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The Prophets' Paradise
"The Profit’s Paradise" is a story from The King in Yellow narrated by Mark Turetsky, a collection of eight dreamlike poems by Robert W Chambers.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1895
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22 people want to read
About the author
Robert W. Chambers
669 books610 followersRobert William Chambers was an American artist and writer.
Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In the Quarter (written in 1887 in Munich). His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, a collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane.
Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons and The Tree of Heaven, but neither earned him such success as The King in Yellow.
Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers was one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Many of his works were also serialized in magazines.
After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction.
Chambers for several years made Broadalbin his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown.
On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller (1882-1939). They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (later calling himself Robert Husted Chambers) who also gained some fame as an author.
Chambers died at his home in the village of Broadalbin, New York, on December 16th 1933.
Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In the Quarter (written in 1887 in Munich). His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, a collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane.
Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons and The Tree of Heaven, but neither earned him such success as The King in Yellow.
Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers was one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Many of his works were also serialized in magazines.
After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction.
Chambers for several years made Broadalbin his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown.
On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller (1882-1939). They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (later calling himself Robert Husted Chambers) who also gained some fame as an author.
Chambers died at his home in the village of Broadalbin, New York, on December 16th 1933.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 13, 2022
I'm reading this for the first time, but seeing that no one else has attempted to discuss the meaning, I'll throw my best guesses at the wall until I have something better. This is for the sake of discussion, not because I think I'm right about any of this. I'll say when I have no guesses.
I enjoy the repetition because it seems to happen only long enough to make an impact without getting dull.
I assumed the narrator was a "he" which I'm sticking with for now for clarity, but they're honestly gender-neutral.
Firstly, the title of each poem gives it context.
The first quatrain about the prophet's paradise is in iambic pentameter. The "Vine" I originally thought referred to the fruit of the vine, wine, but I don't think this makes sense in context. The Vine can be used religiously to mean Jesus, and we have seen religion play a role in previous stories in the compilation, but I'm still not willing to commit to this interpretation. Why use the "Vine" instead of any other word for Christ? There's no other "v" syllables that would make Vine sound better.
"Love Abjuring Band" - Abjuring is apparently foreswearing/renouncing, especially renouncing an oath or heresy. I'm inclined to think of this like a ring of chastity/promise ring, but I'm not sure what the social context would have been at this time. I do feel like it's jewelry signifying something about chastity or something similar.
The hollow of one's hand is an empty palm and is used sometimes in religious blessings, with God holding you in the hollow of His hand, although again I can't say whether this is common in the late 1800s.
I think a way to reword the first poem is "If the Prophet's Paradise only holds the Vine and (a ring of renouncing love?), then it isn't empty."
Since the whole piece is called "The Prophet's Paradise," I'm going to wait to define it until looking at the other poems.
The studio -
This poem has 4 characters that speak or act in some capacity: The narrator, "he," the flame, and "her."
The narrator seems to be trapped in an art studio ("tarnished frames and canvasses" "the studio") that is decked out with lavish ancient treasures that have fallen into disrepair over time . The chests, flagons, arms (weapons) all sound like medieval royalty and I'm not sure whether they're meant literally or not, since the studio has a glass ceiling, which wouldn't fit a medieval period.
In any case, he seems to be trapped in a loop of repeating dialogue that he doesn't question. The poem shows that a lot of time has passed as he's waited here for whomever the woman is (a love interest?) to return. He seems to be locked in the studio of his own free will, not realizing that the person he's waiting for has gotten older and less recognizable.
The flame is constantly dying, seen in its whitening ashes. It seems to be our only character who's aware of the passing of time, although I'm not sure if it's also in a perpetual state of dying-flame or if it's cultivated by the narrator for his own warmth.
The narrator doesn't seem to notice or care that he's been waiting for so long that the thing he's waiting for is gone.
Even if this isn't the literal meaning, I think you can understand this poem as a ghost of a man haunting a ruined building; "he" being the demon trying to get him to justify staying on the earth; the flame as his conscience; and the woman as his old love, grown old over years.
Knowing that this is an art studio, you could probably then read the poem as a commentary on the transience of beauty - an artist throwing himself in his work, refusing to look for new inspiration, obsessed with rediscovering an old muse.
-
The Phantom of the Past-
This one seems easier. It's about nostalgia ruining future opportunities. The "phantom of the past," that is, memories, is embodied as a woman. She is worried about the narrator "forgetting" and refuses to be dragged into the present. She's his "friend," suggesting that he is already seeped in positive feelings for the past.
The narrator doesn't say that he left her, instead looping around to the beginning of the poem, making me think the argument continues, circular. In that case, the Phantom of the Past accomplished her goal to keep the narrator from moving on.
