Poe s The Purloined Letter and Doyle s A Scandal in Bohemia : More Alike than Different?

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1 Poe s The Purloined Letter and Doyle s A Scandal in Bohemia : More Alike than Different? by Beverly J. Taylor Edgar Allan Poe initiated the genre of detective fiction with his publication of the C. Auguste Dupin stories, beginning in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle picked up the reins after Poe s death when he published the first Sherlock Holmes novel in Natalka Freeland notes, Detective stories begin at the end of the plots which they narrate, therefore making detective stories by nature less original than other genres (123). Despite this inherent lack of originality, however, both Poe and Doyle incorporate intelligence, logic, suspense, and interesting characterization into their detective fiction. This article compares and contrasts Poe s The Purloined Letter to Doyle s A Scandal in Bohemia and notes how the two stories are alike as well as different. The comparison and contrast of the two stories focuses specifically on the detectives themselves, their sidekicks (the unnamed narrator in The Purloined Letter and Dr. Watson in A Scandal in Bohemia ), the plot lines, the use of logic, the use of suspense, and the role of women in both stories. In The Purloined Letter, Poe provides the reader with a brilliant protagonist in the detective C. Auguste Dupin, who analyzes the situation surrounding the missing letter to determine the best way to get the letter back to its rightful owner. First, Dupin gathers information from the incompetent Prefect to see what has already been done to find the letter. Dupin learns from the Prefect that Minister D, who stole the letter, has been searched twice and the Minister s home has also been thoroughly searched (1578,79). Dupin realizes then that he must use psychological reasoning to put himself in the Minister s place, think as the Minister thinks, and resolve the mystery of the whereabouts of the letter. He begins discussion of this process by speaking of a boy s game where even and odd marbles held by one boy are guessed by others. When Dupin asks a specific child how he came to be so successful at the game, the child answers, When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how wicked is any one, or what are his thoughts at the moment, I fashion the expression of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression of his, and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise in my mind or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression (1582). Dupin shows how this child s insight leads to Dupin s own analysis of mathematical and poetic thought processes and his conclusion that the Minister is both a mathematician and a poet. Dupin s knowledge of the Minister s thought processes helps Dupin to figure out the likely location of the letter, as well as a clever plan to retrieve it ( ). Freeland

2 notes, The dangerous recipe for successful detection is to lose oneself in an identification with the perpetrator of the crime which is just what Dupin does (125). Freeland is saying that Dupin s ability to think like the Minister causes him to become more like the Minister. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Doyle gives the reader an equally intelligent, if more complex (Holmes is a narcotics user) protagonist in Sherlock Holmes. Gerhard van der Linde notes that before Holmes can ascertain the truth, he becomes emotionally detached from the case (158). This can be seen in A Scandal in Bohemia when Watson states, Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his (1448). Although Holmes obviously greatly admires Irene Adler, he does not permit himself to develop any sort of attachment, only a distant yet deep admiration. In addition, Holmes does not focus on character analysis and psychology as much as Dupin does. Instead, Holmes looks more closely at each detail surrounding the case of the missing photograph. Hunter Ballew notes, although Sherlock Holmes was noted for his brilliant deductive power, which is crucial to mathematics, a less well known facet of his prodigious skills was how he positioned himself to make deductions in the first place. Holmes was a careful observer and a thorough examiner of details (596). This close attention to detail begins in A Scandal in Bohemia as soon as Dr. Watson enters Sherlock Holmes s Baker St. abode when Holmes describes in great detail how he deduces that Watson again practices medicine, gets wet often, and employs an incompetent female servant (1449). When Watson remarks on Holmes shrewd powers of deduction and says, [And yet] I believe my eyes are as good as yours (1449), Holmes replies, You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear (1449). Holmes then goes on to ask Watson how many steps there are from the hall to the room, which Watson cannot answer but Holmes can, thereby proving his point (1449). Holmes observes much more closely and astutely than Watson does even when both men receive the same information. James R. Webb notes that in addition to noticing details, Sherlock Holmes also distinguishes important from unimportant facts (34). Holmes displays this skill when he determines that Mr. Godfrey Norton is quite vital to the case and when he tries to find out what Norton s relationship is with Miss Adler. As Holmes ponders this, he sees first Norton and then Miss Adler rushing off from her home and follows them to a church, where he witnesses their marriage (1455, 56). Had Holmes been less clever in distinguishing the significant from the insignificant, he might never have realized the importance of Godfrey Norton and his relationship with Miss Adler to ensuring a positive resolution of the case. In both The Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia, the detectives use sidekicks, or assistants, as sounding boards while working to solve the mysteries. In The Purloined Letter, the sidekick is the unnamed narrator, while in A Scandal in Bohemia, the sidekick is Dr. Watson. The sidekick characters in both stories serve partly as showcases for their detective friends brilliant resolution of the cases. This is possible because

