Rotwang has never been able to overcome the pain of final separation from his beloved Hel. Not only that she had left him, but she had died in giving birth to the son that was not his, and so he has lost her forever. Ever since that time, an icy enmity exists between him and Joh Fredersen.

Rotwang uses his inventive talent in trying to think of a way in which he might alleviate his pain. Would it not suggest itself to create a being that would belong to him alone and to whom he could offer his love and, yes, indeed, himself without ever having to fear betrayal or desertion?

He begins by constructing an image of his former beloved, an over-dimensional head of HEL. This will be his sanctuary, concealed behind a curtain. Thus he elevates his former beloved Hel and makes her a goddess, his very own HEL, whom he worships in secret, in devout adoration. The words engraved on the pedestal beneath the head of HEL attest to his devotion for the woman he is about to turn into his work here.

1. 5. The Head of HEL

Rotwang's sanctuary, the Head of HEL

FOR MY HAPPINESS AND MANKIND'S BLESSINGS

LOST

TO JOH FREDERSEN

DIED,

GIVING BIRTH TO FREDER,

JOH FREDERSEN'S SON

Rotwang, in devotion of Hel

Light On Metropolis  –  Mystical Traces