Dupin also believes that the only way to obtain the letter is to purloin it back from the robber who purloined it. And hence he purloins the letter in almost the same way as it was first purloined. The purloining of the letter is mirrored in the re-purloining of it.
Why did Dupin find the letter and the prefect did not?
Thus when the Prefect assumed that Minister D would hide the letter inside of something like a pillow, Dupin knew he was more clever than that, and Minister D would hide the letter in plain sight. That is why he found the letter and the Prefect did not.
What motivates Dupin in the Purloined Letter?
In earlier stories featuring Dupin, he is motivated by truth and knowledge, rather than money. In 'The Purloined Letter,' he is motivated by pride (showing the Prefect that he can outwit Minister D when no one else can), but he is also motivated by money.
What is the Purloined Letter?
‘The Purloined Letter’ (1844) is one of three ground-breaking stories Poe wrote featuring C. Auguste Dupin, his amateur sleuth without whom the world would never have had Sherlock Holmes or, one suspects, virtually any other fictional detective.
Who are the foils of Dupin in the Scarlet Letter?
As a result, the narrative includes two characters, the narrator and the Prefect, who serve as obvious foils to Dupin, while the Minister's similarities to Dupin advance the concept of double selves that is prevalent in so many of Poe's stories.
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How did Dupin know where the letter was?
Dupin tells him to write a check for that amount on the spot. Upon receipt of the check, Dupin hands over the letter. The prefect rushes off to return it to its rightful owner, and Dupin explains how he obtained the letter. Dupin admits that the police are skilled investigators according to their own principles.
Where was The Purloined Letter hidden?
He concludes that D— probably hid the letter out in the open, where G— (who's not so smart) would never think to look. So he waltzes over to D—'s house for a friendly little visit, wearing green glasses to hide his eyes. He sees the letter, disguised as another letter, in an organizer box hanging from the fireplace.
Who took the letter in The Purloined Letter?
Mr. D'ArcyThree months ago, someone stole a letter from Madame X. She is offering a large amount of money to anyone who can return the letter to her. "We know that her husband's political enemy, Mr. D'Arcy, stole the letter.
How does Dupin find out about the murders?
Soon thereafter, the narrator and Dupin read newspaper headlines about a horrible murder in the Rue Morgue.
What is the main conflict in The Purloined Letter?
The conflict in The Purloined Letter involves the necessity of finding the stolen letter and returning it to its rightful owner before it is too late....
What is the significance of The Purloined Letter?
The present story, 'The Purloined Letter' is all about a stolen Letter of importance which owns by the Queen of France. The Minister D had stolen the letter and continuously blackmailed her for disclosing the secret. Also Read: The Purloined Letter as a Detective Story.
How did The Purloined Letter end?
there is no ending. Since we exit the story before the game is played out, we never know if the letter makes it back to the royal lady. Dupin has laid the bait, and now it's D—'s move.
What is the moral of The Purloined Letter?
The moral of the story in The Purloined Letter is that things can sometimes be hidden in plain sight, and that logic and rationality are useful in...
What is the main resolution in The Purloined Letter?
The main resolution of the story is Dupin's realization that the letter is "hiding in plain sight" in D.'s rooms and the trick he plays on D. to take the letter and replace it with a facsimile. Dupin outsmarts D., who outsmarted the Prefect.
What does Dupin do to explain his conclusion?
Dupin tells the story of what he saw at the scene of the crime, which led him to the conclusion that the killer is an Ourang-Outang.
How does Dupin catch the culprit How is he sure this is going to work?
Dupin guesses that this French sailor on a Maltese ship must have witnessed these killings and has since failed to tell anyone what he's seen because he didn't want to get blamed for any part in the whole disaster. So Dupin lures the guy to his home, where he appears, muscular and mustachioed.
What drawing of what evidence does Dupin show do you the narrator?
Dupin showed the narrator a sketch of the deep indentations of fingers around Mademoiselle L'Espanaye's throat. Why did Dupin wrap the drawing around a billet of wood? To more accurately represent a human's throat when Dupin was showing the narrator.
How was the letter stolen in Poe's The Purloined Letter?
