At dusk one evening during the “supreme madness” of carnival season (162), the narrator approaches Fortunato, and the two exchange a hearty greeting. The narrator describes how Fortunato prides himself on his knowledge of wine, and he himself admits to also being “skillful in the Italian vintages” (162) (this indicates the characters are in Italy, but the narration offers no more detail about the geographical setting). He goes on to explain how he has given Fortunato no reason to suspect him, as he has continued to act cordially and smile at him, but he confesses that “my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (161).
The narrator addresses the reader in the second-person “you,” as though venting to a private, intimate audience, and explains that he will be avenged and will “punish with impunity” (161). Though he never specifies the offenses, he does say that Fortunato, after untold transgressions, has finally committed the unpardonable by insulting the narrator (though again, the narrator does not specify the insult). The story begins with an unnamed narrator relaying that he has suffered great and many wrongdoings at the hands of a man named Fortunato.
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