Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of English Language and Literature

Course: Short story genre
Professor: mr.sc. Irena Grubica
Student: Dajana Novak

ESSAY
Comparison: E. A. Poes The Purloined Letter and Sir A. Conan Doyles
A Scandal in Bohemia

Rijeka, June 22, 2014

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 October 7, 1849) was an American
magazine editor, a poet, a short story writer, a critic, and a lecturer. He is important
because he introduced the British horror story (the Gothic genre) to American
literature, along with the detective story, science fiction, and literary criticism. 1 The
tragic circumstances of his life had a great influence on his work, for example, his
mother died of tuberculosis and he had a troublesome relationship with the father of
the family which adopted him. Poe even spent some time in the military before
entering the magazine industry. In 1835, he became the editor of the Southern
Literary Messenger. That magazine established him as a leading and controversial
literary critic. Other than that, Poes name has become the synonymous with
macabre tales (like The Tell-Tale Heart), but his probably most famous work is his
poem The Raven which made him internationally famous in 1845. Poe introduced in
some of the magazines he wrote for a new form of short fiction, called the detective
story. Even though the word detective did not exist in English language at the time,
the genre had become fundamental mode of the twentieth-century literature and film. 2
Poes detective stories evolved around his main character, the Parisian crime solver
C. Auguste Dupin. His detective story follows naturally from the interest in puzzles,
word games, and secret codes, which Poe loved to present and decode in the pages
of the Messenger to dazzle his readers.3 Dupin and his techniques influenced later
Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes.

1 SparkNote on Poes Short Stories.

2 SparkNote on Poes Short Stories.
3 SparkNote on Poes Short Stories.

One of Poes tales starring C. Auguste Dupin is The Purloined Letter which first
appeared in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 (1844). Basically, the story talks
about a stolen letter which was stolen from royal apartments and is important
because it could compromise the member of a royal family if fallen into the wrong
hands. The main characters are the narrator, C. Auguste Dupin, Monsieur G. the
prefect of Parisian police and Minister D. (government officer) who stole the letter.
Moniseur G. comes to Dupin asking for help because his police officers are unable to
find the letter and he even offers him a reward (50 000 francs). One of the
characteristics which Poe uses is that he turns away from action toward intellectual
analysis, and he also focuses on the relationship between the Parisian police and
Dupin. Parisian police represents the ineffectual established order and Dupin stands
for the savy private eye. Unlike the other Poes short stories which are full of blood
and dismembered, severed bodies here we have a bloodless, inanimate stolen letter
in the center of a story.4 Poe actually moves away from violence and action by
associating Dupins intelligence with his reflectiveness and his radical theories about
the mind. There are no constant action stories, but instead the narrator and Dupin are
sitting in Dupins library and discussing ideas. Tales actions relay on flashbacks and
the narrative is told through dispassionate analysis. Parisian police is unrefined and
unintellectual compared to Dupin, and the Prefect is simultaneously the most active
and the most reflective character in the story. Dupin actually makes critique of the
made of investigation employed by the police as a whole, because the police cannot
think outside their own standard procedures. Also, police is unable to place
themselves in the minds of those who actually commit crimes, hence they search the
entire place in all the places they would hide the letter but forget to look in the most
4SparkNote on Poes Short Stories.

obvious places. Dupin on the other hand is thinking like someone else and thats why
the Prefect comes to him asking for help. Dupin is able to inhabit the consciousness
of the criminal and he doesnt use fancy psychological theories, rather he imitates the
train of thought of his opponent. He has sworn that he will get back to the Minister,
and thats why he is actually motivated by revenge and thereby he sees his own deed
as being morally justified.5 Dupin is specific because he can think outside
conventional police methods, he uses distance from traditional law enforcement to
explore new ways of solving crimes and thats why he is good at what he does.
Parisian police uses stale and unoriginal methods of analysis and they are easily
distracted by specific facts of the crime and thats why they are unable to provide an
objective standpoint from which to investigate. Dupin also distances himself from the
emotional aspects of the scenes violence, unlike the police which can be seen in
other Poes stories like Murders in the Rue Morgue. He sees the crime scene as a
site of calculation and also he ignores politics which really reveals his capacity for
revenge. Dupin cunningly analyzes the external facts of the crime, but is also
motivated by his hunger for revenge as I previously mentioned. He is an independent
detective, meaning that his mode of investigation thrives on intuition and personal
cunning, which cannot be institutionalized in a traditional police force. The narrator
represents a loyal friend to Dupin and he is less brilliant, but at times perhaps more
rational and analytical than Dupin. With him, Poe beings the tradition of the chronicler
of the famous detectives exploits. The narrator often mediates between reader and
detective, presenting the information to the reader, while still allowing the detective to
keep certain information and interpretation to himself. To conclude, elements which
Poe introduces as crucial for a story to be a detective story are the eccentric (but
5 SparkNote on Poes Short Stories. Web.

