# Monsieur Carmaignac — The Room in the Dragon Volant character guide

> Monsieur Carmaignac in The Room in the Dragon Volant by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Carmaignac, the incorrigible Carmaignac

**First appearance:** 0004-iii-death-and-love-together-mated

## Snapshot

A cynical Parisian official whose dry warnings and worldly asides give the narrator's romantic adventure an unsettling counterweight of hard fact.

## Who they are

Monsieur Carmaignac is incorrigibly witty, sceptical of every fine sentiment, and apparently well placed to know what goes on behind the polite façades of Versailles. He treats the narrator's enthusiasms with amused indulgence while dropping hints that the Dragon Volant and its guests are not what they seem. His scepticism plants the doubts that the narrator's own heart keeps trying to shout down.

## Relationships

### [Count de St. Alyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/count_de_st_alyre)

_rivalry_

The Count and Carmaignac are adversaries, with Carmaignac suspecting the Count of criminal activity.

### [Marquis d'Harmonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/marquis_d_harmonville)

_professional_

The Marquis and Carmaignac collaborate as allies in investigating the Count's plot.

### [Planard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/planard)

_rivalry_

Carmaignac suspects Planard of being an accomplice to the Count's crimes and interrogates him.

### [Tom Whistlewick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/tom_whistlewick)

_social_

Carmaignac and Tom Whistlewick are casual acquaintances, sharing information about the case.

### [Colonel Gaillarde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/colonel_gaillarde)

_friendship_

Colonel Gaillarde and Carmaignac are friendly allies, both concerned for the narrator's safety.

### [Count de St. Alyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/count_de_st_alyre)

_rivalry_

The Count and Carmaignac are adversaries, with Carmaignac suspecting the Count of criminal activity.

### [Marquis d'Harmonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/marquis_d_harmonville)

_professional_

The Marquis and Carmaignac collaborate as allies in investigating the Count's plot.

### [Colonel Gaillarde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/colonel_gaillarde)

_friendship_

Colonel Gaillarde and Carmaignac are friendly allies, both concerned for the narrator's safety.

### [Planard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/planard)

_rivalry_

Carmaignac suspects Planard of being an accomplice to the Count's crimes and interrogates him.

### [Count de St. Alyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/count_de_st_alyre)

_rivalry_

The Count and Carmaignac are adversaries, with Carmaignac suspecting the Count of criminal activity.

### [Tom Whistlewick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/tom_whistlewick)

_social_

Carmaignac and Tom Whistlewick are casual acquaintances, sharing information about the case.

## In the story

### [Strange Story of the Dragon Volant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xv-strange-story-of-the-dragon-volant)

A French official who relates the mysterious case of the Chevalier Château Blassemare, which involved the same room at the Dragon Volant.

### [XVII: The Tenant of the Palanquin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xvii-the-tenant-of-the-palanquin)

Dines with the narrator and provides commentary on the palanquin incident and police involvement.

### [XVIII: The Churchyard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xviii-the-churchyard)

Tells the story of the vanished poet and other disappearances from the narrator's room.

### [XXVI: Catastrophe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xxvi-catastrophe)

Police official who leads the intervention at the Château de la Carque, interrupting the coffin sealing.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters/monsieur_carmaignac
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/characters