從《莫格街謀殺案》來看，被譽為偵探小說「鼻祖」的愛倫·坡對偵探小說有哪些貢獻？

01-17

了解《莫格街兇殺案》的意義，首先應該了解何為西方通俗文學中的"Mystery fiction"。儘管歷經一個多世紀，這類文學形式在西方已經發生了極大的改變，二十世紀初期諸如「諾克斯十誡」之類的早已作古，但有三點是任何一部出版的Mystery Novel都必定要遵循的——未解決事件、中心探案人物、合乎現實與邏輯，無論早期的短篇時代、黃金時期古典本格、二十世紀中的冷硬派，還是當代的各式歐美系Mystery作品，都始終得嚴格遵從的。有些作品有事件和人物，但不合現實，加入了超自然元素，這類作品更適合歸入"horror"或"thriller"中，比如這方面的大師斯蒂芬金，他的作品通常不會出現在Mystery書架上。

而對於愛倫坡，他也寫了許多真正意義的恐怖小說，比如《黑貓》，但對比它們與《莫格街兇殺案》，卻能看出明顯的區別。《莫格街兇殺案》也恐怖，作者用力描寫了死者的慘狀，又渲染了作案現場的封閉，營造了神秘的氛圍。然而，恐怖小說的核心在主觀上，人的內心，作者大肆渲染人在神秘現象面前的恐懼，目的是對人的心理進行刻畫，而這神秘現象可以是超自然，也可以不是，但重點並不在於此。拿愛倫坡的《黑貓》來說，這故事究竟有沒有靈異現象最後也沒說清，許多可以解釋成主角的主觀臆想，但顯然作者的著力點在主角的心理活動上，主角內心感受到了神秘現象帶來的恐懼，這恐懼也能讓讀者即刻產生同感，這便是恐怖小說本來的模式。

但《莫格街兇殺案》不一樣，作者引入配合情節的法國偵探杜賓這個形象——冷酷到幾近冷血，對於莫格街的慘案，作者沒有任何主觀性刻畫，從證人描述，到偵探的推理，再到最後結案，整個過程並沒有營造任何心理恐懼感。但最後通過偵探的推論，在完全基於現實推理的前提下，背後的真相卻讓人不寒而慄。作為開山始祖，愛倫坡開創了所謂"twist"的原則——在敘述完全客觀、合理的前提下，依靠現實與想像的反差，刺激讀者的內心的所謂「逆轉」。在後世，無論是單純的猜兇手"whodunit"，還是不可能犯罪，還是冷硬派情節作，作者刺激讀者依靠的，都是愛倫坡這種「震驚模式」。愛倫坡的這個貢獻，甚至超過了推理小說本身的角度對《莫格街兇殺案》所評價的貢獻——這部作品也在文學史上首次提出了「密室」的概念。

而至於《莫格街兇殺案》在另外兩個方面的貢獻，更大意義上可以說是「完善」。根據維基百科，故事中對犯罪行為的描述及最後解決的過程，以及承擔揭露真相任務的「偵探」角色的引入，並非愛倫坡首創，而始自伏爾泰的Zadig以及德國作家E. T. A. Hoffmann的Mademoiselle de Scudéri兩部長篇小說中的片段描寫。但愛倫坡在一個單獨的短篇故事中，融合了上面兩個元素，並以之為故事的核心，這便是巨大的創造。愛倫坡本身並沒有使用「偵探」一詞，detective的形象，是後世從接過其衣缽的Wilkie Collins的《月亮石》，再到福爾摩斯系列逐漸完善的，但愛倫坡確實奠定了這種」案件+偵探「的嚴格體系。

所以最後總結，《莫格街兇殺案》的貢獻，在於它開創了以犯罪事件為核心，以作為「偵探」的核心人物的探查過程為主要脈絡，在客觀、合乎邏輯的前提下，為讀者營造心理震驚效應的一種文學形式。愛倫坡在文學史上的重要性，關鍵在他是大規模嘗試短篇小說(short story)創作的先驅者，而為了在壓縮的篇幅中營造更強的效果，他進行了大量的文學嘗試。於是要追根溯源的話，現在西方的整個「通俗文學」體系，一大半都得追到愛倫坡身上，偵探小說，或者說如今概念更廣泛的"Mystery fiction"，只是愛倫坡為當代通俗文學奠定的一部分而已。

