In Henry IV, Pirandello tells the story of a madman who believes himself to be the medieval German Emperor Henry IV. This belief is coddled by a wealthy relative who surrounds the man with a retinue of servants and courtiers properly attired to support his delusion. After twelve years, the madman recovers his senses but continues to feign insanity because he prefers this world of illusions to the real world in which the woman he loved left him as a result of his deranged behavior. When this woman comes to visit with her new lover, "Henry IV" is driven to a fit of rage and murders his rival. Afterwards, he realizes that, if he wishes to escape the legal consequences of his actions, he must now continue the pretense of madness for the rest of his life.