The King in Yellow

Content Warning: This section of the guide quotes outdated and offensive language around mental health conditions as well as discussing stigmatizing attitudes toward mental health, which were prevalent when The King in Yellow was published.

The narrator and protagonist of “The Repairer of Reputations,” Hildred Castaigne is a man living in New York City, who has recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital. He was committed after a fall from a horse that injured his brain. His doctor has declared him “cured,” although Castaigne insists he was perfectly rational the entire time. Having read the infamous play, The King in Yellow, and Mr. Wilde’s manuscript, “The Imperial Dynasty of America,” Castaigne now believes he descends from a royal line: although his cousin Louis is first in line for the throne of this “Imperial Dynasty,” he believes his cousin is unworthy and intends to banish him and claim the crown for himself. He also believes his doctor had him committed in order to deprive him of his rightful inheritance.

Through the course of the story it is increasingly suggested that Castaigne is unwell and possibly having delusions, although it is difficult to determine which elements of the story are real and which he is imagining.