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Although we do not get to see them interact, Minister D–– serves as a doppelganger of Dupin, his ideal rival. In addition to both of their last names beginning with the letter D, Poe portrays both as having powerfully analytical minds that can creatively adapt to any situation, mathematicians and poets both. Like Dupin, Minister D–– possesses a double nature. G–– describes him as a man who “dares all things, those unbecoming as well as those becoming a man,” a contradictory description that hints at an unscrupulous but also magnetic personality. The fact that Minister D–– apparently dares all things hints at what distinguishes him from Dupin, that he has no boundaries to his actions. Dupin calls him “an unprincipled man of genius,” someone who would use his analytical powers without the limitations of ethics or principles. His brazen theft of the royal lady’s letter for the purpose of blackmail confirms Dupin’s assessment. In order to successfully carry off this plan, Minister D–– had to rely on a keen understanding of the psychology of those involved, reading the room with analytic precision. Dupin pulls off the same trick as Minister D––, switching the letter for a counterfeit, but in service of his political principles.
