Half of the people in the Prince's "dominion" have been killed by the plague. But he is "happy and dauntless." Poe, the narrator, never mentions the Prince's attempts to fight the plague or help his people. Instead, he invites a thousand healthy ("hale") people from his court to isolate themselves from the public and the plague. These are people from his court: the nobility. So, here we have a prince who does not care for his people. His strategy is to protect himself and a select group from the upper class. This is the definition of elitism. To illustrate the prince's selfish thinking, the narrator adds, "The external world would take care of itself. In the meantime, it was folly to grieve, or to think."
His company does not grieve for those suffering. And they do not hide in this fortress with humility and caution. Rather, they arrogantly party while those outside the walls are suffering. The prince's and his guests' arrogance is addressed when death (the red death) finds its/his way into their party. Their hedonism at this ongoing party shows their selfishness. The prince is proud. He does not sit inside those walls, humbled and thankful that he has not contracted the disease. Rather, he foolishly parties with his select friends. His cavalier attitude mocks death in general. The prince therefore mocks Poe's personified "death" in this story. Therefore, when the masked man (personifying death) gets to him, it is retribution and poetic justice. In other words, in his arrogance and selfish behavior, the prince is asking for it.
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