「在推理小說創作的這條狹窄的小路上，一個作家必須步行而他總會看到他的前面有愛倫·坡的腳印。」 ——柯南道爾

回到問題，談到《莫格街兇殺案》對後世偵探小說的貢獻，我認為有三點

1.開創偵探小說的一種文學類型

愛倫·坡在小說中藉助助手視角的敘述方式不僅解決了偵探小說中案件敘述與偵探人物塑造的難題，而且開創了「偵探+助手」的經典組合。如：福爾摩斯+華生，御手洗潔+石岡和己等等但是，卧槽！為什麼我會不由自主的想到這兩貨狄仁傑+元芳，包青天+公孫策又是什麼鬼..(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

2.開創一種偵探小說的謎題模式

「案發現場位於四樓，門是反鎖著的，窗戶也完好無損。那麼，兇手是如何進入和逃離現場的呢？兇手又為何要殘忍地虐殺那對善良的母女呢？」

偉大的謎題模式——密室殺人，初具雛形。

3.帶來嚴謹的邏輯推理和結局的合理性

如果《莫格街兇殺案》的真相是鬼魅元素，那麼愛倫·坡一定不會有今天的地位。也正是由於在這個看似不可能的密室犯罪當中，愛倫坡讓筆下的迪潘用自己超人的分析能力和邏輯推理抽絲破繭找到線索，指出兇殺。給讀者一個出人意料卻嚴謹合理的結局，令人嘆服！這不正是偵探小說令人著迷的原因嗎？

由此可見，愛倫·坡的《莫格街兇殺案》被稱為偵探小說開山之作，它的發表更是被看做偵探小說誕生的標誌。在這之後發表的《瑪麗·羅傑疑案》、《被竊的信》、《你就是殺人兇手》等作品中更是將這種推理式的寫作模式發揮到極致。使得後世偵探小說作家鮮少能脫其窠臼。

終於能坦率的說出謝邀兩個字了……

謝邀。

《莫格街兇殺案》確實是推理小說的鼻祖。也是第一個使用密室這一詭計類型的小說。

拜這篇小說的崇高地位所賜，現在的推理小說家似乎都喜歡在處女作里挑戰密室，密室已成為推理小說的某種標誌。

而除此之外《莫格街兇殺案》對於推理小說的影響，實在有限。

第一個經典的偵探形象是柯南道爾塑造的；

第一個時刻表詭計是克勞夫茲創造的；

第一部長篇推理小說來自於阿加莎；

其餘的還有很多很多「第一」被其他作家搶去。

相比起來《莫格街兇殺案》實在不能算是很出眾，要說起來它的意義相當於美國插在月球上那面國旗：是個有趣的開始，但意義也僅僅是個開始罷了。

本寶的畢業論文從遊戲精神這個角度探討了愛倫坡的偵探小說（著重討論《莫格街的兇殺案》），大意就是愛倫坡的小說是在用玩遊戲的方式展現案件。

現摘錄如下（好懶，不想翻譯了）：

在「杜賓三部曲」中,遊戲精神體現在三個方面。私人偵探工作的義務性和遊戲必不可少的規律展現了自由精神；特定的地點以及競爭對手是對遊戲的想像；好奇心、復仇主題、個人主義精神和愉悅是人性中不可泯滅的成分。本文也從社會背景，個人信心和讀者需求的角度分別討論了愛倫坡創作哲學中的遊戲精神。

本章說明了遊戲精神在文本中的體現：

4.2 The

Embodiment of the Freedom

4.2.1 A Voluntary Work

Dupin was a

non-professional detective, which meant he did not have the responsibility to

investigate any crimes. In The Murders in
the Rue MorguePoe compared Dupin with Fran?ois

Ozon Vidocq who was a famous

detective at that time (1775-1857) and the Prefect who led all the

investigation in the story. The duties of the later two professionals were to

investigate the crime and catch the criminals, which was the indivisible part

of their jobs. Unlike these two, Dupin was an amateur who had no responsibility

to look into the cases. He joined in games only to prove that he had great

talents, so the payment was unnecessary to him. In The Murders in
the Rue Morgue, he did not get the payment, and in The Purloined Letter, he received the money from the Prefect only

as a symbol of success. The same pattern also appeared in The Mystery of
Marie Roget. Obviously, non-utilitarianism is the requirement of the freedom

in games.

