# XIV: Mademoiselle de la Vallière explained — The Room in the Dragon Volant

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

## What happens

At a masked ball, the narrator converses with a lady dressed as Mademoiselle de la Vallière. She reveals intimate knowledge of his interest in the Countess de St. Alyre and arranges a secret midnight meeting in the park. The Count de St. Alyre later avoids introducing him to his wife, confirming the lady's predictions.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

The masked ball and the lady's disguise highlight the contrast between appearance and hidden intentions.

### Love and Obsession

The narrator's intense desire to meet the Countess drives him to accept a secret rendezvous.

### Danger and the Supernatural

The clandestine meeting in the park at midnight carries an undercurrent of peril and mystery.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Engages in conversation with a masked lady and agrees to a midnight tryst.

### Marquis d'Harmonville

Accompanies the narrator through the salons and later helps him avoid the Count.

### Count de St. Alyre

Jealous and cunning; avoids introducing the narrator to his wife as predicted.

### Mademoiselle de la Vallière

The masked lady in costume who arranges the secret meeting and claims to be the Countess's confidante.

## Key lines

> It is not easy, Mademoiselle, to deceive me.

The narrator claims he can see through her disguise.

_Opens the flirtatious and deceptive dialogue._

> You will be at the place I have described, then, at two o’clock?

The masked lady confirms the midnight meeting.

_Sets the stage for the secret tryst._

> He is jealous and cunning. You will see. He will never introduce you to his wife.

The lady predicts the Count's behavior.

_Foreshadows the Count's evasion._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xiv-mademoiselle-de-la-valli-re
- 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