brilliant) detective who has a certain disdain, or contempt for the police and their
methods, the sidekick, or listener, or worker for the clever detective, the simple clues,
the stupidity or ineptitude of the police, the resentment of the police for the amateurs
interference and simple but careful solution of the problem through logic and
intuition.6

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is probably one of the authors who are responsible for
popularizing detective short stories in the 19th century. His stories revolve around the
character of Sherlock Holmes who, to this day, remains one of the most popular
detectives of all time. E. A. Poe might be the one who invented the detective story,
but it way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who perfected it when he created the character of
Sherlock Holmes.7 One of his stories that bears great similarities to Poes The
Purloined Letter is A Scandal in Bohemia. This story is part of a series which
describe the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his companion doctor John Watson.
It is a typical detective story which begins with a protagonist who is faced with a
mostly mundane incident or the report of an incident that he begins to investigate. 8 In
this case, the King of Bohemia comes to Sherlocks apartment in Baker Street 221b
wearing a disguise and asking him for help and full discretion. Sherlock, being the
genius detective he is, knew immediately who this person was. Here we find another
similarity to Poes story, because this king came to Sherlock because one woman,
Irene Adler, has stolen a photograph which proved that this king was acquainted with
6 Cliffnotes about Poes short stories. Web.
7 Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Best of Sherlock Holmes. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth
Editions, 2009. Print.
8 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)

her and quite intimate and it was a hazard to his future marriage with the daughter of
the King of Scandinavia.9 Sherlock is just like Dupin, an extraordinary detective who
uses unusual techniques in his investigations. For example, he is known for his great
disguising skills. In this story, he disguises himself as a drunken-looking groom so he
could find out more about Irene Adler and her business. Another peculiar thing about
him is also his observing skill. He can find and conclude a lot of things from only a
small detail, or a piece of information unlike the ordinary people. There is one
famous quote that supports this thesis: You have not observed. And yet you have
seen. In this case, the representative of the ordinary person is his close friend John
Watson, which is again a parallel to the narrator in Poes story. Another parallel is that
the mystery is first revealed at Holmess apartment at Baker Street with the arrival of
the client. Holmes demonstrates his powers, to the amazement of the client, by
revealing something about the client that he has not yet been told (recognizing him).
By this means, Holmes also gains the confidence and respect of his employer. Next,
both Holmes and Watson journey at least once to another location; there Holmes
acts mysteriously, but this time he does not explain. Finally, Holmes, Watson, and the
other principals gather for a revelation scene, in which both the mystery and
Holmess method are explained.10 This is basically the structure of a typical Sherlock
Holmes short story. The role of John Watson was also that he was a chronicler of
their adventures, an element as I already mentioned introduced by E. A. Poe.
Sometimes, Holmes asked him for his input or even taught him his methods of
deducing, because he knew that John was an intelligent man. Watson clearly
worships Holmes and sees him as a genius. The reader is left to guess how reliable
9 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)
10http://www.enotes.com/topics/scandal-bohemia Web.