4.2.2 The Freely Accepted Rules in Games

In the theories

of game spirit of Huizinga (1998: 95), games』 rules 「are accepted freely by the

players, but it is absolutely binding」, which means this free activity bases on

the established rules and the orderly methods, so was in The Dupin Trilogy where

all the investigation is based on the logical and psychological principles, and

the breakthroughs usually located in the details.

In The Mystery

of Marie Roget, Dupin used logical ratiocination. The story was about a

sudden disappearance of a young shop assistant Marie Roget in Paris. Dupin

analyzed patiently and carefully. He used not only the knowledge of psychology

and logistics, but also his profound acquaintance of metropolis. He began with debunking

wrong judgment, terminating the suspicion to the admirer of Marie, and toppling

a plausible opinion about a gang crime. At last a clue that was almost ignored

by everyone raised the attention of Dupin. He noticed the message of the 「man

of dark complexion」 from a conversation of two witnesses, and connected Maire』s

death to a case happening two years ago. This trivial matter was inundated in

mounts of truths and assumptions, but witty Dupin got them immediately.

4.2.3 The Beauty of the Freedom

People read

detective fiction aiming to appreciate the beauty of 「decorative embellishment」

(Yuan, 2001), which means impressive details threaded in the stories, out of

the common structure of the detective stories. For Dupin is an erratic

detective, he could do things freely to impress others. Therefore, The Dupin

Trilogy apparently reflected the beauty of 「decorative embellishment」.

Though the endings of the stories were the same as all the problems that had

been solved, every story used distinctive characters, scenes, atmospheres to

bring particular influences to readers.

For example, in

the 「locked-room」, the murder scene was entirely closed but the murderer

successfully escaped. From then on, many detective

authors began to imitate this pattern, which is known as the 「impossible format」.

This is the suspense and excitement that the 「decorative embellishment」

brings us.

The Mystery of

Marie Roget was adapted from a real event, and the story with the start

of the reports in the newspaper was another creation of Allan Poe. The unique

method of psychoanalysis in The Purloined Letter nurtures the reader

with psychology.

4.3 The Imaginary World

4.3.1 The Particular Space of the 「Games」

The game is the

reflection of the real life, so in the game the players should have particular

space for ruling games. Poe strictly restricted the range of the crime, which

is so-called 「locked-room」, in other words, Dupin almost solved every case in

an individual room.

Dupin had 「the

locked-room」 in The Murder in the Rue Morgue, his book-room in The
Mystery of the Marie Roget, and the long suite in The Purloined Letter,

where he never stepped away. In these intentional arrangements, Dupin fully

performed his talent of detection and wisdom in the finite space.

4.3.2 Players and Competitions in the

「Games」

As is mentioned

above, games imitate life, so there will have competition in games as in the

real life. At the end of the Murder of the Rue Morgue, Allan Poe

suggested an important opposition: the contest between the private detective

and the Prefect of the Police. The Prefect could not dissimulate his confusion

toward Dupin』s detective methods. However, Dupin

responded in an ironic tone: 「Let him discourse; it will ease his conscience, I

am satisfied with having defeated him in his own castle」 (Poe, 1976: 143). In The
Mystery of Marie Roget, 「the name of Dupin had grown into

a household word」 (Poe, 1976: 206). The method he had disentangled the mystery had

never been explained to any other individuals.

Binary oppositions was prevalent in The Purloined Letter: the

Prefect』s quantitative investigation

contrasted to Dupin』s mathematical induction. This network structure suggested

the game would be intricate and fascinating: they all wanted to possess an

important letter. Dupin played the game of steal as a deliberate pleasure which

was more enjoyable than 「having defeated him in his own castle」 (Poe, 1976:

143). The joy of the game lied in the connections between two scenes: the

minister D found the letter had been stolen, and no one knew the letter had

been stolen by Dupin. So when the Prefect demanded Dupin to report his

progress, Dupin could present the letter to laugh at the Prefect.

4.4 The Humanism

in The Dupin Trilogy

4.4.1 Curiosity

The most typical characteristic of detective stories is the existence

of puzzles, the suspense. The Scottish critic William Archer (cited in Wang,

2008) said it is 「to predict a very attractive

state of affairs without telling it out」. It is a unique structure that raise

the interest of readers by their inherent curiosity, which to great extent

prolong the disclosure of the truth.

