# Heitman Michael — Jurgen character guide

> Heitman Michael in Jurgen by James Branch Cabell.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Michael, rich Heitman Michael

**First appearance:** 0036-xxxii-sundry-devices-of-the-philistines

## Snapshot

A wealthy, respected Philistian nearing thirty, he is the rival whose patient courtship of Dorothy turns Jurgen's romantic nostalgia into a duel.

## Who they are

Heitman Michael moves through Philistia as a man of substance and standing, the sort of solid suitor Dorothy's world approves of. To the young Jurgen he seemed a senile interloper, yet he is the one who will actually win Dorothy and share her ruinous years. When Jurgen challenges him on the terrace, the older man answers with a swordsman's calm, and the confrontation forces Jurgen to fight for a past he had only been dreaming about.

## Relationships

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_rivalry_

Heitman Michael is a pompous poet and rival who competes with Jurgen for literary and romantic success.

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_rivalry_

Heitman Michael is a pompous poet and rival who competes with Jurgen for literary and romantic success.

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_rivalry_

Heitman Michael is a pompous poet and rival who competes with Jurgen for literary and romantic success.

## In the story

### [IV: The Dorothy Who Did Not Understand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/iv-the-dorothy-who-did-not-understand)

Referenced as the wealthy nobleman whom Dorothy is pressured to marry, and whom Jurgen believed she married in his past.

### [V: Requirements of Bread and Butter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/v-requirements-of-bread-and-butter)

Mentioned as the owner of the castle at Bellegarde, to whom Jurgen plans to return the horse.

### [VII: Of Compromises on a Wednesday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/vii-of-compromises-on-a-wednesday)

Killed by Jurgen in a jealous rage; his body is hidden under a bench.

### [L: The Moment That Did Not Count](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/l-the-moment-that-did-not-count)

Dorothy's husband, whose birthday is used as a pretext for the pawn transaction.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/heitman_michael
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters