--This image comes from a contemporary depiction of Mary Rogers, the New York City 'cigar girl' whose story is vaguely fictionalized for Poe's tale.--Some of the plot hinges upon conflicting notions about city life. The fact that Marie is not recognized by anyone in the city seems to be a point of contention between different theories about her disappearance. How do these differences fit with discussions we've seen so far about the city as an anonymous, alienated space versus a space of social connection?
--This is in many ways a very strange story--based in fact, but offered up as fiction; making claims about truth and probabilities. How does it fit or not fit with expectations one has about the detective story genre (itself in formation at this very moment)? How do we fit this story with or compare it to the popularity in our own period of fact-based crime dramas, 'true-crime' fictions or even 'non-fiction novels' (like Capote's In Cold Blood)?
--How do we compare Dupin, the detective who refuses to leave his house but 'solves' the crime (or at least proposes ways to solve the crime), to other city narrators we've read who imaginatively engage with life in the city (whether the narrator of "The Man of the Crowd," "Wakefield," or Child)?
The formation of the detective story genre seems to have been a niche just waiting to be filled. A story that possesses some semblance of facts, or truths, but also has a lot of ambiguity and mystery, leaves room for much assumption, a thing which all humans, and especially writers, love. It is interesting that this story makes so many claims about probabilities in discovering truths, when in fact the narrator comes to his conclusions by wild leaps of supposition. The narrator critiques the claims and inferences of the newspapers, but only refutes them with further conjecture. It seems that the narrator’s constant appeals to rationale and “true philosophy” (Poe), as means to the true answer, seduces the reader into believing that the narrator’s assumptions are more true than those of the police or the newspapers. This placing of the freelance detective as the heroic and intelligent protagonist, while the police and newspapers seem to work to no avail, fits well with contemporary expectations of a detective story. Because the detective is an alternative to the standard hero, like the police, it seems that the answer to the crime will always be an alternative and unsuspected theory. Similarly, the employment of a sort of rogue detective appeals to the reader because it is easier to connect with him, than the police or government. I think that Poe’s “The Mystery of Marie Roget” is very similar to contemporary fact-based crime dramas. They both exploit the possibility of drama in pursuit of a gripping tale. The stories’ protagonists try to solve crimes, but their work, and the work of the author do not actually further the investigations of the police or of real detectives. Contemporary detective stories seem to even more truthful, due to the advancement and prevalence of technologically aided forensics. Instead, Poe’s detective story almost pits the protagonist against the police and the newspapers as proof of his investigative superiority.
ReplyDeleteI think this story fits perfectly within our ideas of what a detective story is and should be. "The Mystery of Marie Roget" is offered to us as fiction, but based inf act. This makes it all the more interesting, and also creepy, to its readers. Not only do writers find it interesting to write wild stories based on semi-truths, but I think we each have smoething in us that really likes to hear all the details of a real life murder mystery. It's why we still read these old mysteries, as well as modern ones writeen in the present day. It's also the reason we watch television shows like CSI and Law & Order. Law & Order even goes so far as to base some of their shows off of real events, and their commercials even boast episodes "ripped from the headlines." We're curious people and we like to know everyone elese's business.
ReplyDeleteLike Lisa said above, Dupin is a detective who is very much unlike the standard hero we see in the police officers, it seems like the answer to crime will be the unexpected or alternative theory. The plot twist is a necessary element to the detective story and is what makes it so exciting to the reader. It's always who you least expect: in accordance with both the good guy and the bad guy as well.