Watson is as a narrator, however, and how much they can always trust what he says.
Despite all that, Holmes often criticizes Watson and acts coldly towards him but then
at other moments seems to betray his affection.11 Watson is a reliable, sensible and
stockier figure. He was even considered as the most representative Englishmen of
his period by some critics. He is always ready to neglect his health, his wife, his
medical practice and his personal safety at Holmess behest, while Poes narrator is a
pretty static character and isnt actively involved in the story. Watson accepts the
brilliance of Sherlock Holmes without trying to emulate him and we also have to take
into account that all our knowledge (as readers) of Holmes comes from him. 12
Readers know that Holmes has strange habits, brilliant analytical brain (similar to
Dupins mathematical perception of the world) and makes astounding deductions and
also manages a wide reading knowledge. But he has one flaw and thats his
infamous drug habit which only adds to his bohemianism, flamboyancy and adds
further colour and depth to Holmess persona. Here we can see that unlike Poe, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle has a firmer control of both plot and character.13 Sherlock
Holmes is basically a character that is both insufferable and likeable. He is a man
immune from ordinary human weaknesses and feelings (similar to Poes Dupin who
doesnt let emotions get in the way of his investigations). Holmes rejects passion or
any strong emotion towards women, yet he admires Irene Adler because she proved
his equal in quickness of wit and decisiveness of action, a read in this story. One
major difference between Poes Dupin and Conan Doyles Holmes is that Dupin is
more an armchair detective, meaning that he sits and thinks and puts himself in the
11 Essay on Sherlock Holmes. Web.
12 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)
13 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)

mind of a criminal, while Holmes is a man of action and he goes to great lengths in
his investigations often putting himself or the people around him (John Watson, his
wife, Mrs. Hudson) in danger.14 Another similarity between Poes story and Conan
Doyles story is that they both written in sort of sequences. Poes Dupin appears in
two more stories where he also investigates crimes, but Conan Doyles Holmes
appears in a larger number of stories mostly because the author was trying to make
some money and wrote short stories on a regular basis. The difference is that while
Dupin stays the same character with no development or no physical description,
Holmes is a more elaborated character. While reading through the stories, you get to
know him a lot better, the reader learns about his habits and sometimes about his
past, about his brother Mycroft who had a great impact on Sherlocks personality and
the reader finds out why he is exactly the way he is. Also, his character develops
throughout the stories and some of the villains appear more than one time, so we get
a complete story. At some point, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even killed off his main
character and his archenemy Moriarty, but brought him back because Sherlock
Holmes was a popular character while Conan Doyle was still alive. 15
Finally, the way Dupin and Holmes solved the mystery in their investigations is
another interesting thing. Dupin, as I already mentioned, puts himself in the mind of a
criminal because he is able to think like him, he is able to recreate his stream of
thoughts and thats why he was able to found the famous letter and replace it with a
fake one without being noticed.16 Holmes, on the other hand, being the man of action

14 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)

15 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)
16 SparkNote on Poes Short Stories. Web.

he is and enjoying the rush of adrenaline while conducting investigations, often

employs many assistants (whether John Watson or homeless people on the streets
of London, or random children, or whomever could be useful to him). In this particular
story, Holmes creates a diversion outside of Irene Adlers house and spies on her to
see where she would rush because he knew how important that photograph is to her
and that she would try to save it. Although he wasnt able to retrieve the photograph
because Irene Adler wasnt nave either and left London the next day (along with the
photo), he was impressed by her deduction skills and her wits. There is a quote that
perfectly sums up his feelings towards her: To Sherlock Holmes she is always the
woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eye she
eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion
akin love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly were abhorrent to his
cold, precise but admirably balanced mind.17
To conclude, Edgar Allan Poe was indeed the forerunner of detective story genre and
probably invented it even, but it was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who perfected it and set
the rules for writing such stories. By creating Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle created a permanent place for himself in the worlds literature. He also created
a new way of telling a story that has been the basis of countless works by other
authors since. By reading any of the Sherlock Holmes stories you will not only be
enjoying a series of tales told well but also exploring a part of the foundation of
modern literature.18

17 Conan Doyle, Arthur. (f. 7)

18 Essay on Sherlock Holmes. Web.

SOURCES
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Best of Sherlock Holmes. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth

Editions, 2009. Print.

SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on Poes Short Stories. SparkNotes.com.

SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 20 Jun. 2014.

The Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
http://www.sshf.com/encyclopedia/index.php/A_Scandal_in_Bohemia#Charact

ers Web. 20 Jun. 2014

Baker Street Wikia. http://bakerstreet.wikia.com/wiki/A_Scandal_in_Bohemia

Web. 20 Jun. 2014

Cliffnotes about Poes short stories.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/p/poes-short-stories/about-poes-short-

stories Web. 20 Jun.2014

Essay on Sherlock Holmes. http://marklord.info/great-writers-classicliterature/arthur-conan-doyle/essay-on-sherlock-holmes/ Web. 20 Jun.2014