The Prefect is obviously a man whose conceit and self-importance far outstrip his moral value and intellectual perceptiveness. He is accordingly unable to comprehend the sophistication and ingenuity of men like Monsieur Dupin and the Minister D---. To demonstrate his lack of mental acuity, we learn that the Prefect thinks that both men occupy an intellectual position "only one remove from a fool" because they engage in the same literary pastime. What is that pastime, and what do Dupin's and the Minister D-‘s characterizations suggest about the nature of the Prefect's views?