3 neither the unnamed narrator in The Purloined Letter nor Dr. Watson in A Scandal in Bohemia come close to matching the deductive powers of Dupin or Holmes. In The Purloined Letter, the unnamed narrator also serves the purpose of introducing questions aloud that the reader might ask in his own mind. For example, when the Prefect tells about the circumstances surrounding the purloined letter, the narrator asks if it is possible, that although the letter may be in possession of the minister, as it unquestionably is, he may have concealed it elsewhere than upon his own premises? (1578). This hypothesis draws the reader into the story by causing the reader to consider different possible locations of the letter. The narrator also tells the Prefect, Suppose you detail [said I] the particulars of your search (1579). This provides the Prefect with the opportunity to describe the search of Minister D s quarters in detail. These statements and others made by the narrator throughout the story encourage the reader to ponder possible solutions to the mystery before the real solution is given. On the other hand, in A Scandal in Bohemia, Dr. Watson, who is also the narrator, serves more as a prop in the drama that unfolds than as a nudge to the reader to think about possible solutions. Gerhard van der Linde says, Watson, the narrator, acts as a foil for Holmes s intellectual giftedness (157). Watson does narrate the story, but he does not ask interesting questions or make interesting statements regarding the possible outcome. Instead, Watson primarily tells the reader what Sherlock Holmes says and he responds to statements that Holmes makes to him. For instance, when Holmes tells Dr. Watson that he wants his assistance that evening, instead of Watson asking questions right away or venturing forth with opinions of his own, he says, I shall be delighted (1457). Only when Holmes begins outlining the risks of the plan for that evening does Watson ask, But what is it you wish? (1457). In general, Watson defers to Holmes and seems content with the scraps of information that Holmes feeds him on a need-to-know basis. The plots of The Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia share many similarities, yet they also retain differences. Both of the stories are detective stories. Both stories feature a brilliant detective as the main character and a narrator as the main detective s helper. Both stories concern a missing item, known to be in the possession of a particular person who is known to the reader. In The Purloined Letter, the reader knows from almost the beginning that Minister D stole the purloined letter (1577). The mystery to be solved is the whereabouts of the letter. In A Scandal in Bohemia, the reader quickly learns that a compromising photograph is missing and that Miss Adler possesses the photograph (1453). The mystery to be solved is the whereabouts of the photograph. In each story, the person possessing the missing item is stopped and searched at least twice and their homes are searched (1578, 1453).

4 In both stories, the protagonist uses logic to gather and interpret data to solve the case. In The Purloined Letter Dupin displays the use of logic throughout the story but most obviously when he discusses the faulty logic that the Prefect uses to [suppose] that the Minister is a fool, because he has acquired renown as a poet. All fools are poets; this the prefect feels; and he is merely guilty of a non distributio medii [an error in logic that does not permit the possibility that some poets are not fools] in thence inferring that all poets are fools (1583). Dupin is saying here that the Prefect cannot put himself into the shoes of the Minister and think as the Minister does because the Prefect uses faulty logic to reach his conclusion that the Minister thinks like a Poet. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Holmes uses logic throughout the story to go beyond the outward appearance of matters to see the real details beneath. For instance, Holmes takes evidence from the letter from the nobleman and concludes, based on lettering embedded in the paper and the unusual sentence patterns, that the notepaper comes from Bohemia and that a German wrote the letter (1450). He further logically concludes that the visitor is none other than the King of Bohemia because of the self-acknowledged nobleman s ornate clothing and authoritative manner (1451, 52). The reader knows all along what items are missing and who has them in both The Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia, yet the stories remain suspenseful. This is the essential paradox of both stories. The Purloined Letter maintains suspense through the lack of information given to the reader about the letter itself, its author, and the woman it was sent to (presumably the Queen). Suspense is also maintained through the great detail the Prefect gives regarding the search for the purloined letter, because it makes the reader wonder where the letter can possibly be (1579, 80). The most suspenseful moment in the story occurs, however, when Dupin promises to produce the letter once the Prefect gives him a check for the agreed-upon amount of money (1581). This creates a perfect drum roll moment. When Dupin unlocks his desk and gives the Prefect the purloined letter, both the unnamed narrator and the Prefect are speechless (1581). A Scandal in Bohemia maintains suspense that begins in the very first sentence when Dr. Watson tells the reader, To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman (1448). The reader immediately wonders who she is and why she is so special. Suspense continues as Holmes uses details to deduce who sent the letter to him. Another hang-glider moment in the story takes place when first Godfrey Norton then Irene Adler dash off to the church to be married, much to Holmes s surprise. The most suspenseful moment in the story occurs, however, when Sherlock Holmes, disguised, pretends to be hurt in the street, gains access to her home, and makes Irene Adler reveal the whereabouts of the photograph after his hired men make a disturbance in the street (1460). The characters who are most affected by the outcome in both The Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia are women. Partly for this reason, the roles of the women in the two stories are extremely important.