The prefect has a case he would like to discuss with Dupin. A letter from the queen's lover has been stolen from her boudoir by the unscrupulous Minister D—. D— had been in the room, saw the letter, and switched it for a letter of no importance. He has since been blackmailing the queen.
What happened in the story of purloined letter?
Auguste Dupin, a detective from France. In the story, a letter goes missing and is being used to blackmail an unnamed woman. After the Prefect of the Police informs him about the case, C. Auguste effortlessly solves it and, at the end of the story, reveals his particular method to recovering the letter.
Why did Dupin replace The Purloined Letter with a facsimile?
He wanted to make sure that no one but Dupin would know that the real letter had been recovered. If Minister D- realized that the letter had been taken, he might inform somebody else, and that person might inform yet another person.
When was The Purloined Letter written?
1844The Purloined Letter, short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in an unauthorized version in 1844. An enlarged and authorized version was published in The Gift (an annually published gift book containing occasional verse and stories) in 1845 and was collected the same year in Poe's Tales.
What does Dupin tell the prefect?
At this point the prefect needs Dupin to give him advice but Dupin only tells the prefect to keep doing what the police have already unsuccessfully tried. Knowing how superior Dupin’s analytical mind is, his dismissal of the prefect with so simple a suggestion shows the humorous side of Poe’s detective story.
What is the Purloined Letter?
Poe's Stories: The Purloined Letter. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Poe's Stories, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. This story, like "The Murders in the Rue-Morgue," concerns Dupin, and the period of time that the narrator of "The Purloined Letter" spent with him in Paris.
Why does Dupin note that the royal lady is aware of the theft?
Dupin notes that because the royal lady is aware of the theft it gives the thief power over her. The Prefect confirms that the thief has been using this power. Helpless, the lady has come to the Prefect desperate for help. Poe paints a world of corrupt royal hierarchies and abuses of power.
Why did the prefect search the Minister's apartment?
The prefect says it was necessary to search the Minister ’s apartment, and this could be quite conveniently done because of the Minister’s frequent absence at night, and because the prefect is in possession of a master set of keys for the city’s properties.
How did the prefect look at the apartment?
The prefect describes his method of investigation, how he looked over every inch of the apartment. He knows very well how to uncover “secret” spaces, like parts of drawers blocked off, and chair legs that have been hollowed and stuffed with wadding so that the wood seems to have the same density. They studied every rung in the hotel with a microscope to detect any hint of dust, and then the bedclothes and every item of furnishings, and then scrutinized the walls and surfaces of the house in the same way. They did this not just to the minister’s building but to the two adjoining buildings too, and the paved grounds.
Why does the prefect say the person who stole the letter still has it?
The Prefect then cryptically suggests that he knows that the person that stole the letter still has it, because of a certain lack of fallout that would definitely occur had the letter passed out of the robber’s hands. The letter, he says, has the power to bring scandal to a certain person of high honor and give the person with ...
What is the role of the Prefect in Poe's The Prefect?
The Prefect, who is considered thorough but simple and uncreative, is in charge of the safety of the most high profile figures in the country. The Minister, who should be protecting the royal family, is seeking to use them for his own ends. And the man who can solve the case is Dupin, an eccentric poet.
Why did Dupin not steal the letter?
The narrator asks why Dupin did not simply steal the letter. Dupin answers that D. might have been desperate enough to have his attendants kill Dupin. In addition, he notes that after a year and a half of being subjected to the Minister's blackmail, the lady will now have the upper hand.
What is the Purloined Letter about?
Whereas Dupin's investigation in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" established the basic form for a classic whodunit mystery, "The Purloined Letter" takes an entirely different route to highlight Dupin's methods of ratiocination and use of creativity to place himself in the mind of the criminal. The case is clear in that the thief and the details of the crime are perfectly obvious, but what is not clear is how to outwit the thief and return the letter to its rightful owner. The story shows much more of the character of the Prefect, who merely appeared in order to act disgruntled and embarrassed at the end of the first Dupin story. As a result, the narrative includes two characters, the narrator and the Prefect, who serve as obvious foils to Dupin, while the Minister's similarities to Dupin advance the concept of double selves that is prevalent in so many of Poe's stories.
What does Dupin tell the Prefect to do?
Dupin tells the Prefect to write the check; the astonished Prefect does so, takes the letter from Dupin, and rushes away from the apartment. Dupin explains to the narrator that the police were very skilled but that the case was not suited to the unimaginative.
