The Masque of the Red Death

There is no living being with power that surpasses that of our mighty God. No person on this planet that bears more intelligence; not a soul that obtains more perfection. How might our God feel if we were to think of ourselves to be above him? Surely there must be a punishment for those whose minds are poisoned with such outrageous thoughts; surely there must be a wrath. The punishment that claimed prominence in "Masque of the Red Death" would be greatly appropriate for such unique circumstances. A torture so great that it would take the life of the sinner slowly, painfully, and eagerly; as if it had a mind of its own as it killed its prey with such grievous lust. But this was not a murder of the hands, weapons, or a morbid mind: it was that of a plague.

Prince Prospero is one person who has a crowded mind and worships money rather than the Lord; lives in riches rather than purity; and puts himself above all else. When the plague went into effect, Prince Prospero had protected himself with the concealing walls of his castle. But the plague proved stronger than any material protection and punctured the wall- therefore killing the Prince. This can be made out as symbolism in this story because it proves that fate is like a plague: it cannot be stopped and it has plans of its own. Prince Prospero had aggravated God by thinking of himself as better than him. Therefore God proved him wrong by showing him that he could not be stopped and by doing so, took his life. This situation can be compared to Joan of Ark and how God sent not a plague but a flood to purify the world and also to teach a lesson. There are many other lessons that come through in this story.

Prince Prospero was only concerned with the health of his own as he states "the external world could take care of itself". He expected that he was safe in his palace just because it had "gates of iron". Although he had every material possession and had enough money to buy the world, his castle would always be bigger than his heart, the iron fence would always be stronger than his faith, and his number of servants would vastly exceed the number of his friends. His worst punishment was that he died before he ever really lived: he died empty.


In the story there was a large portion that described the "seven imperial suites". However only the seventh suite was the color of deep red blood. This resembles that all Prince Prospero's life was full of colors and beauty, but in the end he was consumed by the vile plague: The Red Death. In a sense, the Prince was consumed, not by a plague, but by himself. The reason for his death was because of the way he lived. And as he lived in glory in his palace, there was always the seventh suite, waiting to finish him.

Prince Prospero had thought of himeslf as better than the man who had heaven as a castle, rather than cold walls filled with lies. He put himself above the man who had angels as his friends, as opposed to fake posers. But his head was not punctured with reality until his powers battled against that of God's and perished with the knowlege that prosperous was no match for holy.