Jump to content

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Midnightdreary (talk | contribs) at 21:45, 26 November 2007 (→‎Literary significance and impact: Moved info from Inspiration section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," 1895.
AuthorEdgar Allan Poe
LanguageEnglish
GenreDetective fiction
Publication date
April 1841
Publication placeUnited States United States
Media typePrint (Magazine)

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. Today, it is considered the first detective story.[1][2] Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination."[1]

C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who, upon learning of the brutal murder of two women in that city, decides to solve the mystery. Numerous witnesses are quoted in the newspaper as having heard a suspect, though the witnesses each think it was a different language. At the murder scene, Dupin finds a suspicious hair that does not appear to be human. He places an advertisement in the newspaper asking if anyone has lost an "Ourang-Outang." When he visits the sailor that answers the ad, he explains how he determined that the animal is the actual murderer in the Rue Morgue.

As the first true detective in fiction, the Dupin character established many literary devices which would be used in future fictional detectives including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Many later characters, for example, follow Poe's model of the brilliant detective, his personal friend who serves as narrator, and the final revelation being presented before the reasoning that leads up to it. Dupin himself reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter."

Plot summary

The story surrounds a baffling double murder where Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter are brutally murdered in the Rue Morgue, a street in Paris. Newspaper accounts of the murder reveal that the mother's throat is so badly cut that her head is barely attached and the daughter, after being strangled, has been violently stuffed into the chimney. The murder occurs in a seemingly inaccessible room on the fourth floor that is locked from the inside. Neighbors who hear the murder give very contradictory accounts, each claiming they hear the murderer speaking a different language including French and Spanish. The speech is unclear, they say, and they admit to not knowing the language they are claiming to have heard. Dupin and his friend, the unnamed narrator of the story, both living in relative isolation and venture outside only at night, read these newspaper accounts. When a man named Adolphe Le Bon has been imprisoned with no evidence exists pointing to his guilt, Dupin is so intrigued that he offers his services to "G--," the prefect of police.

Because none of the witnesses can agree on the language the murderer spoke, he assumes they were not hearing a human voice at all. He finds a hair at the scene of the murder that is quite unusual; "this is no human hair," he concludes. Dupin decides to put an advertisement in the newspaper asking if anyone has lost an "Ourang-Outang." The ad is answered by a sailor who comes to Dupin at his home. The sailor offers a reward for the orangutan's return; Dupin asks for all the information the sailor has about the murders in the Rue Morgue. The sailor reveals he had a wild orangutan whose companion had recently died. The animal had escaped and stolen the sailor's shaving straight razor. When he pursued the orangutan, it escaped by scaling a wall and climbing up a lightning rod, entering the apartment in the Rue Morgue through a window.

Once in the room, the surprised Madame L'Espanaye could not defend herself as the orangutan attempted to shave her in imitation of the sailor's daily routine. The bloody deed incited it to fury and he squeezed the daughter's throat until she died. Suddenly feeling guilty, it attempted to hide the body by stuffing it into the chimney. The sailor, aware of the "murder," panicked himself and ran away from the scene, allowing the orangutan to escape.

The prefect of police, upon hearing this story, sarcastically mentions that people should mind their own business. Dupin responds that G-- is "too cunning to be profound."

Analysis

Dupin is not actually a professional detective; he decides to investigate the murders in the Rue Morgue for his personal amusement. He also has a desire for truth and to prove a falsely accused man of his innocence. His interests, then, are not financial and he even denies a monetary reward from the owner of the orangutan.[3] The revelation of the actual murderer essentially removes the crime, as neither the orangutan nor its owner can be held morally responsible.[4]

Dupin's method emphasizes the importance of reading and the written word. He is initially interested in the mystery from the newspaper accounts and learns about orangutans from a written account by "Culvier." This methods also engages the reader, who follows along by reading the clues himself.[5]

Poe wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" at a time when crime was at the forefront in people's minds due to urban development. London had recently established its first professional police force and American cities were beginning to focus on scientific police work as newspapers heavily reported about bloody murders and criminal trials.[1] Similarly, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" establishes an urban theme which will be reused several times in Poe's fiction, in particular "The Man of the Crowd," likely inspired by Poe's time living in Philadelphia.[6]

The tale has an underlying metaphor for the battle of brains vs. brawn. Physical strength, depicted as the orangutan as well as its owner, stand only for violence: the orangutan is itself a murderer, while its owner admits he has abused the animal with a whip. The analyst's brainpower overcomes their violence, however.[7] The story also contains Poe's often-used theme of the death of a beautiful woman, which he called the "most poetical topic in the world."[8][9]

Literary significance and impact

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" had a strong impact which changed the history of literature,[2] or, if nothing else, establishes a new genre. Acknowledged as the first detective fiction story, the character of Dupin became the prototype for many future fictional detectives, including Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie. The genre is distinctive from a general mystery story in that the focus is on analysis.[10] The story also established many tropes that would become common elements in mystery fiction: the eccentric but brilliant detective, the bumbling constabulary, the first-person narration by a close personal friend. Poe also portrays the police in an unsympathetic manner as a sort of foil to the detective.[11] Poe also initiates the storytelling device where the detective announces his solution and then explains the reasoning leading up to it.[12] It is also the first locked room mystery.[13]