Dupin’s method of induction tends to agree with what stories like “Wakefield,” and “The Man of the Crowd” have already told us about the city being a place where one can disappear. As he states, refuting Le Commerciel’s belief that Marie must have been seen, “In viewing this question in its full and proper light, we must hold steadily in mind the great disproportion between the personal acquaintances of even the most noted individual in Paris, and the entire population of Paris itself.” Dupin believes one can easily be lost, even if popular, among the other people in the city. A person can become one with ‘the crowd,’ as Poe also shows us in “The Man of the Crowd.” The old man, “refuses to be alone” as he is “the man of the crowd.” He blends in with the cityscape, no one notices him and he notices no one. Dupin assumes this is what Marie Roget attempts to do, going down a street she does not frequent, presumably not running into anyone she would know. This is also seen in Hawthorne’s “Wakefield,” as Wakefield believes someone in the city is watching him. The narrator gets into Wakefield’s head, saying, “Doubtless, a dozen busybodies had been watching (Wakefield), and told his wife the whole affair.” But, the narrator turns this, exclaiming, “Poor Wakefield! Little knowest thou thine own insignificance in this great world!” This is also seen when Wakefield thinks his wife spots him in the crowd outside of their home. In reality, Wakefield has become part of the crowd, unrecognizable as an individual. Poe, and his character Marie, use this anonymity to their advantage. This remains consistent with the idea of disappearing in the crowd, as Marie (Dupin believes, and appears to be correct) picks a route where she will not be seen and can become one with the rest of the population.
ReplyDeleteThe stories so far offer up solid arguments for the city being a place of disconnection and difficult to actually socialize within. But, these stories also indirectly assume social connection can appear in frequented places, and this can happen anywhere. Marie goes down one street because of the greater chance she will not see someone she knows, implying that she could walk another route and find many people she knows to socialize with. Also, the old man in “The Man of the Crowd,” goes to a pub of sorts, as this appears to be a place he commonly frequents. It does not appear to be different than being a ‘regular’ of an establishment, in the same vein as Norm, Cliff, etc. in Cheers. Where they are patrons of a bar, and social in some respect, we all attend class, go to extracurricular events, etc. and become ‘regulars’ in that sense and socialize at those places. The city appears to be a place where one needs to find their niche, maybe even a place of self-discovery to find out one’s own interests, likes, dislikes, etc.
I am on the fence on whether this is an effective detective story (for me at least). It doesn’t fit neatly into any of the subgenres I am familiar with. It is not quite a classic or golden age story because of the ending. While in some ways the restoration of social order does take place- the detective ostensibly arrives at the correct solution- it is done so in a way that is not apparent to the reader. Since the end of the story basically it happens off camera it is difficult to interpret the impact of the crime’s solution on the community. Additionally, we are given no information about implementation of punishment. What, who and how a punishment are administered are important features of the classic detective story. Also, there seems to be an underlying belief that the “system” these crimes are taking place in is corrupt vs. one corrupt individual perpetrating a crime. This is a characteristic not commonly found in detective fiction until the emergence of the American hard-boiled genre of the 1930’s. This story was penned well before that and does not remotely parallel any other feature of HB detective fiction. Poe makes derogatory statements about several institutions: the local law enforcement (also a relatively new concept in New York), the judicial system and most obviously (yellow) Journalism. In many ways the story only uses the murder of the perfume girl as a jumping off point to comment on these institutions’ poor performance. Additionally, it cannot be considered either a “cozy” or “a locked-room” mystery due to openness of the setting, and the open-ended nature of possible suspects.
ReplyDeleteThere are several elements of a good detective story in place. Dupin is a satisfactory detective. He is more a man of the Nero Wolfe School of investigation than a Sherlock Holmes (or even a Poirot) and he certainly is lacking in some of the idiosyncrasies found in subsequent detectives, but he gets the job done where others can’t using only his superior intellect and the same tools available to every other character. Also, there is a desperate appeal from the local law enforcement and a seemingly ambivalent relationship between the two entities. There is also the ripped-from-the-headlines angle as well. Notorious crimes often find their way into detective fiction, most notably in Murder on the Orient Express. Poe was certainly ahead of the curve on this aspect of his story. Finally, there several red-herrings weaved into the story, which are a necessary feature of any respectable piece of detective fiction. It is difficult to compare The Mystery of Marie Roget to other detective stories because it was written before the genre had a time to become formulaic. In some respects this is good because it represents an original work of art. While it does incorporate many of the important features of more evolved detective fiction it is lacking in a completeness of presentation of a Christie or a Sayers for sure, but even a Holmes Short speaks more about the cultural climate in which the stories take place.