The Letters
There are actually three letters in "The Purloined Letter," though only one of them is purloined. The other two are used to purloin. The letter that gets purloined is the one that the mystery perso...
The Check
The check, or cheque, to use Poe's spelling, that G— writes to Dupin (86-87) symbolically shows that the letter has become an item for sale in the marketplace. We don't know exactly what it was b...
Games
It was D— with the letter in the boudoir; and then it's Dupin with the letter in the apartment. See? "The Purloined Letter" is just like a game of Clue, only without the murder. Okay, so it was p...
Pipes and Smoke
At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18—, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin […]. For one hour...
The Green Spectacles
Let's play around here. Green is often associated with nature, and Dupin definitely thinks G—'s way of searching for the letter is highly unnatural. Plus, G— and his force sound more like machi...
The Blue Ribbon
Dupin, we admit, is really good at figuring things out. He's also good at criticizing G—. He makes a big deal about how flawed G—'s methods are. He asks the narrator, "Do you not see he has tak...
G—'s Keys
"I have keys, as you know, with which I can open any chamber or cabinet in Paris" (36). Whoa. That's G— the "prefect" (head of the police) talking. Never mind suspending habeus corpus; this is s...