In a Glass Darkly - Week 5 (The Room at the Dragon Volant, Part 2)

[Lori, Moderator]

The second half was a pretty wild ride! Did you enjoy it?

Did anything surprise you? I was surprised there were no actual supernatural elements.

[Brian E]

Lori wrote: "The second half was a pretty wild ride! Did you enjoy it?"

Yes, Lori, I did enjoy it. I read most of the second half on my I-Pad, while sitting on my porch in the dark watching and talking with Trick or Treaters while they picked up candy from a table in our front stoop. It was a good tale and I felt that the dank winding stair/castle-like venues provided the atmospheric read I had hoped for on Halloween.
In the last thread I mentioned I was a slow learner, which we now see is a trait shared by our narrator, Monsieur Beckett, who continued to drink beverages provided by these culprits. But that is not necessarily a bad thing as, to paraphrase a GEICO TV commercial, "when you are in a horror story, you make terrible decisions - that's just what you do." Also, I'm sure the narrator's ability to be duped, revealed by his love-sick puppy attempt to resemble his "ideal of the French school of lovemaking," and obviously his money, are why he was chosen to be a mark.

Lori wrote: "Did anything surprise you? I was surprised there were no actual supernatural elements."

LeFanu did imply a supernatural aspect in the two earlier references to vampires etc.. Instead, he just went the 19th century natural version of horror. Maybe I wouldn't have anticipated it as much if I read the story as a stand-alone but the first three stories added to that expectation.
However, I'm glad he just went the more natural "The Premature Burial" route rather than a supernatural one. It was a nice change of pace from the short stories and may be why I thought this story was effective.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

I enjoyed this part a lot-it really was a wild ride. That Countess was something else!

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

The scenes with the coffin were really creepy!

[Jim]

A wild story. Beckett's hunger for the countess puts him in some interesting positions.

[Lori, Moderator]

I enjoyed it too. Even without the possible ghosts, it was spooky and fun.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

It was interesting and refreshing to see that main character, a young man, found himself in a sticky situation -instead of the usual young women in gothic novels.

[Alice]

All this wonderful spooky atmosphere coupled with a natural explanation in the end reminds me of Ann Radcliffe. I apologize if this was already mentioned in the background information thread! I was never able to read that thread, as it consistently crashed the app on my device.

I agree that the lack of supernatural elements in the ending is both surprising, and oddly satisfying. I also wonder whether some of the satisfaction comes from the tidiness; Le Fanu does not leave any real questions outstanding in this one. Everything is tied up neatly. Of course, we still don't know the content of the papers the disguised countess rifles through, the first time Beckett is poisoned; but somehow this doesn't feel as important to me as it did earlier.

Thank you Lori for positioning us right in the middle of this one on October 31st . . . the timing was just perfect!

[Lori, Moderator]

I'm so glad you all are enjoying this as much as I am!

I initially interpreted the papers as bank information, either finding out how much money he had (and therefore whether he was worth it as a target) or a way to access it. But then, he had already told Droqville how much money he was traveling with, and he took out the money himself to run away with the "countess." But then perhaps she couldn't be sure he'd bring the money himself.

[Alice]

Yes, maybe she needed to check to make sure they would not be wasting their effort.

[Daniela]

We understood the plot before he did and I was continuously saying:"no, beware, don't do this, oh no!" :-)) The scene he is in the coffin and cannot move is enough to give nightmares.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

That was an intense scene-I'm glad he had someone that knew he was in danger, but still.....

[Deborah, Moderator]

I just finished. I’ve always enjoyed this author, and really loved this story. While the hotel being haunted, it seems it was just haunted by con artists. I wondered why he’d drink the beverages after his first experience, but then love is supposed to be blind. The casket scene was definitely spine chilling and brought to mind the tradition of putting a bell in the casket.

[Rafael]

I really enjoyed this story. I don't know when but in some point I was suspecting of all the situation, and sure, I was suspecting of the femme fatale.


Deborah wrote: "I just finished. I’ve always enjoyed this author, and really loved this story. While the hotel being haunted, it seems it was just haunted by con artists. I wondered why he’d drink the beverages af..."

I may agree that he was blinded by his feelings, but I am not sure that love is the culprit here.

[Lori, Moderator]

I think we'd say he was thinking with something other than his brain, as young people on vacation tend to do.