Exactly how steamy is this story?
PG
There's no sex in "The Purloined Letter." In fact, there aren't even any women in it—well, sure, the royal lady, but it's not like she ever shows up. True, there's the hint that she's having an affair (that's why we've bumped this up to PG) but even that isn't confirmed.
Of course, lack of sex hasn't stopped people from finding hidden sexual subtext—but we're pretty sure you could find hidden sexual subtext in a cereal box if you really wanted to.