Edgar Allan Poe's
"The Purloined Letter" --
The Perfectly Balanced Detective Story
by Drew R. Thomas
In "The Purloined Letter," the third and last of his C. Auguste
Dupin tales, Edgar Allan Poe found the perfect combination of what Howard Haycraft calls the "physical" and the "mental" detective story -- to produce the
"balanced" tale.
This perfectly balanced tale begins with Dupin and his narrator sitting in
their apartment sharing "meditation and a meerschaum" when"...our old
acquaintance, Monsieur G--, the Prefect of the Parisian police,"
(with whom Dupin has worked on his previous cases) visits him with a predicament
of his own.
Dupin's narrator writes, "We gave him a
hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the
contemptible about the man, and we had not seen him for several years. We had
been sitting in the dark, and Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down
again, without doing so, upon G.'s saying that he had called to consult us, or
rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official business which had
occasioned a great deal of trouble."
This Prefect presents his case to Dupin: "I have received
personal information from a very high quarter that a certain document of the
last importance has been purloined from the royal apartments. The individual who
purloined it is known, this beyond a doubt; he was seen to take it. It is known,
also, that it still remains in his possession" (Tales of Edgar Allan Poe ).
"How is this known?" asked Dupin.
"It is clearly inferred ... from the nature of the document,
from the non-appearance of certain results which would at once arise from its
passing out of the robber's possession -- that is to say, from his employing it
as he must design in the end to employ it."
The Minister D-- [the culprit], "...has been twice waylaid, as if by
footpads, and his person rigorously searched under my own inspection."
Dupin tells his narrator, "The Parisian police ... are
exceedingly able in their way. They are persevering, ingenious, cunning, and
thoroughly versed in the knowledge which their duties seem chiefly to demand....
The measures adopted were not only the best of their kind, but carried out to
absolute perfection.... The measures, then, ... were good in their kind, and
well executed; their defect lay in their being inapplicable to the case and to
the man."
"The Purloined Letter" is a marvelous little tale. The
manner in which Dupin solves the case, retrieves the letter, and presents it to
Prefect G-- is worthy, indeed.
The Prefect tells Dupin, "I am perfectly willing to take advice, and to
pay for it. I would really give fifty thousand francs to any one who would aid
me in the matter."
"'In that case,' replied Dupin, opening a drawer, and producing
a check-book, 'you may as well fill me up a check for the amount mentioned. When
you have signed it, I will hand you the letters.'"
Dupin's narrator writes:
| "I was astounded. The Prefect
appeared absolutely thunder-stricken. For some minutes he remained speechless
and motionless, looking incredulously at my friend with open mouth, and eyes
that seemed starting from their sockets; then, apparently recovering himself in
some measure, he seized a pen, and after several pauses and vacant stares,
finally filled up and signed a check for fifty thousand francs, and handed it
across the table to Dupin. The latter examined
it carefully and deposited it in his pocket-book; then, unlocking an
escritoire, took thence a letter and gave it to the Prefect. This
functionary grasped it in a perfect agony of joy, opened it with a
trembling hand, cast a rapid glance at its contents, and then,
scrambling and struggling to the door, rushed at length
unceremoniously from the room and from the house, without having
uttered a syllable since Dupin had requested him to fill up the check." |
This story is worthy of Sherlock Holmes
himself. Indeed, it is clear that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was influenced by Poe
when he wrote A Study in Scarlet, "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Naval
Treaty," "The Priory School," and other stories. (Poe's influence upon Doyle will be discussed
more specifically elsewhere on this web site.)
In "The Purloined Letter," Poe produced the
concept of hiding something in plain view (which has been used since by many
writers and filmmakers, e.g., "Hot Money" by John Dickson Carr.)
Finally, the perfectly balanced detective story had been written!
Genesis: 1841 |
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