What does Dupin say about the minister?
Dupin remarks that the minister cannot be much of a fool, although the Prefect disparages the man for being a poet and therefore , in the Prefect's view, unintelligent. The narrator asks the Prefect about the police's method of search, and the Prefect explains how thoroughly they have searched the apartment, particularly since the reward for ...
What does Dupin say in Atrée et Thyeste?
Dupin admits that he would like to know the man's thoughts when he opens the letter to read a quote from Crebillon's Atrée et Thyeste which translates to "If such a grievous plan is not worthy of Atreus, then it is worthy of Thyestes.". Dupin knows that D. will recognize Dupin as having gotten his revenge.
Why does the Prefect dismiss the Minister?
Later, the Prefect dismisses the Minister because he is a poet and thus a fool, but Dupin notes drolly that he too is something of a poet. The exchange is entertaining because the Prefect is totally unaware of the fact that a poet's creativity is the trait that allows one to think like a Dupin or a Minister D. instead of like the Prefect.
What does Dupin discover in the apartment?
At length, he discovers several visiting cards and a letter that has been torn and altered in appearance hanging carelessly from a rack on the mantelpiece.
How did Dupin find the letter?
After the Prefect leaves, Dupin explains to the narrator how he found the letter. First, he notes that the Parisian police made as thorough a search as they could of the Minister’s home, given their knowledge of how to do such things. He further notes that the police’s methods were carried out perfectly, but that they were the wrong methods to use in such a case. In explaining his meaning, he tells a fable about a schoolboy who was very good at guessing games because the boy knew how to observe his opponents’ behavior and figure out how his opponents think. Dupin continues, saying that the Prefect’s mistake was in thinking about how he would hide a letter, and assuming that everyone would think about the situation in the same manner. He also explains that the Prefect’s assumption that the Minister is a fool because he is a poet is flawed. Dupin knows for a fact that the Minister is both a poet and a mathematician, and it is this combined tendency toward both creativity and reason that has allowed the Minister to hide the letter effectively. Furthermore, Dupin notes that the Minister, being a shrewd political opponent, knew about the ransackings, and even encouraged them, because he was sure the police would not know where to look for the letter, and that they would eventually give up their searches.
What does Dupin tell the Prefect?
After this exhaustive description, Dupin still tells the Prefect that he needs “to make a thorough research of the premises ,” but the Prefect assures Dupin that he has done so and that the letter cannot be at the Minister’s residence. Dupin asks for a description of the letter, and the Prefect provides the description and takes his leave.
What is the Purloined Letter?
Modern mystery writers owe a debt of gratitude to Edgar Allan Poe. Although he is primarily known for his horror stories, Poe also wrote a series of what he called, “tales of ratiocination,” which helped define the conventions used in Arthur Conan Doyle ’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories, and which helped influence the development of the modern mystery. One of Poe’s most popular detective stories is “The Purloined Letter.” Originally published in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year ’s Present for 1844, an annual magazine, the story was reproduced in Poe’s Tales by Edgar A. Poe the following year. Today, a copy of the story can be found in The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales, published in 1998 by Signet Classic. As with the other stories that feature C. Auguste Dupin, Poe’s famous detective protagonist, “The Purloined Letter” emphasizes the use of deductive reasoning—a specific type of logic that examines all factors in a case objectively—to solve mysteries that have stumped others.
How does exposition work in fiction?
Most fiction writers attempt to expose facts to the reader, a technique known as exposition, as seamlessly as possible, by bringing the reader up to speed slowly through dialogue and narration. In fact, one of the ways in which some critics and readers measure the worth of a story is in its level of mastery of exposition, considered one of the hardest tasks for a writer. In “The Purloined Letter,” however, the exposition is very blatant. An unnamed narrator, acting on the reader’s behalf, asks very direct questions—which Dupin’s character would not be likely to ask—that advance the plot. It is the narrator who asks the Prefect, “And what, after all, is the matter at hand?” thereby prompting the Prefect to start his tale. When the Prefect is being vague, the narrator says, “Be a little more explicit.” When Dupin says something that is even slightly confusing, the narrator repeats the confusing part. An example of this is when the narrator repeats the phrase, “Its susceptibility of being produced?” which Dupin stated to indicate that having the letter handy so that it could be destroyed, if necessary, is equally as important as having the letter at all.
