The workers who toil the machines and give rise to the metropolis are forced to bury themselves beneath the city in their underground world, while the rich live above and indulge in frivolous pleasures at the expense of these workers. Although Metropolis uses the Middle Ages as a point of reference for this innate desire for social harmony and equality, the film also arises from this Gothic tradition, whose narrative consists of a clash between opposing elements. According to “How Deep is Your Goth?” by Gilda William, the ever-present elements of the Gothic consist of “two things that should have remained separate –– for example: madness and science, living and dead technology and the human body; the pagan and the Christian; innocence and corruption are brought together, with terrifying consequences.” The overall narrative revolves around the character of Freder, son of the city manager, played by Gustav Fröhlich, as he discovers the bitter reality of the working class of Metropolis and attempts to become a mediator and bring peace to the city. Maria's evil doppelganger, played by Brigitte Helm, interprets Metropolis and contemporary German society's aversion to modernity as a problematic fusion of man and machine, resulting in apocalyptic chaos and destruction in the city. It is the representation of the modern understanding of Gothic, similar to Frankenstein's monster. Lang structures Metropolis around a series of binaries such as man and machine, present and past, and upper and lower class that must all be reconciled into a single shape or form.