-
The Sacrifice-
This one is mysterious because I don't know what the snow-white flowers with pure gold hearts could symbolize - possibly childhood? In that case, this is about how the old die to make way for the young.
You can't really read this literally because how can a flower have a gold heart? How can the narrator see these details from far afield? You can't even picture it, which I think is why it sounds so confusing. Easier to assume it's a metaphor, and "whiter than snow" is innocence with "hearts (of) pure gold" are good intentions.
The field of flowers are being sustained by the lifeblood of someone who the woman (who seems to be their caretaker) loves and has killed on their behalf. This is continually being completed as seen by the "fresh blood" and new names being written on the jar.
I'm now wondering if the woman is symbolizing the mother earth, who has loved and nurtured humans but has also given them death. The thing that makes the flowers=children idea weird is that the flowers seemingly have no blood to shed. We don't see this being a cycle of life and death - just of sacrifice for the sake of some flowers.
Note that the flowers are described only in terms of their color, making it more obvious and intentional that they're not being stained by blood.
-
Destiny-
The title for this one again turns it from something obscure to being on-the-nose.
The narrator knows that he's destined to be able to achieve something that is difficult to achieve (passing a bridge). When he's allowed to pass, he doesn't bother, instead watching and waiting as other people try until getting bored. Everyone else, ignorant of what allows someone in the gates or not, thinks that the narrator isn't putting in enough effort, but are proven wrong when the narrator is allowed.
The narrator somehow knows that he's "destined" to get past the bridge, so there's nobody who can stop him. It's not a question of if it will happen - just when he feels like pursuing it.
This is vague enough to apply to almost anything involving destiny, except that the destiny is desirable in this case, unlike a lot of prophecies.
-
The Throng -
I had no idea why Pierrot was mentioned by name, but it's the name of a particular white (some might say pallid...) theatre mask characterized by a large teardrop and a sad expression, often characterized as being a romantic.
The plot of this piece of prose goes like this: The narrator is in a crowd who have all noticed that his friend robbed him, laughing at his ignorance. Pierrot is making a big show of a minor, unnecessarily elaborate helpful gesture (dusting white chalk from the narrator's black cloak) as he robs the narrator's purse. The narrator (I think - it might be Pierrot talking?) suggests that they're laughing at something that's inherently comical from its oxymoronic nature, like an honest thief. The crowd try to inform the narrator, but he's too blinded by his own trust or pride to realize it. Truth, characterized as a woman, offers a mirror. Pierrot convinces the narrator to turn on Truth instead of Pierrot.
Knowing that Pierrot is a comedy character makes this whole thing feel much more like a stage play, which explains why the crowd is acting like a laughing audience - and why the narrator seems exaggeratedly gullible and oblivious.
The strange lines are when interpreting what Truth means. I think that Truth is saying, "Pierrot is a thief. By accepting this mirror, he reveals himself as a thief, which makes him honest. Therefore, if Pierrot looks at himself in this mirror, he has become an honest thief." Her role in the poem seems to be pointing out the obvious.
I definitely feel like the topic of the prose is disinformation and bias when someone is addressing the public. If you're at the point where you're accusing Truth herself of being a criminal, you're past the point of no return. The narrator doesn't even remember what he's been robbed of because he's only listening to Pierrot and the reaction of the crowd.
-
The Jester -
This one I don't really understand at all, so I'll just explain what I notice.
The narrator keeps asking ,"Was she fair?" to the jester presumably to mean "Was she beautiful?" (although it could be about if she was pale, hence dead, but I think that's a stretch).
The jester is laughing to himself the whole time, listening to his own bells jingling, as if he only cares about his own reaction. Bad trait for a court jester, which we picture because of the bells on his cap, but maybe it's supposed to more broadly imply a man who is pleased with his own jokes. The only time his reaction changes is in the last repetition where he snarls instead.
The jester tells a story of a man who bore years of perilous wandering, yearning for friends and family, "for her sake." The woman kissed him at the gate (
(I have to stop typing but I will come back to edit. Spoiler tags for now)
I enjoy the repetition because it seems to happen only long enough to make an impact without getting dull.
I assumed the narrator was a "he" which I'm sticking with for now for clarity, but they're honestly gender-neutral.
Firstly, the title of each poem gives it context.
The first quatrain about the prophet's paradise is in iambic pentameter. The "Vine" I originally thought referred to the fruit of the vine, wine, but I don't think this makes sense in context. The Vine can be used religiously to mean Jesus, and we have seen religion play a role in previous stories in the compilation, but I'm still not willing to commit to this interpretation. Why use the "Vine" instead of any other word for Christ? There's no other "v" syllables that would make Vine sound better.
