The story begins with C. Auguste Dupin and the narrator quietly smoking meerschaum pipes together. When Monsieur G—— arrives, he immediately gets his own meerschaum pipe, and thus begins their discussion of the crime amidst “curling eddies of smoke” (6). There are numerous other references to smoke throughout their conversation, including “contemplative puff(s)” from the prefect and “puff-puff-puff(s)” from Dupin. The motif reinforces the theme of Intertwined Truth and Lies in the first half of the narrative, during which all the characters seem to be acting and speaking amid a smokescreen of illusions and omissions. Once Dupin begins his detailed description of how he solved the crime, however, all references to smoke disappear.

All the direct action in “The Purloined Letter” takes place in the darkness of night. Both visits from Monsieur G—— occur on “dark gusty evenings” in Dupin’s home (6), where all the characters are also sitting in darkness. When the prefect arrives, Dupin rises to turn on a light only to extinguish it when he realizes the nature of the visit, stating, “If it is any point requiring reflection […] we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark” (7).