Upon its release, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and its author were praised for the creation of a new profound novelty.[9] The Pennsylvania Inquirer printed that "it proves Mr Poe to be a man of genius... with an inventive power and skill, of which we know no parallel."[13] Poe, however, downplayed his achievement: "Where is the ingenuity in unraveling a web which you yourself... have woven for the express purpose of unraveling?"[6]

Inspiration

The word "detective" did not exist at the time Poe wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."[9] Even in fiction, Poe had no precedent for his "tale of ratiocination." The closest example is Voltaire's Zadig (1748), with a main character who performs similar feats of analysis.[1] Poe may also have been expanding on previous analytical works of his own including the essay on "Maelzel's Chess Player" and the comedic "Three Sundays in a Week."[13] As for the twist in the plot, Poe was likely inspired by the crowd reaction to an orangutan on display at the Masonic Hall in Philadelphia in July 1839.[2] The name of the main character may have been inspired from the "Dupin" character in a series of stories first published in Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine in 1828 called "Unpublished passages in the Life of Vidocq, the French Minister of Police."[14] Poe would likely have known the story, which features an analytical man who discovers a murderer, though the two plots share little resemblance. Murder victims in both stories, however, have their neck cut so badly that the head is almost entirely removed from the body.[15]

Publication history

Poe originally titled the story "Murders in the Rue Trianon," but renamed it to better associate with death.[16] "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" first appeared in Graham's Magazine in April of 1841 while Poe was working as an editor. He was paid an additional $56 for it - an unusually high figure; he was only paid $9 for "The Raven."[17] In 1843, Poe had the idea to print a series of pamphlets with his stories. He printed only one, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" oddly collected with the satirical "The Man That Was Used Up." It sold for 12 and a half cents.[18] Poe's "sequel" to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" was "The Mystery of Marie Roget," first serialized in December 1842 and January 1843. Though subtitled "A Sequel to 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'," "The Mystery of Marie Roget" shares very few common elements with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" beyond the inclusion of C. Auguste Dupin and the Paris setting.[19]

Adaptations

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has been adapted for film and television many times. The first full-length film adaptation of Poe's story was Murders in the Rue Morgue by Universal Pictures in 1932, directed by Robert Florey and starring Bela Lugosi, Leon Ames, Sidney Fox, and Arlene Francis.[20] The film was remade as Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954) by Warner Brothers, directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Karl Malden and Patricia Medina. A made for TV movie, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, aired in 1986. It was irected by Jeannot Szwarc and starring George C. Scott, Rebecca De Mornay, Ian McShane, and Val Kilmer.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Silverman, Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance (Paperback ed. ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 171. ISBN 0060923318. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ a b c Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 123. ISBN 0815410387
  3. ^ Whalen, Terance. "Poe and the American Publishing Industry" collected in A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe, J. Gerald Kennedy, editor. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0195121503 p. 86
  4. ^ Cleman, John. "Irresistible Impulses: Edgar Allan Poe and the Insanity Defense", collected in Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. p. 65 ISBN 0791061736
  5. ^ Thomas, Peter. "Poe's Dupin and the Power of Detection" as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 133-4. ISBN 0521797276
  6. ^ a b Silverman, Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance (Paperback ed. ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 172. ISBN 0060923318. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  7. ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination: Secret Writing from Edgar Poe to the Internet. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 75. ISBN 9780801853326
  8. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 110. ISBN 0807123218
  9. ^ a b c Silverman, Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance (Paperback ed. ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 173. ISBN 0060923318. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  10. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. pp. 162-3. ISBN 081604161XM
  11. ^ Van Leer, David. "Detecting Truth: The World of the Dupin Tales" collected in The American Novel: New Essays on Poe's Major Tales, Kenneth Silverman, editor. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0521422434 p. 65
  12. ^ Cornelius, Kay. "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe" in Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe, Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. p. 33 ISBN 0791061736
  13. ^ a b c Silverman, Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance (Paperback ed. ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 174. ISBN 0060923318. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  14. ^ Cornelius, Kay. "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe" in Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe, Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. p. 31 ISBN 0791061736
  15. ^ Ousby, Ian V. K. "'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'Doctor D'Arsac': A Poe Source" collected in Poe Studies, vol. V, no. 2. December 1972. p. 52.
  16. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 162. ISBN 081604161X
  17. ^ Ostram, John Ward. "Poe's Literary Labors and Rewards" in Myths and Reality: The Mysterious Mr. Poe. Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1987. p. 39, 40
  18. ^ Ostram, John Ward. "Poe's Literary Labors and Rewards" in Myths and Reality: The Mysterious Mr. Poe. Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1987. p. 40
  19. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 165. ISBN 081604161X
  20. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. pp. 162-3. ISBN 081604161XM

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Murders_in_the_Rue_Morgue&oldid=173985541"