# How Demetrios Wooed explained — Domnei

> Chapter companion for Domnei by James Branch Cabell.

## What happens

Demetrios woos Melicent with a bitter, nihilistic passion, arguing that beauty and love are meaningless in the face of death. Melicent rebuffs him, asserting that he purchased her body but cannot command her love. The chapter also features Ahasuerus, who is an honored guest at Nacumera, and a tense conversation between Demetrios, Melicent, and the Jew about faith and the Messiah.

## Themes in this chapter

### Beauty and Its Perils

Melicent's beauty is the object of Demetrios's obsessive desire, yet he derides it as meaningless in the face of death, illustrating the peril and transience of physical beauty.

### The Nature of True Love

Demetrios's 'love' is possessive and nihilistic, while Melicent insists that love cannot be purchased, contrasting true love with mere desire and ownership.

### Idealism vs. Cynicism

Demetrios's cynical worldview—that all is dust and nothing matters—clashes with Melicent's steadfast moral and spiritual ideals, as she refuses to yield to his nihilistic wooing.

## Character check-ins

### Demetrios

Woos Melicent with a harsh, fatalistic philosophy, yet is internally raging over his own infatuation. He treats her kindly but with a sneer, and lavishes her with plundered goods.

### Melicent

A prisoner at Nacumera, she rejects Demetrios's advances, stating that he purchased her body but not her love. She fears Ahasuerus.

### Ahasuerus

An honored guest at Nacumera, he is feared by Melicent. He speaks cryptically about the Messiah and his own waiting, and Demetrios dismisses him as not amusing.

## Key lines

> What will it matter a hundred years from now?

Demetrios argues that in the face of death, all human concerns—beauty, love, pride—are ultimately insignificant.

_This refrain is used repeatedly by Demetrios to undermine Melicent's resistance and to justify his own obsessive pursuit._

> I have already told you, my girl, I do not care for that which can be purchased.

Demetrios rejects the idea of possessing Melicent's body without her love, revealing his desire for a deeper, though still possessive, conquest.

_This line highlights the paradox in Demetrios's character: he bought Melicent but wants more than mere ownership._

> I know that He was the Messiah, Lord. And yet you do not worship Him. It was not altogether worship He desired. He asked that men should love Him. He does not ask love of me.

Ahasuerus acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah but explains that he cannot offer love, only obedience, because love is not demanded of him.

_This exchange reveals Ahasuerus's unique, tragic perspective on faith and his own cursed existence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/domnei_se/chapters/x-how-demetrios-wooed
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/domnei_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/domnei_se/chapters