Poe

understood exploring the mysteries is human nature —「In the long evolutionary

history, relying on the curiosity, human being became the paragon among animals

who dominate the world」 (Ren, 2002) —so he adopted the method of suspense which

could stimulate the curiosity of readers. Readers keep tense, concentrated on

the stories, and finally approve the writer』s rational thinking.

4.4.2 Revenge

For a gambler, there are win and lose in a game. When he loses, out

of vengeful thought, he definitely wants to play again and win back. In the

theme of The Dupin Trilogy, the desire of revenge could also be found.

In The Purloined Letter, Allan Poe (1976) suggested two reasons

for the revenge of Dupin: first was to help the queen defeat the minister D;

second was to give the minister D 「un dessein si funeste (a nasty tricks in

French)」 in return, because the minister D in Vienna used to trick him in that

way. Dupin deliberately arranged everything, repeating the tactic of the

minister D, so as to perform a complicated revenge psychology. Allan Poe

combined his vengeful psychology with his fiction, where he penetrated the

violence of language into the narration. No other thing than the revenge gives

his detective an unusual power of control, forcing rivals into silence.

4.4.3 Subjectivity

Allan Poe lived in the nineteenth century, when the

transcendentalism was widespread in America. Unavoidably, this epoch influenced

his detective fiction.

Transcendentalism believes the divinity in individuals. The divinity

in Dupin kept him unique: he loved darkness and reading. Meanwhile he had a

special intelligence structure, which made him believe in intuition. His

behavior was contrary to the normal people, yet he was good at surmising others』

thoughts and revealing the privacy of the criminals. These elements of the

divinity are true portrayals of Allan Poe himself. He pinned all his dreams

into his creation Dupin, a man who was never 「at the scene」. When the innocent

life was under threat, in order to avoid violence and killing, Dupin undertook

the responsibilities of restoring to the normal life and building a harmonious

world.

4.4.4 Enjoyment

The narrator felt content in the process of the analysis and

investigation, yet he could not explain where this joy came from. Dupin

undertook those cases, because the induction would give him entertainment from

teasing the Prefect.

Dupin loved to

show off in games. Poe combined these plots in the fiction only to reveal Dupin』s

love of playing games, having no any other functions in plot development. In

the 「locked-room」, Dupin refused to leave the room while the readers might have

a question: maybe going to the criminal scene and meeting the related people

would be more effective? However, it might reduce the enjoyment of solving the

puzzle. At the end of The Purloined Letter, Dupin went to the house of

the minister D again to steal the letter. Normally this visit was unnecessary,

because Dupin could just tell the policeman where the letter was, for the

policeman had the key of the room. However, what obsessed him was to regain the

letter in an exaggerated and dangerous way, creating a game in a nervous

atmosphere.

偵探是主角，謎題是故事主體，推理是故事主線，沒有鬼怪故事完全真實符合邏輯，集中了這些點的，愛倫的作品應該是第一個，因此不同於那個時期很多流行的驚悚恐怖小說，被認為開創了偵探小說。

並且這個小說也開創了密室題材，並且引入了助手這樣一個最適合偵探小說敘述的視角。喜歡偵探小說的各位應該很清楚這樣的設定一直到現在也是很流行的。

後續愛倫坡雖然只寫了四篇可以稱為推理小說的作品，但是也包含了安樂椅偵探（《瑪麗羅傑疑案》），結局逆轉的誤導（《就是你》），密碼尋寶（《金甲蟲》，應該也算是廣義的推理吧。。。），高智商反派（《失竊的信》）等在後續推理中廣泛應用的因素。所以我覺得愛倫坡是推理作品領域名副其實的開山鼻祖。

主要貢獻在於開創了密室這一推理小說經典的題材。

可以說沒有他，就沒有密室之王卡爾，也沒有日本本格派一堆坑爹的密室作品了。

愛倫坡當年寫的極具意外性，尤其是兇手是猿猴，使得密室這一題材變得合理，而現在的推理小說為了密室而密室，背離了愛倫坡的初衷。

開創推理，僅此而已。發展都是後人乾的

從《莫格街謀殺案》來看，被譽為偵探小說「鼻祖」的愛倫·坡對偵探小說有哪些貢獻 ？

從《莫格街謀殺案》來看，被譽為偵探小說「鼻祖」的愛倫·坡對偵探小說有哪些貢獻？