"Love Abjuring Band" - Abjuring is apparently foreswearing/renouncing, especially renouncing an oath or heresy. I'm inclined to think of this like a ring of chastity/promise ring, but I'm not sure what the social context would have been at this time. I do feel like it's jewelry signifying something about chastity or something similar.
The hollow of one's hand is an empty palm and is used sometimes in religious blessings, with God holding you in the hollow of His hand, although again I can't say whether this is common in the late 1800s.
I think a way to reword the first poem is "If the Prophet's Paradise only holds the Vine and (a ring of renouncing love?), then it isn't empty."
Since the whole piece is called "The Prophet's Paradise," I'm going to wait to define it until looking at the other poems.
The studio -
This poem has 4 characters that speak or act in some capacity: The narrator, "he," the flame, and "her."
The narrator seems to be trapped in an art studio ("tarnished frames and canvasses" "the studio") that is decked out with lavish ancient treasures that have fallen into disrepair over time . The chests, flagons, arms (weapons) all sound like medieval royalty and I'm not sure whether they're meant literally or not, since the studio has a glass ceiling, which wouldn't fit a medieval period.
In any case, he seems to be trapped in a loop of repeating dialogue that he doesn't question. The poem shows that a lot of time has passed as he's waited here for whomever the woman is (a love interest?) to return. He seems to be locked in the studio of his own free will, not realizing that the person he's waiting for has gotten older and less recognizable.
The flame is constantly dying, seen in its whitening ashes. It seems to be our only character who's aware of the passing of time, although I'm not sure if it's also in a perpetual state of dying-flame or if it's cultivated by the narrator for his own warmth.
The narrator doesn't seem to notice or care that he's been waiting for so long that the thing he's waiting for is gone.
Even if this isn't the literal meaning, I think you can understand this poem as a ghost of a man haunting a ruined building; "he" being the demon trying to get him to justify staying on the earth; the flame as his conscience; and the woman as his old love, grown old over years.
Knowing that this is an art studio, you could probably then read the poem as a commentary on the transience of beauty - an artist throwing himself in his work, refusing to look for new inspiration, obsessed with rediscovering an old muse.
-
The Phantom of the Past-
This one seems easier. It's about nostalgia ruining future opportunities. The "phantom of the past," that is, memories, is embodied as a woman. She is worried about the narrator "forgetting" and refuses to be dragged into the present. She's his "friend," suggesting that he is already seeped in positive feelings for the past.
The narrator doesn't say that he left her, instead looping around to the beginning of the poem, making me think the argument continues, circular. In that case, the Phantom of the Past accomplished her goal to keep the narrator from moving on.
-
The Sacrifice-
This one is mysterious because I don't know what the snow-white flowers with pure gold hearts could symbolize - possibly childhood? In that case, this is about how the old die to make way for the young.
You can't really read this literally because how can a flower have a gold heart? How can the narrator see these details from far afield? You can't even picture it, which I think is why it sounds so confusing. Easier to assume it's a metaphor, and "whiter than snow" is innocence with "hearts (of) pure gold" are good intentions.
The field of flowers are being sustained by the lifeblood of someone who the woman (who seems to be their caretaker) loves and has killed on their behalf. This is continually being completed as seen by the "fresh blood" and new names being written on the jar.
I'm now wondering if the woman is symbolizing the mother earth, who has loved and nurtured humans but has also given them death. The thing that makes the flowers=children idea weird is that the flowers seemingly have no blood to shed. We don't see this being a cycle of life and death - just of sacrifice for the sake of some flowers.
Note that the flowers are described only in terms of their color, making it more obvious and intentional that they're not being stained by blood.
-
Destiny-
The title for this one again turns it from something obscure to being on-the-nose.
The narrator knows that he's destined to be able to achieve something that is difficult to achieve (passing a bridge). When he's allowed to pass, he doesn't bother, instead watching and waiting as other people try until getting bored. Everyone else, ignorant of what allows someone in the gates or not, thinks that the narrator isn't putting in enough effort, but are proven wrong when the narrator is allowed.
The narrator somehow knows that he's "destined" to get past the bridge, so there's nobody who can stop him. It's not a question of if it will happen - just when he feels like pursuing it.
This is vague enough to apply to almost anything involving destiny, except that the destiny is desirable in this case, unlike a lot of prophecies.
-
The Throng -
I had no idea why Pierrot was mentioned by name, but it's the name of a particular white (some might say pallid...) theatre mask characterized by a large teardrop and a sad expression, often characterized as being a romantic.
