# Josaphat — Metropolis character guide

> Josaphat in Metropolis by Thea von Harbou.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Josaphat, Nevertheless Josaphat, Mr. Freder? Josaphat

**First appearance:** 0001-metropolis

## Snapshot

Freder's steadfast friend, who risks his own place in the city's order to stand by the young master when he falls from grace.

## Who they are

Josaphat is the kind of man Joh Fredersen's world does not reward: loyal, unspectacular, and willing to leap from heaven to earth for a friend. When Freder is isolated behind the wall of his father's displeasure, Josaphat is the one who refuses to abandon him, and his constancy becomes a quiet counterweight to the city's cold arithmetic. His presence keeps the novel's human scale intact even as its machinery grows monstrous.

## Relationships

### [Freder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/freder)

_friendship_

Freder and Josaphat are close companions, with Josaphat acting as a loyal confidant and ally in Freder's journey.

### [Slim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/slim)

_friendship_

Josaphat and Slim are comrades, working together to support Freder's cause.

### [Maria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/maria)

_friendship_

Josaphat respects and supports Maria, acting as a bridge between her and Freder.

### [Rotwang](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/rotwang)

_rivalry_

Josaphat distrusts and opposes Rotwang, seeing him as a dangerous manipulator.

### [Grot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/grot)

_professional_

Grot and Josaphat have a tense professional relationship, with Grot as a foreman and Josaphat as a worker advocate.

### [Freder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/freder)

_friendship_

Freder and Josaphat are close companions, with Josaphat acting as a loyal confidant and ally in Freder's journey.

### [Rotwang](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/rotwang)

_rivalry_

Josaphat distrusts and opposes Rotwang, seeing him as a dangerous manipulator.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as the man Georgi is sent to find at the Ninetieth Block.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/vii)

Waits for Freder all night, pledges unwavering loyalty and friendship. Later forced out of his apartment by Slim after a physical fight.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/ix)

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.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/x)

Listens to Freder's dream narrative and later watches over him from a nearby rooftop, observing his catatonic state and the failed attempts of others to reach him.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/xi)

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

### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/xx)

Brings news of Maria's capture, accompanies Freder, and is injured when the car crashes.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/chapters/xxii)

Drags himself up the stairs of the New Tower of Babel to deliver news of Freder's disappearance.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters/josaphat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metropolis_se/characters