According to Manolescu, Mateiu Caragiale took direct inspiration from foreign works of detective fiction when outlining his story, but also mocked their conventions by having Ruse rely on literature and even cartomancy for his crime solving techniques. Vartic drew a parallel between Caragiale's style and that of two 20th century foreign authors of crime fiction—Dashiell Hammett and Giorgio Bassani. The general intent, Manolescu notes, is not in realistically depicting police procedures, but in showing "the human mystery." Thus, Ion Vartic argues, Gogu Nicolau may be Caragiale's attempt to see himself from the outside, and his disappearance may be a clue that the writer was planning to sever links with the cultural milieu. The work's title and its generic meaning are found in Ruse's final statement: "There are such things meant to always remain—since forever—under the seal of secrecy."