The Purloined Letter

“For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer, might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber.”

The atmosphere of silence and wisps of smoke sets the tone for much of the story. Smoke in particular will come to symbolize Intertwined Truth and Lies, as its shifting and hazy nature suggests the elusiveness of the former.

“‘If it is any point requiring reflection,’ observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, ‘we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark.’”

This quotation not only sets the stage for darkness’s symbolism throughout the text but also gives insight into Dupin’s methods of reasoning and investigation. Essentially, what seems the most obvious or logical solution is rarely so, just as Dupin’s remark upends the conventional association of light with knowledge.

“‘That is another of your odd notions,’ said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing ‘odd’ that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of ‘oddities.’”

This is the very first quotation from the prefect, and it foreshadows the precise reason why he is unable to solve the crime. He dismisses as irrelevant anything beyond his comprehension (which, according to the narrator, is rather limited) and therefore does not grasp the relationship between Perception and Reality.