The Room in the Dragon Volant · Chapter
XXII: Rapture explained
The narrator, in a state of passionate anticipation, sneaks out of the Dragon Volant inn and makes his way to the Château de la Carque for a clandestine meeting with the Countess.
What happens
The narrator, in a state of passionate anticipation, sneaks out of the Dragon Volant inn and makes his way to the Château de la Carque for a clandestine meeting with the Countess. He brings a box containing thirty thousand pounds. The Countess shows him her diamonds and they plan their escape. She becomes increasingly nervous and leaves to speak with her maid, who brings coffee. While waiting, the narrator explores an adjacent room and makes a startling discovery.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
The narrator deliberately misleads his servant and the inn's staff about his whereabouts, and the Countess's nervous behavior hints at hidden motives beneath her passionate exterior.
Love and Obsession
The narrator's intense passion and willingness to risk everything for the Countess, coupled with his dismissal of potential danger, reflects an obsessive infatuation.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Sneaks out of the inn, brings a large sum of money, meets the Countess at the château, and explores an adjacent room.
- Countess de St. Alyre
Signals the narrator with a rose-colored light, welcomes him passionately, shows her diamonds, becomes nervous, and leaves to speak with her maid.
- Count de St. Alyre
Mentioned as having gone to Père la Chaise with the funeral.
Key passages
“Suppose I were to disappear finally, like those other men whose stories I had listened to!”
What if I ended up vanishing without a trace, just like those men in the tales I heard?
The narrator briefly entertains a chilling thought about his own potential disappearance.
“Never did she look so beautiful. My love rose to passionate enthusiasm. I only wished there were some real danger in the adventure worthy of such a creature.”
She had never appeared more lovely. My affection swelled into fervent excitement, and I almost hoped for genuine peril to match her magnificence.
The narrator's romantic idealization of the Countess leads him to desire danger as a testament to her worth.