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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Billy Bin Feng Huang
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.10.001
English Department of the National Chengchi University in Taiwan (R.O.C.); Shilin High School of Commerce, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
This paper aims to examine the characterizational shift of C. Auguste Dupin in Edgar Allan Poe’s detective stories. First, Poe’s detective stories were written when the Enlightenment, which emphasizes Reason, was being embedded in the fabric of American culture. Meanwhile, beneath the Enlightenment was also an undercurrent of irrationality. In Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” Dupin typifies a flat character standing for Reason/Good. However, in Poe’s “The Purloined Letter,” Dupin has been depicted as a round character; not only is he characterized a lot more vividly but also he bears striking resemblance to his opponent, Minister D. Namely, the dichotomous relationship between them has been erased, and Dupin has been portrayed more like a real person walking on the thin line between Good and Evil. Speaking of dissecting this characterizational shift of Dupin, I believe the key lies in the fact that Poe actually has taken an attitude of openness about Reason and Unreason, and that he has a way with opposing elements. In “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” Poe intends for Reason, represented by Dupin, to keep under control Unreason, represented by the criminals. In such a case, Dupin only needs to be a flat character representing Good/Reason. But in “The Purloined Letter,” Poe intends for Reason/Good and Unreason/Evil to be merged. Under such circumstances, Dupin will conveniently evolve into a round character.
(C. Auguste) Dupin, (Edgar Allan) Poe, the characterization(al shift), detective stories
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, October 2025, Vol. 15, No. 10, 737-749
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