Metropolis · Chapter
IX explained
Josaphat, having been forcibly exiled from Metropolis by aeroplane, threatens the pilot with a steel implement to force a return.
What happens
Josaphat, having been forcibly exiled from Metropolis by aeroplane, threatens the pilot with a steel implement to force a return. A struggle ensues, and Josaphat ultimately parachutes from the aircraft, landing in a rural field. He is found by a young peasant girl who tends to him as he falls into an exhausted sleep under the stars.
Themes in this chapter
Class Division and Exploitation
Josaphat's forced exile from Metropolis by aeroplane underscores the power dynamics between the ruling class and those they discard, while his landing in a pastoral setting highlights the chasm between the industrial city and the rural countryside.
Love and Sacrifice
The young peasant girl's selfless care for the injured Josaphat, despite her fear, embodies a maternal, sacrificial love that contrasts with the violence of the city.
Characters to notice
- Josaphat
Josaphat is the central figure in this chapter, having been taken from Metropolis by aeroplane. He threatens the pilot to force a return, then parachutes to safety, landing in a rural field where he is cared for by a young girl.
- Slim
The pilot of the aeroplane, described as having bull-like strength and a forceful calm. He refuses Josaphat's demand to turn back and is killed during the struggle, his skull crushed.
Key passages
“Nevertheless Josaphat had intercepted the movement of the pilot’s head with his brain. Not immediately. Not soon. Yet the vision of this cautious, yet certain and vigilant movement remained in his memory until he at last comprehended it.”
Josaphat slowly registered the pilot's head movement, the memory lingering until he finally understood its significance.
This passage illustrates Josaphat's delayed perception and the psychological impact of his ordeal.
“The young girl came running up. She was still screaming, wordlessly, breathlessly, as though these primitive shrieks were her actual language.”
The girl ran toward Josaphat, screaming in a primal, wordless manner as if it were her native tongue.
The girl's instinctive reaction emphasizes her connection to nature and the raw humanity of the scene.
“In her eyes was the never sleeping watchfulness which one sees in the eyes of animals and of mothers.”
Her eyes held an eternal vigilance, like that of a mother or a wild animal guarding its young.
This simile underscores the protective, maternal quality of the girl's care for Josaphat.