The plot of this piece of prose goes like this: The narrator is in a crowd who have all noticed that his friend robbed him, laughing at his ignorance. Pierrot is making a big show of a minor, unnecessarily elaborate helpful gesture (dusting white chalk from the narrator's black cloak) as he robs the narrator's purse. The narrator (I think - it might be Pierrot talking?) suggests that they're laughing at something that's inherently comical from its oxymoronic nature, like an honest thief. The crowd try to inform the narrator, but he's too blinded by his own trust or pride to realize it. Truth, characterized as a woman, offers a mirror. Pierrot convinces the narrator to turn on Truth instead of Pierrot.
Knowing that Pierrot is a comedy character makes this whole thing feel much more like a stage play, which explains why the crowd is acting like a laughing audience - and why the narrator seems exaggeratedly gullible and oblivious.
The strange lines are when interpreting what Truth means. I think that Truth is saying, "Pierrot is a thief. By accepting this mirror, he reveals himself as a thief, which makes him honest. Therefore, if Pierrot looks at himself in this mirror, he has become an honest thief." Her role in the poem seems to be pointing out the obvious.
I definitely feel like the topic of the prose is disinformation and bias when someone is addressing the public. If you're at the point where you're accusing Truth herself of being a criminal, you're past the point of no return. The narrator doesn't even remember what he's been robbed of because he's only listening to Pierrot and the reaction of the crowd.
-
The Jester -
This one I don't really understand at all, so I'll just explain what I notice.
The narrator keeps asking ,"Was she fair?" to the jester presumably to mean "Was she beautiful?" (although it could be about if she was pale, hence dead, but I think that's a stretch).
The jester is laughing to himself the whole time, listening to his own bells jingling, as if he only cares about his own reaction. Bad trait for a court jester, which we picture because of the bells on his cap, but maybe it's supposed to more broadly imply a man who is pleased with his own jokes. The only time his reaction changes is in the last repetition where he snarls instead.
The jester tells a story of a man who bore years of perilous wandering, yearning for friends and family, "for her sake." The woman kissed him at the gate (
(I have to stop typing but I will come back to edit. Spoiler tags for now)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2021
A short poem, the sixth installment of shorts in Chambers' masterpiece The King in Yellow. I'm not sure I understood it, but I certainly enjoyed its structure and inventiveness.
This is the second piece in a row where there is no reference made to "The King in Yellow" as a maddening book. Or any book at all, for that matter.
. . . . Am I losing it?
This is the second piece in a row where there is no reference made to "The King in Yellow" as a maddening book. Or any book at all, for that matter.
. . . . Am I losing it?
December 15, 2023
a sequence of eerie prose poems constructed in a style with a dream-like quality that develops the style and theme which brings forth excerpts from the author's fictional play "The King in Yellow" and marked by a precise motif of repetition and symmetry.
May 14, 2019
Very beautifully written, but I don't have a clue what it means. More of a poem than fiction.
November 13, 2015
Hopefully others will clarify this ... tale ... or ... what would you call this? I don't get it. The repetition reminded me of Gertrude Stein, not that I've read or liked much of her stuff either.
January 4, 2024
A beautiful and heart wrenching array of poems that depict so many themes, from love to death to surrender to hope. The woman who pours blood over the white flowers with the heart of gold was especially haunting for me. I also enjoyed that despite a clown feeling his white face was the most beautiful of all, Death came in and swayed him of this notion, only by the simple truth that no, Death’s face was the most fair. And possibly because no one in his right mind wants to contradict Death. Chambers has an equanimous way with prose, so that you are caught in the current of his words without ever wanting to look back. My first reading of this author and I plan on finding more. Highly recommended and a definite classic.
June 30, 2019
Interesting and well spoken, but I'm not sure I'm smart enough to get most of it.
The themes of madness and repetition are throughout, some of the twists are quite fun, but I fear I missed most of it.
The themes of madness and repetition are throughout, some of the twists are quite fun, but I fear I missed most of it.
March 20, 2021
God oplæsning. Selve digtene er af blandet karakter, både i kvalitet og type, fra vrøvledigte til romantik og situations beskrivelse, fra det fine, men lettere middelmådige, til de rigtig gode.
March 20, 2021
Digtet er interesant nok, men indspilningskvaliteten er desværre noget ringe og det trækker indtrykket ned.
September 25, 2023
Weird and a bit incomprehensible.
June 22, 2025
Prose "poems" that inspire one to expire.
October 23, 2025
Not sure what that was about
December 18, 2025
Une suite de poèmes courts et étranges dans le style de la piece "le Roi en Jaune". Très cool.
May 4, 2026
(2.5)
Not really sure what to think of this one. Like the fun poetic structure but I don’t really think I understood what Chambers was going for.
Not really sure what to think of this one. Like the fun poetic structure but I don’t really think I understood what Chambers was going for.
December 30, 2025
cool vibes
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews