# X: The Black Veil explained — The Room in the Dragon Volant

> Chapter companion for The Room in the Dragon Volant by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

The narrator, after two days in Paris, receives a card for the masquerade ball from Monsieur Droqville (the Marquis d'Harmonville). A brief quarrel over a prior engagement is resolved, and the Marquis advises securing a room in Versailles. Finding all hotels full, the narrator encounters the Marquis again, who leads him to the secluded Dragon Volant inn, hinting it is haunted. They agree to meet at the ball, each wearing a domino with a colored cross for recognition.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

The Marquis d'Harmonville maintains his incognito as Monsieur Droqville, and the inn is rumored to be haunted, suggesting hidden truths beneath pleasant surfaces.

### Isolation and Vulnerability

The narrator's frantic search for lodging and his solitary arrival at the secluded Dragon Volant inn highlight his vulnerability away from familiar surroundings.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Secures a card for the ball, quarrels with and reconciles with the Marquis, travels to Versailles, and is guided to the Dragon Volant inn.

### Marquis d'Harmonville

Disguised as Monsieur Droqville, he delivers the ball card, rebukes the narrator for a prior engagement, then reconciles. Later, he guides the narrator to the Dragon Volant inn and arranges a recognition signal for the ball.

### Countess de St. Alyre

Glimpsed by the narrator in a barouche with her husband, prompting his reckless dash through traffic.

### Count de St. Alyre

Seen briefly in the barouche with the Countess.

## Key lines

> Speaking the language fluently and with unlimited money, there was nothing to prevent my enjoying all that was enjoyable in the French capital.

Because he spoke French well and had plenty of money, the narrator could enjoy everything Paris had to offer.

_Establishes the narrator's privileged position and freedom._

> I had at this time remarkably long and clear sight, and if I had been impatient before, guess what my feelings were when I saw an open carriage pass along the narrow strip of roadway left open at the other side, a barouche in which I was certain I recognized the veiled Countess and her husband.

With his sharp eyesight, the narrator spotted the Countess and her husband in a passing carriage, which intensified his impatience.

_Shows the narrator's fixation on the Countess and his impulsive nature._

> I shan't go in—but you will find it a comfortable place; at all events better than nothing. I would go in with you, but my incognito forbids. You will, I daresay, be all the better pleased to learn that the inn is haunted—I should have been, in my young days, I know.

The Marquis declines to enter the inn due to his disguise, but hints that the inn is haunted, which he thinks the narrator might find exciting.

_Introduces the supernatural element and reinforces the Marquis's secret identity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/x-the-black-veil
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters