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The Murders in the Rue Morgue

by Edgar Allan Poe

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The Murders in the Rue Morgue

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The first of three of Poe’s tales involving Dupin, “THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE” is set in Paris, primarily on the fictional Rue Morgue. Poe begins the story with some observations on logical analysis by analogy to games such as chess and checkers; he continues the theme by having Dupin display his thought processes, which have the “air of intuition,” as he appears to read the narrator’s mind while they talk. This long introductory passage with its numerous allusions and obscure references prepares readers for Dupin’s solution to the murders which confound the Parisian gendarmes.

Dupin and the narrator first learn from an evening newspaper of the atrocity, the murders of Madame L’Espanaye and her daughter Camille. Newspaper accounts the next day carry depositions by acquaintances of the victims and people in the vicinity where the crime took place; these conflicting accounts and the absence of evidence lead the narrator and the police to consider the crime insolvable.

Dupin, however, places a cryptic advertisement in a newspaper after having inspected the house where the woman and her daughter died. When a sailor in search of a missing orangutan responds to the newspaper advertisement, Dupin has his solution to the murders. Then, for the benefit of the perplexed narrator, the police, and the reader, he explains the clues that led him to the solution.

Dupin’s analytic method of solving the crime has made the tale a classic in the detective-mystery genre. As the first detective in fiction, Dupin is the prototype of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.

Style and Technique

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Inasmuch as Poe uses this story to define and extend his arguments about the application of rational analysis to the whole of problem solving, whether it be draughts or whist or murder, there are long expository and often tediously constructed passages in this tale. Moreover, the characterization of Dupin as a mysterious and brilliant outsider leads Poe to dot his story with words and phrases from French and Latin and with several classical allusions. Further, the use of the first-person narrator allows the reader to know only what the narrator knows about Dupin and does not permit a view of Dupin’s psyche.

The somewhat stilted style of the expository passages in the story notwithstanding, the basic technique that Poe used has become the standard for the genre of detective fiction: the discovery of the scene of a crime; the visit to the scene by the detective; the collection of information that the police have overlooked; the discovery of the culprit as a result of the application of reason to the situation; and the final confrontation between the detective and the person or persons responsible for the crime. This pattern is now so familiar to readers that it is sometimes difficult to realize that it was Poe who created the formula less than a century and a half ago. Monsieur Dupin is the prototype of the gifted amateur detective. Arrogant, at home in the world of books and facts, he triumphs over evildoers whose machinations have stumped the best police minds.

Setting

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The narrative unfolds in Paris, France, during the mid-1800s. The gruesome murders of a woman and her daughter have left the police baffled. Auguste Dupin, a young nobleman with limited financial resources, reads about the crime in the newspapers and believes he can solve what the authorities cannot. Consequently, the story's physical setting is secondary to its psychological landscape, centered on Dupin's mind. There is minimal direct action in the plot; all details of the crime come from newspaper reports. Solving the crime involves...

(This entire section contains 112 words.)

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no physical confrontation but follows the detective story tradition of an "armchair" investigation, where the detective explains the crime based on his deductions from the clues provided.

Literary Techniques

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In the early 1840s, Poe earned significant acclaim for pioneering a genre that has only grown in popularity—the detective story, or tale of ratiocination. These stories feature an amateur detective who, through superior deductive skills, outwits criminals and surpasses the police. Stories like "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie Roget" (1842-1843) caused a stir in America upon their release. "The Purloined Letter" (1844), the third and final installment in the Dupin series, has since been extensively analyzed as a prime example of an ironic and tightly-structured plot.

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" remains the most celebrated of the three because it blends horrifying, inexplicable events with remarkable feats of deductive reasoning. The narrator, an early predecessor to Dr. Watson of the Sherlock Holmes series, meets Auguste Dupin in this story and quickly realizes Dupin possesses a dual personality—a Bi-Part soul. Dupin is both wildly imaginative and coldly analytical. The reader first witnesses Dupin's deductive prowess when he appears to read the narrator's mind by responding to thoughts the narrator had not voiced. Dupin then explains the intricate method he used to follow the narrator's thought process by observing minor details and making associations. This marks the beginning of a long tradition of fictional detectives who take great pleasure in detailing how they solve mysteries.

Literary Precedents

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Although Poe is often credited with creating the detective story and the archetype of the amateur sleuth, his character Auguste Dupin and his analytical prowess did not emerge in a vacuum. Two significant influences are Voltaire's Zadig (1748) and Eugene Francois Vidocq's Memoirs of Vidocq, Principal Agent of the French Police (1828-1829). Poe was likely familiar with Zadig's ability to deduce descriptions of the King's horse and the Queen's dog by examining tracks and hair left behind. He also references Vidocq, the first real-life detective, in "Murders of the Rue Morgue," calling him a "good guesser."

However, Poe's development of the ratiocinative story also stems from broader and more fundamental interests and sources. In several renowned critical essays, such as his 1842 review of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales (1837) and his theoretical pieces, "Philosophy of Composition" (1846) and "The Poetic Principle" (1848), Poe outlines his aesthetic theory. He argues that every detail in a literary work should contribute to the overall effect. This theory is fitting for the creator of the detective story, where every detail, no matter how minor, can be a clue to solving the central mystery.

Poe was well-versed in gothic stories, which often revolved around hidden sins and were filled with mysterious, unexplained events. Similar to detective stories, they progressed inevitably toward a resolution that clarified these enigmas. The early English gothic novel, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), with its themes of secret guilt and cryptic clues, served as a precursor to the detective genre.

For Further Reference

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Buranelli, Vincent. Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Twayne, 1961. This book serves as a fundamental introduction to Poe's works, with a primary focus on his fictional and poetic themes.

Carlson, Eric W., ed. The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1966. This collection is invaluable, featuring the most renowned and influential essays on Poe and his contributions.

Davidson, Edward H. Poe: A Critical Study. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957. Considered one of the most intellectually compelling and influential analyses of Poe, this book fostered a newfound respect for his work.

Hoffmann, Daniel. PoePoePoePoePoePoePoe. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972. While highly personal and idiosyncratic, this book offers a valuable psychological perspective on Poe's tales.

Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1941. This biography is considered the most authoritative and reliable account of Poe's life.

Thompson, G. R. Poe's Fiction: Romantic Irony in the Gothic Tales. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973. This study explores Poe's use of romantic irony in his tales to craft hoaxes and represents a novel approach to understanding his fiction.

Thomas, Dwight, and David Jackson, eds. The Poe Log. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1987. This comprehensive biographical source provides extensive documentation and notes about Poe's life, detailing events on an almost daily basis.

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