Talk:The Repairer of Reputations

Unreliable Narrator
Having just read the story for the first time, shouldn't the plot summary treat the subject with a pinch of salt?

TROR seems to me to be a perfect case of an "Unreliable Narrator", since as the story progresses we find out more and more how delusional Hildred really is. (Eg. his "crown" in his "safe".) This in turn makes us question how much of the rest of the story, as told by him, is actually true. For example, I wondered whether the aristocratic environment described is simply wishful thinking on Hildred's part, because it's an obvious prerequisite for his royal ambitions.

I could also fancy that the suicide chamber doesn't even exist, or that in reality it's a building for a completely different purpose.

Anybody have more in-depth information and analysis for the story? --Syzygy 07:31, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * In "the Yellow Sign" you seem to encounter the normal New York, with the Garibaldi statue not replaced like it's said to be in TROR, as well as a passing reference to "tragedy of young Castaigne" placing them directly in the same "universe". So I'd say most everything is likely to be coloured by Hildreds delusions. There's no doubt in my mind that it's Hildreds knife and not the cat, that disposes of mr. Wilde as well. Ttias (talk) 14:05, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

"Hyades"?
Is there any support for the notion that in TROR the star cluster is meant by this name? I understood the Hyades are an "earthly" place name in The King in Yellow as well, and that would fit better in the overall setting of the story. --Syzygy 07:31, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Vance
I have been wondering weather anyone can shed some light on the charicter Vance. Namely, if he even exists or is a figment of the protagonist's imagination, like the 'crown'. For example, Vance would appear to take his own life after murdering Constance and her father, however since neither charicter was actually murdered, Vance's self-termination would seem fairly pointless. That is simply what the mentally unstable narrator would have expected him to have done. Does anyone disagree? Boldfurykeren 20:50, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

The death of Mr. Wilde
My thought when reading the passage where Hildred finds Mr. Wilde dead was that he quite clearly was murdered by Vance, to escape having to assassinate two innocent people. Currently the wikipedia entry proposes that the violent cat had succeeded in slitting Mr. Wilde's throat (which seems highly unlikely). After the deed, Vance kills himself in the Lethal Chamber, and that could be an answer to the question posed by Boldfurykeren above. Partydroid (talk) 14:41, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Given the delusional nature of the narrator, when first reading that passage, it occurred to me to wonder if "Mr Wilde" actually was just a feral cat he had befriended and talked to - and in his final effort to kill the cat, he had in fact killed "Mr Wilde." 79.73.0.102 (talk) 19:21, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

"Anti-Story"
Quite interesting observation, but right now it looks very much like WP:OR. MikePaulC, can you provide sources, citations, references for this section...? That would really help the article! --Syzygy (talk) 07:38, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Good critique! In response and per your request, I have added some citation/references, and a lot of cross-links to relevant Wiki articles. (Check the suicide booth one--the reference back to this article was already there! What a laugh!)  I also made a few wording changes, but those were minor. Let me know if this is sufficient. --MikePaulC (talk) 04:02, 11 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Fine with me, although by now it might be a bit over-linked. ;-) But that's certainly a matter of personal taste. Thanks for bringing in the idea and supplying the work! -- Syzygy (talk) 13:05, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Mr.Wilde's eponymous career actually a thing now
The characters in the novel express credulity at the very concept of a "repairer of reputations" (rather than simply at Mr.Wilde's obviously imagined success at it). To me this is ironic given that (if one disregards Mr.Wilde's use of mafia-like tactics) the job seems to be essentially that of a spin doctor — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.121.1.13 (talk) 08:49, 14 October 2021 (UTC)