Faust

Faust: Part I written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Synopsis

Faust makes a deal with the devil to make his life rich in achievement. He had accomplished so much in his studies, but still felt emptiness in his life. Faust realizes that through all of his hard work that he is alone and has nothing to show for it.

As Faust sits alone in his study and contemplates his life, he is constantly wondering how he fits into the universe. In doing so he conjures up a spirit. When the spirit appears Faust is actually shocked when he realizes what he has done. The spirit is equally surprised. The spirit tells Faust this in stating, “I find Superman! I come at your bidding and you are struck stupid”(528).

Throughout the play we discover that Faust’s father was a doctor that practiced “black magic”. Being highly respected in his village, people looked up to him not only because of his father, but because of his education. This is shown in the play during the Easter celebration, when several of the local peasants are glad to see Faust. He usually didn’t attend such events. Even when the plague hit Faust helped his father, the doctor by removing bodies and the peasants remembered it. They tell Faust that by saying, “Out they carried out many a corpse, but never yours. Much you went through; us you saved and God saved you”(539).

As Faust and Wagner , a student are walking through the village they see a black poodle. Faust immediately suspects that the dog is not what he seems. He thinks the dog is trying to cast a spell over them. Wagner on the other hand tells Faust that it is just a dog and that he should adopt him. Faust takes that black dog home with him, only to find out that he could not stop the dog from barking. Faust couldn’t keep the dog from barking and tells him to leave. The poodle then turns into a demon. Faust then tries to conjure up a spell against the creature and in doing so he states, “ Against such a creature, My first defense”(546). Come to find out, that it is Mephistoples inside the poodle. He was trying to cast a spell over Faust. Mephisto shows Faust his powers and promises Faust that if he joins up with him that he will live a life of privilege and wealth. Mephisto states, “I’ll walk beside you life’s long route, your good companion”(553). Before Mephisto will become Faust loyal companion, he wants Faust to sign a contract with him. Faust tells him that he will do whatever it takes. Mephisto says, “In that case, an agreement is easy. Come, dare it! Come your signature”(554). Faust is a little upset when Mephisto asks him to sign a contract on paper and in blood, but Faust is easily persuaded into believing that it is totally innocent. It is at this time that Faust first suspects his new friend of being more than just your average friendly spirit.

Mephisto decides to show Faust bit of excitement by showing him how fun his new life is going to be. He takes him to a pub. As Mephisto and Faust enter the bar, Mephisto walks with a limp like the Devil with hooven feet. This is noticed by one of the partons in the pub, but is easily dismissed when Mephisto becomes the life of the party. The happy times are quickly over when Mephisto shows a little of his magic. The people in the pub are offended by his magic. They tell Mephisto, “You’ve got nerve, trying out on us stuff like that damned Hocus-pocus”(569)!

Later in the play Faust and Mephisto pas a young lady and immediately Faust becomes infatuated with her. Faust tells Mephisto that he has to have the young lady (Margarete). They devise a scheme to seduce Margarete. Mephisto states, ”This evening you will meet her neighbors”(586). Faust finally gets the chance to be alone with Margarete and she tells him of her life. She basically lost her whole family except for her brother who is a soldier. Margarete plays hard to get because she is scared of Faust, but she finally gives in.

Faust feels betrayed by Mephisto when he tells him that he is wasting his time waiting on Margarete. Mephisto tells Faust that he has deserted Margarete. Faust reassures Margarete that he loves her. Faust then tries to give Margarete’s mother a sleeping potion so they both can be together.

Margarete hears a rumor that a girl in her village has become pregnant. She feels sad because of how she treated the girls. Margarete states, “How full of blame I used to be, how scornful of any girl who got herself into trouble”(600)!

Characters

Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles is the antagonist in the story. In the begininning he made a bet with the Lord that he could sway Faust away from a righteous path. Mephistopheles tries throughout the story to sway Faust with the use of worldly pleasures to vear him away.

Faust

In Goethe's Play, Faust is the protagonist. Immediatly when reading the play, the reader begins to get a sense of who this character is. Faust is man who believes in Heaven and in Hell, and also that there is a higher being, God, and the Devil. Faust is thought to be a smart, well-learned man by many. Though he seems to be intelligent, Faust is a bit nieve. For example when Mephisto is attempting to strike up a deal with him for being his "servant", Faust assumes that Mephisto will just trust that he will keep his word. But Mephisto insists that there be in writing some sort of proof of their agreement. Also, when Mephisto and Faust are walking through the dark and come across the black poodle, Faust has some sort of strange feeling about the dog, but is quickly convinced nothing of it and Mephisto talks him into taking the dog home with him. Soon after this the poodle begins getting larger and frightening. Mephisto then appears "out of" the dog.

