chin up and tells him that
“I know.” “But there’s no helping you, my treasure.”
And her face seems ‘solemn’ now. As if she’s telling him the sad truth. This is her just further trapping him up in the cycle of being in control of him. There’s no helping him really, but he should be always asking for it. It’s using the stuff from Bible about people being born in sin and never being able to really get rid of it, but yet still are encouraged to ask for it.
As well, without the overall corruption it just means to accept one’s flaws and how stuff like generational trauma already passes upon us, and that such complicated stuff are impossible to fully fix. Since under one illusion lies another and so on, and you’d really need to be a God to fully just heal and be pure of all the ‘sin’ but asking for forgiveness even if you do stuff wrong bcus u don’t have control over every mean thing you do, I’d just admitting that you aren’t strong enough but want to change, and you keep that intention.
You don’t really have to believe in God or be religious to see that intentions are like really powerful stuff too, and they make our brain orient us on the goals we set for ourselves, and if the intention is indeed, Im sorry for doing this thing that I know is not good, and id like to ask for help and change, - Is literally gonna lead u good places either way.
Samantha is taking that away from Montresor. The belief that he can change, can ask for help, and then adds at the end that he is her treasure.
He is stuck with her. Who else will love him than her in this pov she’s forcing onto him? She takes away the possibility of being free by that, locking him in the delusional beliefs she keeps feeding him.
He has worth only when he’s with her. He snaps at being judged to be worthless, and his mother is the only one around to see him in any worth.
He’s literally her treasure.
Like no wonder bro compensates so bad, look at the cellar arc again in how he had a broken leg but stand up. Lenore comments:
“Their loyalty might be more fragile than it looks. Maybe he’s worried if he shows weakness, he’d lose control over them.”
Be weak = lose control over ppl or himself or over anything over all.
Back to Montresor and Samsung.
Samantha says “You’ve had the devil inside you since the day you were born.” Right after the there no helping you my treasure.
And yeah you can’t be helped fr bro, you was born with the devil inside you, no much to do with you other than keep under control for the rest of your life.
He gets angry then again and his eyes change to demon like.
Then he pukes the demon out- or well it leaves him?
The fuck ass hellish goat is birthed and stands on the symbol of Belial - Belial in Hebrew Bible originally meant “Worthlessness” or “Lawlessness” or “Wickedness.” The word itself means Without Worth, or usefulness.
So this demon in Montresor is created because of all of this. Before he even pukes it out and is forced to look up at his mother we can see the symbol itself being on the floor, not lightened up. As it can either mean it already being prepared by her or just the view that when you stand before God (since it’s where the cross was up on the wall) you put yourself in the state of being worthless.
Which woah again is insane, as the message in the Bible over all is the opposite in every way overall. But that’s then again the corruption.
The circle symbol thing lightens up in red, and Montresor is shaking on the floor. This a beautiful visual of what stuff like these can do to us, as we in fact do have something that can be described as a ‘demon’ in us. Aka the wounds and the ways we try to save ourselves and protect ourselves.
Also that doesn’t excuse our actions and doesn’t make Montresor not a villain in any way, it just explain him. This is NOT and apologist thing, I’ll jump before I’ll become that. But then when someone doesn’t hate on something bad every three seconds they must dislike waffles since they are taking about pancakes or smth.
“God have mercy.” Above the goat thing, is said by the figures we can guess from the font of the text.
The candles form around the circle and idk if that means shit since they’ve been floating around before or if it’s just decorative.
Then we get the visual of the figures praying out loud and saying the words Montresor has forgotten, as the demon attacks them.
Montresor gets blood on his face and looks up shocked and laughs at it. Because they’ve gotten what they deserved in his mind now.
Now idk what to say abt this panel, im totally missing out on the probably double meaning of it but it’s 3 am.
Then we switch pov to what’s actually happening and it’s Montresor choking his best friend on the floor. Parallel to the demon choking a cloaked figure shadow.
Lenore then says all kind of stuff to him, mocking him as “you, the devil you are.” “Ain’t scared of nutthin’ and no-body.” And he just agrees. And then she clocks him in with the “You’re always scared. Aren’t you?”
And he totally is.
Annabel then saying that if he wants help he’ll have to ask them for it is insane too, because we just saw what his beliefs/experiences are on asking for help.
Not to mention his overall power status going down if he does so.
“All he needs to do is ask for our help. But if his pride is more important to him than his life, who am I to argue?”
And that’s funny because for Montresor it’s not just pride, it ends up being it of course, but him thinking that he is worse than everyone around him is making him compensate in acting as if he’s better than everyone ig or trying/believing that he actually is and trying to reject how he was treated, and both thinking you’re better than everyone around you as well as thinking you’re the worst of the worst is being prideful, since in both you let yourself believe that you know better.
Which is tricky. Bro is defo stuck. His mother may not be around but he carries the cross on his neck. Idk what that symbolizes for him, if it’s a sign of his fate, of his mother still holding power over him, or something entirely else, or all at once.
