# XI explained — Metropolis

> Chapter companion for Metropolis by Thea von Harbou.

## What happens

Freder recounts to Josaphat his disturbing dream and his visit to the cathedral, where he witnesses the monk Desertus deliver a fiery sermon condemning a mysterious woman as the Whore of Babylon. Freder's former friend Jan, now transformed by despair, leads him outside and tells the story of a strange house and a woman whose appearance has set the city ablaze.

## Themes in this chapter

### Religious and Mythological Symbolism

The monk Desertus's sermon directly quotes Revelation, casting the mysterious woman as the Whore of Babylon and Metropolis as a sinful city.

### Love and Sacrifice

Freder's desperate search for Maria in the cathedral and his anguish over her potential corruption reflect his deep love and fear for her purity.

## Character check-ins

### Freder

Freder recounts his dream and his experience in the cathedral, seeking Maria and confronting the monk's sermon.

### Josaphat

Josaphat listens to Freder's account, offering brief interjections.

### Jan

Jan, a former friend of Freder, appears transformed and despairing in the cathedral; he later tells Freder about the mysterious woman and the house.

### Maria

Freder fears that Maria is the woman denounced by the monk, and he searches for her in the cathedral.

### Desertus

The monk Desertus preaches a terrifying sermon in the cathedral, condemning a woman as the Whore of Babylon.

## Key lines

> He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Seven angels shall stand before God, and there shall be given unto them seven trumpets.

The monk warns the congregation to listen, invoking the biblical prophecy of the seven angels with trumpets.

_Freder recalls the monk's sermon, which uses apocalyptic language to condemn the woman._

> You do not know who she is... But nobody knows... She was suddenly there... As a fire breaks out... No one can say who fanned the flame... But there it is, and now everything is ablaze...

Jan tells Freder that the woman appeared without warning, like a fire, and has set the entire city in turmoil.

_Jan describes the mysterious woman's sudden and destructive influence on Metropolis._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/xi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metropolis_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metropolis_se/chapters