In the first paragraph of the short story, Montresor provides insight into who he is speaking to by saying, "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat" (Poe, 1). One could assume that Montresor is possibly confessing to a Catholic priest by revealing his past sin of killing Fortunado. A priest would likely "know the nature" of Montresor's soul. Considering the fact that Montresor is telling his revenge story some fifty years after it was committed, one could hypothesize that this may be a death bed confession. However, given Montresor's apparent gleeful tone throughout the story, one can assume that he is not truly seeking redemption for his past sin. If this is the case, Montresor may be speaking to his wife or a close family member. One can be assured that whoever Montresor is speaking to is a close confidant of his.
Our only clue to whom Montresor is speaking is found in the second line of the story, when Montresor says, "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat." It would be fair to assume Montresor is making a confession to another person who knows him well, perhaps a priest. The story that Montresor tells, his murder of Fortunato, takes place during Carnival, the night before the first day of Lent. Because he calls his family home a palazzo, it is fair to assume it is in Italy, where Carnival originated. As a result, it is plausible that Montresor is a Catholic confessing to a priest.
Furthermore, the story's final words, "In pace requiescat!" are Latin for "rest in peace!" Latin is the official language of the Catholic Church.
It should be noted, though, that Poe was not a Catholic; not much is known about his personal religious faith or lack thereof.
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