What is the purpose of the police in Poe's detective story?
The police launch a series of scientific and precise , but misguided, investigations by using logical methods that are based solely on past experience and established systems of thought. Their investigative methods reflect the types of rational thought prevalent in the mid-nineteenth century. In the end, the police are unsuccessful in finding the letter because the thief has hidden it in the most unexpected place—right under their noses. Dupin figures this out and recovers the letter, turning the political tables on the thief.
What does the Prefect say about the Minister's home?
When speaking of the Minister’s home, he says, “we divided its entire surface into compartments, which we numbered, so
How did the police search the Minister's apartment?
The police force searched the entire building, focusing on the most secret areas they can imagine. They searched for hidden drawers, took apart chairs, and looked under table tops and within table legs. They searched for hollow spots that could hide the letter, and used microscopes and other scientific methods to unearth clues. Furthermore, they looked around the grounds of the Minister’s home, examined every page and cover of every book within his library, searched under the carpets and floorboards, and even searched the cellars.
What is the Purloined Letter about?
Unlike the other two tales, which involve gruesome murders of women, “THE PURLOINED LETTER” presents only petty thievery and deception as the crime. The tale’s mock heroic tone is suggested even by the title’s description of the missing letter not as “stolen” but as “purloined.”.
What does Poe say about Dupin?
When the Prefect visits him to talk about the case, Dupin purposely does not light the lamp, saying that "if it is any point requiring reflection.... we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark." This idea, of the mysterious, silent detective sitting and smoking in the dark while listening to his clients' cases, is one of the hallmarks of future "private-eye" stories.
How does Dupin claim the reward?
Dupin claims the reward by handing the letter in question to the Prefect after a search of the Minister’s apartment that involves some deception and trickery. Dupin then explains to the incredulous narrator the reasoning which led him to discover the letter: His reasoning in the matter was superior to the Prefect’s elaborate search because too much concentration on minute detail can obscure obvious truths.
What does Dupin say to the narrator?
In the story, Dupin is also a political manipulator, who uses his recovery of the letter as a political move. "You know my political prepossessions," Dupin says to the narrator. "In this matter, I act as a partisan of the lady concerned." Besides reclaiming the letter so that the Minister will be forced to stop blackmailing the queen, Dupin also sets it up so that the Minister will "commit himself, at once, to his political destruction."
Why did authors protect their writings?
Early 1840s: In the absence of any strictly enforced copyright laws, American authors guard their writings to increase the value of their works on first publication, since they are often reproduced by magazines without the author's permission.
Who invented the daguerreotype?
Early 1840s: Frenchman Louis Daguerre, a scene-painter, invents the daguerreotype, a method that uses a lens and light, along with a chemical reaction, to capture exact images. The first daguerreotypes are used mainly for landscapes—including the first photograph of Paris—and portraits.
Who invented the Morse code?
1840s: Samuel Morse, American portrait painter, invents Morse Code, a code of dots and spaces that the United States government uses to keep messages secret from its political enemies.
Why is the letter of Dupin still a secret?
The Prefect tells Dupin that he believes that the letter's contents are still a secret because it is being used to exploit the woman and not destroy the woman's reputation.
How did Dupin track down the letter?
Dupin explains to the narrator how he tracked down the letter. He says that the police underestimated Minister D because he writes poetry. Dupin visited Minister D in his hotel room. Instead of having hid the letter, Minister D left it out in the open. He did take some pains to disguise it, though. He wrote a different address on the opposite side of the letter. Dupin stole the letter, after swapping it out with a fake that included the following note: 'If such a sinister design isn't worthy of Atreus, it is worthy of Thyestes.'
What note did Dupin leave for Minister D?
The note Dupin leaves for Minister D is interesting. He could have left no note or easily written something else, but Dupin's reference to Atreus and Thyestes is on purpose. For those unfamiliar with the story, Atreus and Thyestes were brothers in Greek mythology. They were definitely sinister people, obsessed with tricking each other out of the throne, and even got kicked out of their own kingdom for killing their half-brother. The brother reference suggests that Dupin and Minister D might be brothers (if not biological, at least in spirit), especially since they seem equally clever in the story.
