The Yellow Sign (symbol)
The yellow sign is a symbol of misfortune. As soon as someone finds or receives “the Yellow Sign which no living human being dared disregarded”, it becomes clear that something awful is going to happen. The Yellow Sign means that a certain character is doomed.
The King in Yellow (allegory)
The King in Yellow is an allegory of absolute evil, the Devil. He has no mercy for his victims; it brings him pleasure to watch them suffer. The most horrible thing is that the King in Yellow can live inside a person, corrupting his/her soul and making it rot. Some characters hear him “whispering” to their souls. It is said that, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of living God”.
The play the King in Yellow (motif)
Although this book consists of 10 stories, they are connected with a motif of the King in Yellow, which is a play whose plot is so “dangerous” that even its “author shot himself after bringing forth this monstrosity”. The things described in the book “send men frantic and blast their lives”. It is constantly repeated that it is crime to write such a book.