5 In The Purloined Letter, it is a woman, unnamed but presumably the Queen, whose letter has been stolen. She does not have a strong presence in the story, however, because she says nothing when the letter is taken although she witnesses it when it happens. As Cynthia S. Jordan says, the Queen [who] sees her letter stolen before her very eyes cannot speak to save herself for fear of jeopardizing her position with the King, who fails to understand the crime taking place (3). She is afraid because an unnamed person, presumably the King, is also in the room and she does not want him to discover the contents of the letter (1577). The contents are never revealed, but the implication is made that the Queen has an unnamed lover. Once the letter has been returned to her, however, the Queen s newfound power is revealed in the story. Dupin says, For eighteen months the minister has had her in his power. She has now him in hers since, being unaware that the letter is not in his possession, he will proceed with his exactions as if it was. Thus will he inevitably commit himself, at once, to his political destruction (1588). In other words, the Minister will think that he still has the letter and take the same actions he had planned to take when he did possess the letter. The Queen now has the power of knowledge on her side. In A Scandal in Bohemia, it is a woman who possesses the photograph in question and a woman that Holmes must try to defeat. The photograph shows the King of Bohemia and Miss Irene Adler together sometime in the past and now Miss Adler refuses to give the compromising photo to the King (1453). Unlike the Queen in The Purloined Letter, however, Irene Adler shows consistent strength, determination, and character throughout the story by the way she conducts her personal life and her resolution to keep the photograph as a safeguard. She also shows great intelligence when she ascertains Sherlock Holmes came into her home and caused her to give away the whereabouts of the photograph. In return, she dresses herself up like a boy, follows him home, and tells him good night, to let him know that she is aware of his deception (1459,60). Joseph A. Kestner notes, Not only is Holmes defeated, but the manifestation of this defeat is the woman s transgressive act of cross-dressing (86). In other words, not only does Irene Adler outsmart Holmes in this instance, but also she does it as aggressively as a man does (by wearing trousers herself). Through careful comparison and contrast, similarities and differences between the detective short stories The Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia emerge. The two detectives themselves, C. Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes, share common traits of logical reasoning and close scrutiny of the data to solve their cases. The two sidekicks, the unnamed narrator and Dr. Watson, both serve to highlight the two detectives brilliant deductions. Both stories involve similar plot lines, yet differences also occur. Both stories rely on logic to reach successful outcomes. Both stories use suspense in masterful, engaging ways that differ from one another. Moreover, in both stories, women ultimately emerge triumphant, through justice (the Queen) or tenacity and intelligence (Irene Adler). The

6 Purloined Letter and A Scandal in Bohemia remain great classics in the genre of detective fiction and they set the standard for stories yet to come. Works Cited Ballew, Hunter. Sherlock Holmes, Master Problem Solver. The Mathematics Teacher (1994) Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. A Scandal in Bohemia. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol. 2B: The Victorian Age. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Longman-Addison-Wesley, Freeland, Natalka. One of an Infinite Series of Mistakes: Mystery, Influence, and Edgar Allan Poe. ATQ (1996) Jordan, Cynthia S. Poe s Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story. American Literature. Vol. 59. (1987) Kestner, Joseph A. Real Men: Construction of Masculinity in the Sherlock Holmes Narratives. Studies in the Literary Imagination (1996) Poe, Edgar Allan. The Purloined Letter. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: th Edition. Vol B. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton van der Linde, Gerhard. Shaped in the Image of Reason: The World According to Sherlock. Diogenes. No (1996)