In "The cask of Amontillado," who is Montresor telling the story to and what evidence is there to prove this?

While the person to whom Montresor narrates the story of his revenge is never specified, several clues indicate he is telling it to his priest. First, he addresses the person as "You, who so well know the nature of my soul." The term "soul" rather than "me" would indicate he addresses a spiritual advisor. Given that Montresor is an adult when he walls up Fortunato, he must very old now: "For the half of a...

While the person to whom Montresor narrates the story of his revenge is never specified, several clues indicate he is telling it to his priest. First, he addresses the person as "You, who so well know the nature of my soul." The term "soul" rather than "me" would indicate he addresses a spiritual advisor. Given that Montresor is an adult when he walls up Fortunato, he must very old now: "For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them [Fortunato's remains]." In other words, fifty years have gone by since Montresor did his evil deed, so we might assume he is on his deathbed and confessing his misdeeds. We can draw the conclusion that he is Catholic since the story takes place in Venice, a Catholic city. That he feels guilt, which would lead him to confess, is suggested by his saying "my heart grew sick" as he finishes his task of the walling up his enemy. He explains that this heartsickness was due to "the dampness of the catacombs" but we as readers might suspect a guilty conscience has motivated Montresor to break his long silence.