Talk:The Purloined Letter

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I think Sir Arther C Doyale re-did this story could someone help?

In answer to that question, I think it could be argued that Conan Doyle's A Scandal in Bohemia, the first story on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is a rewrite of The Purloined Letter by Poe. Actually Conan Doyle was greatly influenced by Poe's Dupin stories, and the character of the sleuth itself is greatly reflected on Sherlock Holmes. Also, there is the fact that the stories are always told by a second-person narrator, a sidekick (Dr Watson and Poe's unnamed narrator). Both involve the "purloining" of an item (Irene's photograph and the Minister's letter), blackmail, royalty, a discussion on the science of deduction, a clever play on appearances (the King's mask, disguises used by Dupin and Holmes), and a clash of intellects. Sdicht 19:26, 15 April 2005

Contents 1 Stub status 2 Mistaken interpretation 3 Plot? 4 Brothers? 5 Themes 6 Some rearranging

[edit] Stub status

Should this article remain a stub? I will change it soon, pending other's insight. Wendell 04:51, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Mistaken interpretation

I believe there's a significant mistake in the synopsis: the Prefect is referring to the Queen of France when he speaks of "the royal personage" and not a Duchess. When Dupin explains that he noticed “the ducal arms of the S—family” [1]he’s referring to the compromising letter sent to her by a certain Duke, presumably with whom she is having an extramarital affair. Remember, a seal is placed on a letter by the sender, not the recipient. Minister D disguises the purloined letter as one of his own by putting his own seal on the letter, now reverse-folded and re-addressed in a fake-feminine hand.

The ruse is that Minister D has received a letter from a lady admirer; he has contemptuously rejected her and, instead of tearing it in two, is sending it back —hence it bearing his own black wax seal.

If no one objects to this interpretation of Poe’s story (I’ll wait a few days), I’ll make the necessary corrections.--OldCommentator 15:08, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plot?

I've removed a short section called "Plot" which seemed to be just a brief abstract of the Synopsis section. Tell me if this was inappropriate. --The Famous Movie Director 10:56, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brothers?

I noticed an addition that suggests a critic offered evidence that Dupin and D-- are brothers. Anything more specific worth mentioning? Midnightdreary 02:33, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

I believe this could be in the book "Détections fictives" (published by Editions du Seuil, Paris). I haven't read the book though (seems out of print). This fact was mentioned in the preface to a paperback edition of Poe's stories. My guess would be that the main clue comes from the words Dupin writes about the brothers Atreus and Thyestes. 82.229.209.33 22:22, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

• Brothers?-so that explains how Dupin has a copy of D--s seal!

[edit] Themes

In addition to the other novelties discussed in the article, Dupin's story of the boy using psychology to win a game is an early example of what we would now call "game theory". CharlesTheBold 04:58, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm... if you have a source that links The Purloined Letter to "game theory," definitely add it in! --Midnightdreary 14:03, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some rearranging

I did some rearranging but not sure I'm fully convinced it worked. A lot of information under "Literary significance and criticism" was more like "Analysis," so I created that section and did some rearranging. I'll (hopefully) expand this section. If anyone has any sources, the leftover "Literary significance and criticism" should really include critical responses to the story. I'll see if I can find some. --Midnightdreary 22:07, 6 September 2007 (UTC)