Yes exactly!! And I think this partially stems from Montresorâs subconscious need for control and to reaffirm the worldview he was raised with.
I also think this is partially why he acted the way he did in 160 & 162. In particular him not being able to accept the darker/stranger aspects of Will stems from him being unwilling to accept he may have been wrong about Will. That Will may not be as weak and helpless as he percieves Will to be, how he wants Will to be. Because 1) Will being weak reinforces the worldview he was raised in and means he doesnât have to confront how he may be wrong/the fact that the way heâs treating Will is wrong (because Will is weak, and in Montyâs head a weak man deserves it, because itâs easier to think you failed than to accept you never deserved it, and yet it happened anyways). And 2) If Will is weak it means Montresor has complete control over the relationship and him, and in his head this is conflated with safety.
Hence him being unable to accept Will when he defies his expectationsâit takes away his control and therefore his safety. So control must be regained, and Montresor has only been taught one way to assert control. If he can over power Will, if he can berate him and control his identity/behavior, if he can hurt Will without consequence, then that proves heâs in control. And thatâs what he does, and itâs part of the reason I think he treats Will the way he does in 162. He has regained complete control of the dynamic, he has proven Will is still able to be dominated essentially, and now he has Will not only at his beck and call, but in a mentally vulnerable position due to the memory loss. In his mind, everything is how he should be, he has basically forced Will back into the way he âshouldâ be.
Yet there is a part of him that wants Will to fight back, and to stand up for himself, and I think this is due to a couple reasons. Part of it is that he cares for Will (or at least the idea of Will, even if that means he canât accept the way he is/still treats him terribly despite it), and I think part of it is seeing a younger version of himself in Will. Montresor seems to view strength as the only path to safety, and he wants to protect Will, so he views Will becoming strong as something necessary. Unfortunately his idea of strength and how to build it is extremely limited. And finally I think part of it comes back around to control, because there is one thing Montresor cannot seem to exert control over: how Will sees him. No matter what he does, Will will love him. It shatters his facade and seems to unsettle him greatly. Willâs subservience seems to disturb him yet he also actively enforces it, which is fascinating.
If Will resists his control or attempts to make a decision Montresor would not make for him, he tightens the leash and further exerts his control. He wants Will to push back, to resist, but only in ways that ultimately donât matter. In a way he wants a performance of resistance or independence. But Will canât seem to give him that, and worse Will continually, accidentally, disobeys him and breaks his control throwing him off once more.
Montresor truly has created a hell of his own making, his own personal nightmare (much like the way the narrator of William Wilson dooms himself but thatâs a discussion for a different post). Will is a monster that cannot help but love him, even if it kills him, and Montresor is terrified but he also needs Will, and wants Will. He needs the love that Will will give him, he needs his forgiveness and belief, he needs someone willing to be destroyed and yet will notâcannotâleave.
itâs like someone else said in a recent post (I apologize but I donât remember who) Will is perfect for Montresor, and all this is a consequence of his own actions. He has to deal with all the pain heâs caused made manifest and yet still loves him, and he canât. Because deep down he is like a goat: a scared animal lashing out at the world, at every shadow, because when you feel yourself to be prey, everything is a threat.
[Also⌠man, they really are so Obsession coded arenât they?]
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