That would be awesome, if you could close your eyes and just imagine the setting of the story and plunge into it completely, but it's a kind of impossible to read with the closed eyes, so keep them open!
So...What does the library look like? What does Paris look like? What does D—'s room look like?
Well, we don't know. Poe just isn't interested here in external details.
Nevertheless, we do know, that the story takes place in Paris, France.
Au troisième means that their apartment is on the third floor, which is probably actually the fourth floor, because in France the first floor is considered the ground floor and not counted.
This is a little bit weird, because it's a common thing to associate knowledge with light - "Knowledge is light and ignorance is darkness". But according to Dupin, all of life's truths are in plain sight. To see them we sometimes need to obscure everything except what we are examining.
When Dupin goes to D—'s house to look for the letter, it's actually daytime. Still, he closes his eyes, figuratively, to everything but the letter, even using green glasses to darken his vision (like sunglasses). In contrast, G— visits D—'s apartment only at night. The darkness is supposed to provide cover for him to look for the letter.
So: Dupin uses darkness in light; G— uses light in darkness.
Ultimately, the story suggests that seeing clearly or not seeing clearly have little to do with darkness or light, and lots to do with individual vision, and individual ability to process what is seen. So, the setting of "The Purloined Letter" plays with ideas of light and darkness.
So...What does the library look like? What does Paris look like? What does D—'s room look like?
Well, we don't know. Poe just isn't interested here in external details.
Nevertheless, we do know, that the story takes place in Paris, France.
So, here is the library...
This story may not take place in a morgue or a creepy house, but it wouldn't be Edgar Allan Poe without a touch of the Gothic. Here, it's the simple, smoky darkness of the "little back library, or book-closet, au troisième, No. 33 Rue Donot, Faubourg St. Germain".Au troisième means that their apartment is on the third floor, which is probably actually the fourth floor, because in France the first floor is considered the ground floor and not counted.
While
the dark, smoky room creates a Gothic mood, it also seems definitely
anti-Gothic. People talking, thinking, and smoking pipes in a library
seems stable, calm, and not very scary or creepy. There's even something comforting about it. It's a setting perfect for
the coldly logical explanation of how Dupin solved the mystery.
No light, no light...
Dupin and the narrator have already been sitting in the dark, thinking, for an hour before Monsieur G— arrives. When he shows up, Dupin decides not to turn on the lights because G— needs him to think about something: "If it is any point requiring reflection […] we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark".This is a little bit weird, because it's a common thing to associate knowledge with light - "Knowledge is light and ignorance is darkness". But according to Dupin, all of life's truths are in plain sight. To see them we sometimes need to obscure everything except what we are examining.
When Dupin goes to D—'s house to look for the letter, it's actually daytime. Still, he closes his eyes, figuratively, to everything but the letter, even using green glasses to darken his vision (like sunglasses). In contrast, G— visits D—'s apartment only at night. The darkness is supposed to provide cover for him to look for the letter.
So: Dupin uses darkness in light; G— uses light in darkness.
Ultimately, the story suggests that seeing clearly or not seeing clearly have little to do with darkness or light, and lots to do with individual vision, and individual ability to process what is seen. So, the setting of "The Purloined Letter" plays with ideas of light and darkness.
Actually, I found some illustrations, which may help you, to form your own vision of the setting
(the 2nd one fits better, if you want to know my opinion).
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