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Century British Detective Fiction UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 8-1-2014 Detecting Arguments: The Rhetoric of Evidence in Nineteenth-- Century British Detective Fiction Katherine Anders University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Repository Citation Anders, Katherine, "Detecting Arguments: The Rhetoric of Evidence in Nineteenth--Century British Detective Fiction" (2014). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2163. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/6456393 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DETECTING ARGUMENTS: THE RHETORIC OF EVIDENCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH DETECTIVE FICTION by Katherine Christie Anders Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts St. John’s College, Santa Fe 2003 Master of Library and Information Science University of Pittsburgh 2005 Master of Arts in English Duquesne University 2007 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy – English English Department College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2014 iii Copyright by Katherine Christie Anders, 2014 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Katherine Christie Anders entitled Detecting Arguments: The Rhetoric of Evidence in Nineteenth-Century British Detective Fiction is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - English Department of English Kelly Mays, Ph.D., Committee Chair Anne Stevens, Ph.D., Committee Member Denise Tillery, Ph.D., Committee Member Michelle Tusan, Ph.D., Graduate College Representative Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the Graduate College August 2014 ii ABSTRACT Detecting Arguments: The Rhetoric of Evidence in Nineteenth-Century British Detective Fiction by Katherine Christie Anders Dr. Kelly Mays, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of English University of Nevada, Las Vegas My dissertation argues that within the mid- to late-nineteenth-century British detective novel, the abductive arguments used to build circumstantial evidence (indirect evidence), or “clues,” form the method of the detective, but those arguments are not logically certain. In order to resolve the mystery of the detective novel, to discover how the crime was committed and who committed it, circumstantial evidence proves insufficiently conclusive, so confessions, a more logically conclusive (direct) form of evidence, begins to appear frequently in detective novels. Confessions conclusively confirm the events of the crime, the guilt of the criminal, and reveal the inner workings of the criminal mind. Yet by also investigating the larger category of testimony as both direct and indirect evidence, I also show how receiving evidence from people instead of things complicates the detection process. I look to the legal philosophy of Jeremy Bentham for much of the schema of evidence that I use. In my first chapter, I argue that lawyers in detective fiction should receive more critical attention than they currently receive. Both lawyers and legal iii language frequently appear in detective novels of the 1850s-1870s, and the rational, evidentiary methodology of the lawyer is also that of the detective. Both use abductive arguments, namely those arguments based on inferences that explain a set of circumstances, to create narratives about the events of a crime. I investigate the literary and historical circumstances that account for the prevalence of legal matters and lawyers in detective fiction of the 1850s-1870s. In the second, third, and fourth chapters I lay out the argument concerning circumstantial evidence, testimony, and confession that I stated above. The second chapter examines the logical underpinnings of circumstantial evidence, drawing on C. S. Peirce’s observations on logic. I demonstrate that the production of circumstantial evidence via abductive reasoning is the detection method not only of Edgar Allan Poe’s legendary Auguste Dupin, but of nearly all mid- to late- British detectives as well. By analyzing The Notting Hill Mystery, a novel in which the only form of evidence offered to the reader is circumstantial evidence, I explore how insufficient such evidence and the abductive reasoning out of which it is built ultimately turn out to be, failing to be logically conclusive enough to satisfy the reader concerning the resolution of the criminal investigation. In the third chapter, I examine two categories of testimony, indirect and direct, in Wilkie Collins’s novels The Law and the Lady and The Moonstone, arguing that though it might seem that direct — or eyewitness — testimony is more reliable than indirect testimony, or circumstantial evidence, The Moonstone suggests that even eyewitness testimony might be unreliable, because there is the possibility that a person cannot accurately interpret his or her own experiences. iv The final chapter considers a special form of direct testimony, the confession. Largely by analyzing Lady Audley’s Secret, I argue that confession alone is the type of evidence that confirms lingering uncertainty that is the necessary result of abductive arguments made from circumstantial evidence. It is the resolution of this uncertainty that accounts for the prevalence of confessions in detective fiction where detectives use abductive reasoning to solve crimes. Additionally, confession allows the reader insight into the criminal mind and confirms the guilt of the criminal. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Kelly Mays, for all of her support and guidance over the past seven years. Her expertise helped me focus my work, but she has always encouraged me to freely pursue my interests. Her advice has always been thoughtful, and she has been a wonderful advisor. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Anne Stevens, Dr. Denise Tillery, and Dr. Michelle Tusan, for the time they have spent reading my dissertation, for their feedback, and for their flexibility. I also thank Dr. Christopher Decker for serving on my comprehensive examination committee. My dissertation would not have been completed without the support of the Graduate College or the Barrick Fellowship. I am indebted to both for their generosity. The Barrick Fellowship made it possible for me to complete much of my work on my dissertation chapters, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for the guidance I have received from two key professors during my undergraduate and graduate careers. Dr. Jacques Duvoisin of St. John’s College, Santa Fe was a kind reader and director of my senior thesis, and it was he who first opened my eyes to the possibility of analyzing detection fiction in a rigorous manner. I am thankful for his insights. Dr. Greg Barnhisel of Duquesne University was very supportive of my academic endeavors during my Master’s program, and he gave much excellent advice concerning graduate school. I appreciate his thoughtfulness and frankness. I would not have been able to complete my graduate studies without the help and support of Molly O’Donnell and Cassie Hemstrom. They have been excellent sounding vi boards, readers, and friends during my dissertation-writing process, bringing both careful eyes and a certain sense of levity when I needed it most. I would like to thank my parents for all of their encouragement throughout my life. It was my mother who gave me my first collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, setting me on the path to this dissertation long ago. My father has always strongly supported my educational pursuits, and for that I am truly grateful. Finally, my husband, John, has been my constant companion throughout this dissertation, endlessly reading and re-reading drafts and engaging in conversations about my research. I could not have asked for a more supportive or helpful spouse. He and our son have been the source of much positive motivation and encouragement over the years. I owe many thanks to them both. vii DEDICATION To my family, thank you for your love and support. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION: BETWEEN POE AND CONAN DOYLE ......................................... 1 Overlooked Texts ............................................................................................................ 6 Bentham and Peirce ......................................................................................................
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