Book Anatomy · The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Setting and world
13 lenses on setting and world for The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 I9 I10 I11 I12 I13
I1. Places named and how often each appears. Count
Paris is the place named most, 9 times.
| Place | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | 9 | 4 |
| Rue Morgue | 9 | 5 |
| Quartier St. Roch | 2 | 1 |
| Théâtre des Variétés | 2 | 1 |
| Montmartre | 1 | 1 |
I2. Setting by chapter, as a map. Both
The place named most in each chapter. A rough setting map. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Chapter | Place named most |
|---|---|
| 1 | Paris |
| 2 | Paris |
| 3 | Paris |
| 4 | Rue Morgue |
| 5 | Rue Morgue |
Chapter 1: Paris mansion, secluded and dark. Chapter 2: newspaper reports, public knowledge. Chapter 3: the Rue Morgue crime scene itself. Chapters 4 and 5: Dupin's rooms where deductions and confession occur.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5
I3. Setting shown in blocks or woven into action? AI
Setting woven into action. The mansion in chapter 1 emerges through the narrator's description of their life together. The crime scene in chapter 3 is explored as Dupin and the narrator move through it.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3
I4. Weather and light used for mood. Both
Weather and light words: 0.58 per 1,000 words.
Weather and light words, chapter by chapter
Chapter 1 emphasises night time and darkness as conducive to intellectual pursuits. Chapter 2 opens with murders at three in the morning. Light and dark create mood but are not heavily developed.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2
I5. The social world: class, money, rules. AI
The narrator and Dupin live in poverty despite intellectual superiority, isolated from society. The victims are wealthy women. Police represent institutional authority but lack analytical skill. Class and money create distance between characters.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 5
I6. Rules of the world (magic, science) and when each is shown. AI
The world operates by rational science and logic. Dupin applies observation and deduction as rules. The orang-outang's behaviour follows animal instinct, not human reason. No magic or supernatural elements.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5
But it is by these deviations from the plane of the ordinary, that reason feels its way, if at all, in its search for the true. (Ch 3, para 7)
I7. Lore: dripped in or dumped? AI
Lore about the orang-outang is dripped in gradually. Chapter 4 references Cuvier's knowledge of the animal's strength and agility. Chapter 5 provides the sailor's direct testimony about the specific animal.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 5
I8. Real history used, and how. AI
The story is set in Paris and references real locations like the Quartier St. Roch and Rue Morgue. Cuvier, the real naturalist, is mentioned. The frame is realistic but the specific crime is fictional.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4
I9. Journeys: distance and time taken. Both
No significant journeys. The narrator and Dupin move from their mansion to the crime scene in chapter 3, a short distance. The sailor arrives in response to Dupin's advertisement in chapter 5. Time spans days, not weeks.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 5
I10. Objects that matter, where they appear. Both
window is the object named most.
| Object | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| window | 18 | 3 |
| nail | 12 | 1 |
| shutter | 6 | 2 |
| advertisement | 4 | 1 |
| lightning-rod | 3 | 2 |
The broken nail in the window shutter is crucial in chapter 3. The hidden spring mechanism matters. The newspaper reports drive chapter 2. The advertisement Dupin places brings the sailor in chapter 5.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5
I touched it; and the head, with about a quarter of an inch of the shank, came off in my fingers. (Ch 3, para 20)
It was clear to me, however, that the shutter belonging to the window at the head of the bed, would, if swung fully back to the wall, reach to within two feet of the lightning-rod. (Ch 3, para 22)
I11. Density of period detail. AI
Moderate period detail. French names and locations ground the story. Newspaper style in chapter 2. References to Paris mansions and social customs. Not heavily detailed but enough to establish 1840s Paris.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2
I12. Setting as an enemy. AI
Setting is not an enemy. The locked room is a puzzle to solve, not a threat. The mansion provides refuge. The crime scene is neutral ground for investigation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3
I13. Indoors against outdoors. Both
Indoor words outnumber outdoor words 134 to 13. (rough estimate from word lists)
Indoor share %, chapter by chapter
Chapter 1 emphasises the secluded indoor mansion. Chapter 2 reports public outdoor events. Chapter 3 moves indoors to the crime scene. Indoors dominates as the space of both safety and mystery.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
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