Social Sensitivity

Poe’s fiction is not concerned with social issues. He viewed true reality as a process of the mind, not a fact of physical existence; consequently, for Poe, the human mind rather than the social world is the preferred arena of action. The only aspect of his detective stories that might suggest social relevance is the fact that crime by its very nature is a violation of the social order. It is the task of the detective to restore order once again. However, although this may be the ultimate result of Dupin’s solving of the crimes that confront him, it is obviously not his conscious intention. Dupin wishes to discover order and meaning in the bits and pieces of the mysterious reality that surrounds him. If this results in a restoration of the social order as well, then that is an unsought by-product of his ratiocinative abilities.

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