Faust: Marthe's Garden: Difference between revisions
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=='''Summary'''== | =='''Summary'''== | ||
Faust returns to Margarete/Gretchen. Gretchen wants to know where Faust stands on his religious beliefs. Faust talks his way around the question, never giving her a straight answer. Gretchen gives into her belief that Faust is an intellectual. "I guess what you say is all right, The priest speaks so, or pretty near"(16.3278-3279). Gretchen tells Faust that she senses something wrong with his companion, Mephistopheles. "It's written on his face as plain as day. He loves no one, we're all his enemy"(16.3310-3311). Gretchen has the ability to sense the danger in Mephistopheles but not in Faust. | |||
=='''Notes'''== | =='''Notes'''== | ||
=='''Commentary'''== | =='''Commentary'''== | ||
== | ==Study Questions== | ||
#How should Gretchen feel about Faust? | |||
#Is Gretchen smarter than Faust about the nature of social decorum? | |||
#Who is to blame for Gretchen's downfall-Faust, Mephistopheles or herself? | |||
#Why does Gretchen long so much for Faust and can sense Mephistopheles is bad? | |||
#Is it the case that love is blind or that temptation is hard to resist? | |||
#Why does Mephistopheles want Gretchen gone? | |||
=='''External Resources'''== | =='''External Resources'''== | ||
=='''Works Cited'''== | =='''Works Cited'''== | ||
Latest revision as of 11:01, 7 March 2006
Summary
Faust returns to Margarete/Gretchen. Gretchen wants to know where Faust stands on his religious beliefs. Faust talks his way around the question, never giving her a straight answer. Gretchen gives into her belief that Faust is an intellectual. "I guess what you say is all right, The priest speaks so, or pretty near"(16.3278-3279). Gretchen tells Faust that she senses something wrong with his companion, Mephistopheles. "It's written on his face as plain as day. He loves no one, we're all his enemy"(16.3310-3311). Gretchen has the ability to sense the danger in Mephistopheles but not in Faust.
Notes
Commentary
Study Questions
- How should Gretchen feel about Faust?
- Is Gretchen smarter than Faust about the nature of social decorum?
- Who is to blame for Gretchen's downfall-Faust, Mephistopheles or herself?
- Why does Gretchen long so much for Faust and can sense Mephistopheles is bad?
- Is it the case that love is blind or that temptation is hard to resist?
- Why does Mephistopheles want Gretchen gone?
External Resources
Works Cited
Dieckmann, Liselotte. Goethe’s Faust: A Critical Reading. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1972
Macneice, Louis. Goethe’s Faust. New York: Oxford UP, 1971.
Smeed, J.W. Faust in Literature. New York: Oxford UP, 1971.