What does the story indicate about Dupin and Minister D?
3. The story indicates that Dupin and Minister D have had some kind of unfavorable interaction in the past, which Dupin remembers with distaste.
What is Dupin motivated by?
In earlier stories featuring Dupin, he is motivated by truth and knowledge , rather than money. In 'The Purloined Letter,' he is motivated by pride (showing the Prefect that he can outwit Minister D when no one else can), but he is also motivated by money.
When was the Purloined Letter written?
Even though it was written in 1845, 'The Purloined Letter' and Poe's other detective stories were instrumental in envisioning the detective story genre as it is today. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Who stole the letter from Dupin?
The police know Minister D stole the letter and have deduced that he has the letter on or near him, but since they underestimate Minister D's intelligence because he writes poems, they are unable to figure out where he hid the letter. It is suggested that Minister D is similarly as intelligent as Dupin, but his downfall is his corrupt character.
How did Dupin solve the Purloined Letter?
Dupin, a master of logical analysis, then explains how he managed to solve the mystery of the purloined letter, beginning by reminiscing about his schooldays, and a clever schoolboy he knew who played a game of ‘even and odd’ with his peers. A boy would place either an odd or even number of marbles in his hand, and the clever schoolboy would then try to guess. He might guess wrong the first time , but by analysing how clever (or stupid) his opponent was, he would then be able to second-guess his opponent’s next move (e.g. a stupid boy who picked up an even number for the first game would have just the right amount of wit to change the number to odd for the second; a cleverer person would try to outthink the guesser, by putting himself in the shoes of the guesser and trying to out-reason him).
Who illustrated the Purloined Letter?
Image: Illustration to ‘The Purloined Letter’ by Edgar Allan Poe, by Frederic Lix (c. 1864), via Wikimedia Commons.
What did Dupin do when he returned to the minister's rooms?
When he returns to the minister’s rooms, having arranged for a paid accomplice to fire a musket in the street so as to cause a diversion, Dupin then goes to the mantelpiece, takes the letter, replaces it with a copy he had prepared at home to resemble the original, and leaves with the purloined letter in his possession.
What is the meaning of the line "A design so deadly if not worthy of Atreus, is worthy of?
In the substitute letter, Dupin reveals that he left a sheet on which he had written words taken from Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon’s Atrée: ‘A design so deadly, if not worthy of Atreus, is worthy of Thyestes. ’ The lines allude to the story from mythology, in which King Atreus of Mycenae, in revenge for his brother Thyestes ’ seduction of his wife, kills Thyestes ’ sons and serves them to him in a pie. The reference is Dupin’s way of saying he has discovered the minister’s plan, and foiled his scheme. (Dupin also reveals that he owes the minister some payback after ‘an evil turn’ the minister did to him in Vienna.)
What is the meaning of the line in the story of King Atreus of Mycenae?
The lines allude to the story from mythology, in which King Atreus of Mycenae, in revenge for his brother Thyestes’ seduction of his wife, kills Thyestes’ sons and serves them to him in a pie. The reference is Dupin’s way of saying he has discovered the minister’s plan, and foiled his scheme.
What is the purpose of distraction in Sherlock Holmes?
Not only is Holmes, like Dupin, a master of logical analysis and an amateur sleuth working independently of the official police, but Holmes, too, will go on to use the idea of distraction in order to locate a missing or reclaim a missing item from a criminal (most famously seen in ‘ A Scandal in Bohemia ’).
What is a letter that has been stolen?
A letter containing delicate information has been stolen, or ‘purloined’: an important woman was in her boudoir when the letter arrived (presumably written by a man with whom she was having an affair) but as she was reading it, her husband came into the room. She placed the letter down on a table. A minister, identified only as ‘D—’, then entered the room as a guest, and spotted the letter, recognised the handwriting, and guessed the lady’s scandalous secret. Producing his own letter from his pocket, he placed it down on the table next to the incriminating letter while he was talking to the lady and her husband, and then discreetly picked up the other letter (the scandalous one) in full view of the couple. The lady saw him do this, but obviously couldn’t draw attention to the act in front of her husband, because then the letter’s contents would become known to him.
