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The creatively analytical mind reigns supreme.
Dupin and his rival, Minister D––, have such powerful minds because of their ability to use logic creatively. Dupin notes that society at large, and the police in particular, tend to mistake simple logic for intelligence, hence why the prefect mocks Minister D–– for being a poet. However, Dupin observes that mathematical logic involves a binary yes or no that does not change based on situational quirks. Without bringing a creative understanding of the situation, brute logic is useless. Minister D–– demonstrates his ability to problem-solve creatively when he steals the royal lady’s letter. He observes the letter and intuits its significance. Noticing that another royal person (presumably the King) is present, he understands that the royal lady wants to downplay the significance of the letter as much as possible. Hence, he understands that he can make the switch in plain sight because the royal lady cannot afford to draw any attention to the letter. His creative understanding of the royal lady’s psychology in the moment allows him to make his move.
Similarly, Dupin is able to defeat Minister D–– because he can intuit how Minister D–– is likely to react. The police have successfully intuited that Minister D–– must have the letter close at hand because he needs to be able to use it, but beyond this, they lack the imagination to understand Minister D––’s mind and they default to the same type of search they would employ in any similar situation. Dupin, however, knows Minister D–– understands how the police operate, and therefore is unlikely to hide the letter in a stereotypically clever hiding spot. Thus, when he searches Minister D––’s apartment, he is able to do so right in front of Minister D––’s face because he knows the letter must be unexpectedly hidden in plain sight. Dupin thus applies his logic creatively, jumping to the unexpected in a manner guided by his deductions.
Your deeds will come back to you.
Throughout “The Purloined Letter,” characters are forced to reckon with the consequences of their actions. The prefect, although ostensibly asking Dupin for his help, is rude to him. He calls Dupin’s ideas strange and loses his patience with Dupin when he suggests the solution might be plain. In response, Dupin, upon finding the letter, toys with the prefect, as if gloating that his strange ideas in fact led him to find the letter before the police. Instead of allowing Minister D–– to know he’s been bested right away, Dupin replaces the letter with a convincing fake, which would force Minister D–– to incriminate himself with his own actions. This punishment forces Minister D–– to endure the same political danger that he has forced the royal lady into. Finally, Dupin reveals that he particularly wants Minister D–– to face harsh consequences because years ago Minister D–– did him “an evil turn,” and Dupin considers this revenge.
This pattern of consequences demonstrates the logical universe “The Purloined Letter” and the other Dupin stories operate within. As the seeds of the detective genre, Poe’s Dupin stories also originate the genre’s treatment of injustice, violence, and societal unrest. Dupin’s logic inevitably puts things to right. Although Dupin acknowledges similarities between his mind and Minister D––’s, he’s quick to call Minister D–– a monster because he applies his genius with no principles. Dupin also states that he fears for his safety when leaving Minister D––’s apartment, portraying him as violent on top of being a conniving political blackmailer. Dupin further emphasizes that his political sympathies lie with the royal lady, and as we are meant to admire Dupin, his loyalty to her thus implies the reader, too, is meant to wish her out of danger. These factors, even before Dupin mentions his personal grudge against Minister D––, establish that within the world of the story, Minister D–– deserves what will surely be a painful downfall.
Crime is a kind of puzzle that can be solved.
Poe’s Dupin stories establish a way of exploring crime as a kind of puzzle that can be solved by figuring out how all the pieces of evidence fit together, an approach that would influence subsequent detective novels. As such, in “The Purloined Letter,” Dupin enters Minister D—’s apartment already knowing that the letter must be there because he has already pieced together the facts of the case. He takes the information the prefect has given him and combines it with his understanding of Minister D–– to form a complete picture. The police, when conducting an investigation, attempt to solve the crime by brute force, as they look everywhere without having considered all the known facts of the situation. Although their investigation uses up-to-date scientific techniques, such as a microscope (magnifying glass) and grid search, their advanced techniques applied without methodically piecing together the facts amount to nothing.
Dupin tends to have an almost blithe attitude toward his cases because he treats them as a game or logic puzzle. On the prefect’s second visit, Dupin teases him about the reward money as if he were discussing the prize in a contest. In explaining how he figures out Minister D––’s strategy for hiding the letter, Dupin also evokes a schoolyard number guessing game, evens and odds, which ostensibly seems irrelevant and almost disrespectful. However, as Dupin reveals about this game, success at guessing whether a number is even or odd requires an astute ability to read one’s opponent, as all great strategists have throughout history. Similarly, Dupin approaching the case of the purloined letter with a game-like mentality—a desire to outwit Minister D–– before the police can—is how he is able to succeed. He looks at the particulars surrounding the case of the letter, piecing together the knowns, before he makes his move.
