"The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe is one of series of three detective stories about Dupin, an amateur Parisian detective. Published in 1844 this story is one of the first in the genre. It predates Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Chesterson's Father Brown and Simenon's Maigret who all borrowed from and built on Poe's legacy.
In this installment Poe explores the idea that a brilliant criminal is necessary to show the full extent of the detective's insight. He hints at the similarities in the cognitive processes of the criminal and the detective and creates a worthy adversary for Dupin in the Minister. He also points out the differences between logic and imagination and explains why both are necessary for a successful criminal, as well as a successful detective.
The story withholds important information from the reader, namely the location of the letter and the method by which Dupin found it until the very end. This technique is used by Poe to build up tension and later becomes the trademark of the detective mystery genre. Mnay parallels can be made between this story and the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle written a couple of decades later. One of these is the use of the third person narrator, who has little to contribute to the solving of the mystery, but is heavily relied upon to showcase the brilliance of the detective.
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2 comments:
Good overview of aspects of the story. Focus on the paragraphs in which Dupin explains his methods, v. "policial" methods...this is the heart of the matter...
I do agree. I must say that there are so many underlying things going on in the story. After reading this, it made me want to be in a classroom with open discussion, I will be the first to admit when I am a little lost.
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