Successful?
I really wanted to enjoy The Mystery of Marie Roget. When I was young and restless in the late hours of the evening, my mom would pull out the chunkiest book in our bookshelf, a sizable collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, and we would read them together. Perhaps it was a bit morbid for a child, but they kept me captivated nonetheless. When I had first read The Mystery of Marie Roget, I had been expecting to be taken back to that time. I was pretty wrong.
And now, coming back to the piece, I still don't find myself enjoying it.
Poe inserts himself through the persona Dupin and tries to make his best guess about the real conclusion of the murder of Mary Rogers. The way the conclusion is reached (Dupin, sitting there and talking) is dry and bland. To an extent, I suppose that only means Poe was successful in his goals, which I believe to simply be to provide an explanation to this murder mystery. However, in the perspective of the reader, I do not think the story was successful. Not only was I left unsatisfied with the lack of identification of the perpetrator(s), but The Mystery of Marie Roget reads more like an essay than the murder mystery or mystery novel I was expecting it to be.
Here I find myself conflicted again between success as defined by the author and success as defined by the audience. If anyone is familiar with the game Darkest Dungeon, this situation is exactly that. There's a disconnect between the experience or enjoyment of the audience and the intended experience that the developer wants the audience to have, and I do not think Poe struck such a balance or created an alignment of goals (both author and audience) such that this short story could fully succeed.
And, if anyone is curious about more suspicions (conspiracy theories round 2?), feel free to check this link out.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/edgar-allan-poe-tried-and-failed-to-crack-the-mysterious-murder-case-of-mary-rogers-7493607/
And now, coming back to the piece, I still don't find myself enjoying it.
Poe inserts himself through the persona Dupin and tries to make his best guess about the real conclusion of the murder of Mary Rogers. The way the conclusion is reached (Dupin, sitting there and talking) is dry and bland. To an extent, I suppose that only means Poe was successful in his goals, which I believe to simply be to provide an explanation to this murder mystery. However, in the perspective of the reader, I do not think the story was successful. Not only was I left unsatisfied with the lack of identification of the perpetrator(s), but The Mystery of Marie Roget reads more like an essay than the murder mystery or mystery novel I was expecting it to be.
Here I find myself conflicted again between success as defined by the author and success as defined by the audience. If anyone is familiar with the game Darkest Dungeon, this situation is exactly that. There's a disconnect between the experience or enjoyment of the audience and the intended experience that the developer wants the audience to have, and I do not think Poe struck such a balance or created an alignment of goals (both author and audience) such that this short story could fully succeed.
And, if anyone is curious about more suspicions (conspiracy theories round 2?), feel free to check this link out.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/edgar-allan-poe-tried-and-failed-to-crack-the-mysterious-murder-case-of-mary-rogers-7493607/
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