# Boris Yvain — The King in Yellow character guide

> Boris Yvain in The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Boris

**First appearance:** 0013-the-yellow-sign

## Who they are

A painter whose easy friendship with the narrator and shared love for Geneviève becomes an unbearable weight the narrator can neither name nor shed.

## Relationships

### [Geneviève](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/characters/genevieve)

_romantic_

Boris Yvain is deeply in love with Geneviève, but their relationship is strained by his volatile temperament and her independence.

### [Geneviève](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/characters/genevieve)

_romantic_

Boris Yvain is deeply in love with Geneviève, but their relationship is strained by his volatile temperament and her independence.

### [Geneviève](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/characters/genevieve)

_romantic_

Boris Yvain is deeply in love with Geneviève, but their relationship is strained by his volatile temperament and her independence.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned as the sculptor of the marble group of the Fates at the Lethal Chamber.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/i)

Sculptor who discovered a petrification liquid; demonstrates it to Alec; vows to keep the secret.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/ii)

Working on sculptures, discusses the petrification solution with the narrator, then leaves with Jack Scott to visit the Luxembourg Gallery.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/iii)

Restless and troubled by Geneviève's fever; demonstrates the petrification liquid; dies after Geneviève's confession.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/iv)

Deceased; his grave at Sèvres is visited; appears in dreams and memories.

### [The Yellow Sign](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/chapters/the-yellow-sign)

The narrator's friend and fellow artist; his studio contains a copy of 'The King in Yellow' and a painting of a sinister figure.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/characters/boris_yvain
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_king_in_yellow_se/characters