I'm not sure if you understood the last section of the book the same way I did.
I understood Robb to be saying that Dupin and Holmes are *intentionally* written as homosexuals, with the evidence present as subtext -- coded, inexplicit. For both characters, their homosexuality is a "Purloined Letter" -- the secret that is in plain sight, if you only look.
I took Robb also to be saying that both Poe and Doyle, more-or-less straight men, were fascinated to meet homosexuals and try to understand their superpower: gaydar. Dupin and Poe's detective abilities are the textual transformation of gaydar. Holmes tells Watson, "You see, but you do not observe"; gaydar is the type specimen of this kind of observation.
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branchandroot
Did I read this book differently?
Date: 2010-06-12 09:07 pm (UTC)I understood Robb to be saying that Dupin and Holmes are *intentionally* written as homosexuals, with the evidence present as subtext -- coded, inexplicit. For both characters, their homosexuality is a "Purloined Letter" -- the secret that is in plain sight, if you only look.
I took Robb also to be saying that both Poe and Doyle, more-or-less straight men, were fascinated to meet homosexuals and try to understand their superpower: gaydar. Dupin and Poe's detective abilities are the textual transformation of gaydar. Holmes tells Watson, "You see, but you do not observe"; gaydar is the type specimen of this kind of observation.