The Purloined Letter

My Thoughts

The Purloined Letter is probably my favorite short story by Edgar Allan Poe that featured C. Auguste Dupin. This story was particularly interesting to me due to the fact that it focused on the analysis of the personality of people to solve the mystery. Dupin easily solved the enigma by focusing on the behavior of the assailant, which was known in this case. He was perceived to be a fool by the police which is exactly why he outsmarted them in hiding a letter that was being used as blackmail against an aristocrat.

Dupin happened to know the perpetrator to be a very intelligent person. The police checked every nook and cranny but, alas, the letter remained hidden. Dupin visited the perpetrator under false pretense and immediately recognized the letter's location. It was crumpled up on the floor folded over the opposite way with a different stamp making it look like a useless piece of trash.

The connotation of psychological assessment necessary to solve some crimes is readily apparent. The police would never have found the letter because they couldn't correctly get into the mind of the perpetrator.

My Rating

I rate this story a 4.2 out of 5.