The Purloined Letter Themes
Cunning and Cleverness
Are you smarter than a fictional Parisian detective from the early 1800s? If we're talking about Dupin, probably not. "The Purloined Letter" isn't so much a heart-pounding, nail-biting suspense sto...
Lies and Deceit
The truth is buried so far down in "The Purloined Letter" that you'd need a backhoe to unearth it. Everyone in the story weaves deceptions: the royal lady, D—, G— (his little trick with the mug...
Versions of Reality
What if the letter never makes it back to the royal lady? What if G— actually wants the letter for his own nefarious purposes? What if the narrator is lying to us? What if nothing's real? "The Pu...
Power
If you've ever frantically hit "undo send" after shooting off an email, you know powerful an incriminating letter—or text, or email—can be. In "The Purloined Letter," whoever has the words has...
Rules and Order
In "The Purloined Letter," Poe brings law enforcement front and center. But maybe "law enforcement" is too strong of a phrase; maybe it's more like "law-breaking enabler." After all, the story seem...