The Purloined Letter: Breaking the rules for revenge

Mumu The Tricked breaks down the themes of Poe’s The Purloined Letter, a murder mystery that breaks his normal mold.     

TITLE: “The Purloined Letter” (pgs 137-162 from Great Tales And Poems Of Edgar Allan Poe)

AUTHOR: Edgar Allan Poe

GENRE: Dark Fiction

PAGES: 25

FORMAT: Paperback Book

PRICE: US $5.95 / CAN $6.99

Edgar Allan Poe tried to venture past horror and try his attempt at mystery, and how to solve cases. I will admit, this isn’t my favorite story, but I am glad he tried to broaden his horizons. The story focuses on the narrator from ‘the Murders in the Rue Morgue’ and his good detective friend, Dupin, who solved the murders from it.

Poe considered this his best detective story, and it did redefine the mystery genre by focusing more on intellectual analysis than action. This also allowed for the focus on the police and Dupin’s relationship, where Dupin states that the police are bound by their rules for investigating and he can see what is outside their rules. Although the biggest shock of this story was how Dupin found the letter; he discovered it was folded backwards within the Minister’s apartment and he decided to swap it with a fake letter, then turned it over to the police. All because, in Dupin’s words, the Minister did him wrong in Vienna and this was revenge; all morally justified in his stealing of the evidence.

Now, the reason why this letter is so important, it had valuable information on it and whoever had the information could use it to control others. Not to mention that the letter was taken from someone else’s living residence. However, the story doesn’t truly focus on what the letter contains; it mostly focuses on Dupin and how his mind works.

For example, in the fake letter, Dupin put down: “so baneful a scheme, if not worthy of Atreus, is worthy of Thyestes.” It’s a reference to Crébillon’s early-eighteenth-century tragedy: Atreus and Thyestes. The basics of the story is Thyestes betrayed his brother, Atreus, and slep with his wife. In retaliation, Atreus decided to murder Thyestes’ sons and cook them for a feast for Thyestes. Dupin implies that Thyestes deserves more punishment than Atreus because he committed the original wrong. Dupin feels that this is why his own deed is morally justified; the minister committed the original wrong in Vienna, so therefore this was justified.

Now, to focus on the relationship between Dupin and the police. He doesn’t start with a personal attack; mostly just a critique of the mode of investigation employed by the police as a whole. They aren’t able to place themselves in the shoes of the criminal; Dupin is able to think like the criminal and is able to imitate the train of thought of his opponent. That is how he found the letter in the Minister’s apartment in the first place, because he can think like the Minister does.

In the end, this story did redefine the detective genre, although there isn’t much action; it is just a bunch of intellectual words and ideas from Dupin that explain how he could solve his cases faster than the police can. It is also implied that Dupin and the Minister’s rivalry seems similar to that of brothers rather than just criminal and detective. The offense in Vienna arguably derives from their threatening similarity, which Dupin uses as a morally justified wrong to steal the letter back. However, is it really stealing if it was stolen from someone else first? He does technically return the letter to its rightful owner in the end; well, I assume the police do after they’re done with their investigation.

Mumu the Tricked loves to read and write. It’s easier to sit still and work with their eyes and hands than move around some days. They are hoping to become a successful author and book reviews are quite fun, too. Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.