Montresor’s first words after fairing and being awakened to be “I’m not,” and “I didn’t!” Are creepy as heck and sad.
And the fact that after saying those same words he has to ask for help again. A stranger. And Annabel replying the same way his mother did? “I’m quite certain you’re beyond help, Montresor.”
Montresor 💀 My treasure. Bye.
Also now I’m conflicted if him asking her why she hates him sm is like him getting a chance to ask his mother why she hated him sm?
Idk maybe it’s a reach. But we see that Montresor respects Annabel and that makes sense.
Then in episode 115 we see that when Eulalie ignores Montresor, which can make him feel un important or unworthy of attention, instantly maddens him.
Then he pretty much just shifts the words around like a professional and manipulates Will’s understanding of the situation into what he wants him to see/what he sees.
Then in the latest free chapter we see that Montresor did NOT in fact leave Will alone. Which says a LOT. It gives him a whole new side making him even more humane in his actions. Not to mention the fact that he SHIELDS Will with his own Body. And compliments him in the minimum way.
He treats Will the way his mother treated him in many ways, but there’s the MAIN big difference.
Okay but now we can finally get a conclusion to this thing.
Those two pages from a book I was reading are giving Monty I think. (hi Willspero nation)
We don’t know why Montresor is deemed to be born with the devil inside of him. Is it because of who his father might be? Or because he was meowed under no wedding circumstance? Did his father leave?
The shame of that would be left on his mother I guess? His mother is referred to as Mother rather than just mother, so she might be a nun or smth of high status and those usually make vows of not holding hands with guys.
Samantha could’ve lied or done something who knows, either way the father seems not to be around I think, and him leaving her would be a ‘good cause’ for her manipulating Montresor to never leave her.
We don’t know her story but if she got some abandonment issues or some shit she is definitely taking it out on him in the most malicious way possible. She might’ve been shamed for having a child and put that shame on Montresor too.
She mocks him for his anger, the way in earlier post I’ve talked about how Annabel mocks Ada for throwing a tantrum. Annabel does it to get out of a situation where she is held captive, Monty’s mother does it to keep someone captive. Ig?
“You’re either born a gambler or yer not.” You’re born this way or that way. Therems no change in life, you’re either this or that. He can’t change, he is born worthless is what is his core belief, and its in war against the new extreme of being better than anyone else. I think?
He has earned his misery, he deserves it, that’s his core belief that his mother gave him, and now he built a sub personality to contradict that, because he hates how it makes him feel, be seen, and treated.
He can’t accept healthy shame and tries to be more than a human. He strongly identifies with being strong, he disowns the trait of being weak, and “every disowned part has an opposite energy with which your protector/controller is identified with.”
So you don’t have to be religious to have healthy fundamentals, but she ruins the idea of any healthy principles for him by using the one that are shown in Christian religion and using them to control, so now no matter where he’d find good basic morals, he’d connect them to this, and reject them.
The devil that crawls out of him is part of his biggest fear of what she saying being the truth, that he’s at fault and not strong and powerful, but then he finds reassurance in it, he -I think- finds some peace in accepting that lie of being wrong, because it stops the war inside of him, but also contradicts itself by letting him feel strong as the cursed one. That they all fear him.
At last panel in the flashback chapter he just holds himself and laughs because I think we all can imagine how weird of a relief it must be to accept the lies but find strength in them and making them your own, even if they still are the ones that control you, you find some place of power and less helplessness in them. If u cant escape, at least u can do that.
Annabel manipulating Ada’s self worth - ‘lose him = loosing her self worth’ - Monty beliefs that people only will care for him when he is strong are being affirmed and reinforced
So going back to the orange text I started with, I’d like to show how everything that happens around Monty is just happening, but how he understands the world and which traumas he has had and what conclusion he has drawn, based on the certain understandings he has had at whatever age it happened all to him or kept happening, and then the decision he made on those flawed conclusions, and what patterns were created upon making those decisions.
Every character does that, so far I think? Ada has understood something to a specific extent about and concluded that true love is the priority in life. She started making decisions on this understanding and it created those patterns of swiping right on the wrong guys.
We don’t know what created that understanding, but we know that her self worth is connected to external forces.
Either way, Montresor accepting the fact that he’s the devil in a way, is a way of him taking control back in a deluded way. He turns around the judgements placed upon him and they grant him the illusion of power and strength.
And just for insurance I guess, he is the villain, this is not excusing him, he goes around acting all bleh and ew and he will deserve the consequences for that and he deserves the ones he gets now. He is not a good guy, and he doesn’t need to be.
He is not changing/wanting to change, because that would go against his whole thing. Does that mean I wouldn’t like to see him change? No. I would love to. But people like that hardly does ig since they’re so trapped. Montresor was trapped for how long we don’t know by his mother and even when he’s left and lives his life we see how deeply that wounded him.
He is still trapped, but maybe for him, being like this was what let him escape his community and his mother. Idk life is complex and his character story is too.
His spectre does have golden chains around him and his power is making deals and such. Would make sense.