Wagner

Wagner is a student of Faust's with a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is also somewhat "nerdy" and socially inept.

Margarete (Gretchen)

Margarete is a young, modest, religious woman of a lower class than Faust. She lives with her mother and helps out around the house. She is referred to as Gretchen many times throughout the story. Gretchen is a shortened version of her name. Faust finds Margarete attractive and tells Mephistopheles to get her for him. Margarete at first refuses the advances of Faust. However, she finally accepts Faust and thus begins her downfall. Faust gets her pregnant. Margarete is persecuted by society and cursed by her brother as he lay dying. Margarete is thrown in prison for the murder of her baby. Faust and Mephistopheles try to rescue her from the prison. However, when they find her she has gone mad. As Mephisto and Faust leave the prison a Heavenly voice says that Margarete's soul has been saved.

Valentine

Gretchen's brother and a soldier. He started a fight with Faust and Mephisto after he found out about Faust getting Gretchen pregnant. He is killed by Faust after the encounter.

Themes

Urge for Knowledge

The most significant theme in Faust is the drive for humankind to understand what they do not know. Faust, in a way, is representing all of the human race: "He is able to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, but must make errors before he can learn and grow" (Campbell 257). The human is naturally inquizative about the world and the universe. Faust is unhappy beause he can not find the answers to life, and he even contemplates suicide to end his despair. It is his " urge for knowledge" that is the driving force behind the play. If he wasn't curiuos about the world then the devil would have not made a wager with God to display than human are unhappy because of their intelligence.

References in Popular Culture

Devil

Mephistopheles is Goethe's devil. The devil is a fallen angel that became evil. The idea of a "Devil" is nearly universal with similar incarnations spanning Norse, Greek, Hindu, and many other religious sects. In the Norse mythology it is referred to as Loki, and in the Greek pantheon Pan.

Easter

Easter symbolizes rebirth of Christ. The bells begin to chime and the chorus begins singing songs of praise right at the time Faist is about to drink posion to kill himself. By hearing the chorus, Faust comes out of his stuper and does not go through with the act. This is like rebirth; Faust was so close to death but then he comes back to reality.

Bible Refernces And Interpretations

Line 59 “Do you know Faust?”

Job 1.8 “Have you considered my servant Job?”

This parallel sets the entire stage for the play. God and the Devil (Mephistopheles) make a bet about the fate of Job (Faust) if God removes his protection from around him and allows the Devil to use whatever means he wants to tempt him.

Line 95 “Dust he will eat..”

Genesis 3.14 “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly thou shalt do, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”

This is an important verse and metaphor throughout the text. According to the history of the bible, the reason why Satan was cast down from heaven is because he refused to prostrate before the new creature (man) that was created, thus disobeying God’s command. After the war in heaven, Satan and those that fought at his side were cast down to hell and earth. After Satan induced Eve into biting the apple from the tree of good and evil, he was cursed as referenced in Genesis 3.14. Faust tells the spirit that comes to visit him that “We’re equals, I know” (282) expressing his feelings of equal rank to the spirit being. Mephistopheles feels that humans “act more beastly than beast ever do” (46). The parallel made between the two lines shows a direct connection between how Mephistopheles feels that man should be condemned to the same fate as he is.

Line 2147-2148 “Go out into the fields right now, this minute, start digging and hoeing away, working hard.”

Genesis 3.19 “in the Sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” Genesis 3. 23 “The Lord god sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”

Mephistopheles makes a reference to the curse that was placed upon Adam to till the ground and he would now have to work very hard for food which was at one time given to him in the garden of Eden. Mephistopheles uses it as a threat to Faust who immediately says that it is “not my sort of thing, humbling myself to work with a spade” (2155-2156). Fear is used in this case to get Faust to do what Mephistopheles wants him to do. He uses Fasut’s fear that he will be returned to the same life as he had before which would be a condemnation or punishment.

Line 288- 289 “Me, made in God’s own image, not even equal to you”

Genesis 1.26 “And God said let us make man in our image and after our likeness.”

Faust misinterprets the quote. He is saying that he was made in the image of God when the quote clearly refers to the God using the plural pronouns us and our when referring to the image. This parallel is both two fold. During the Romantic period writers would contemplate their singular relationship to God and the universe. It also would explain why Faust and Mephistopheles see the position of man very differently.

Line 1819-1822 “All theory, my dear fellow, is gray, and green the golden tree of life.”

Genesis 3.22 “and now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

This line is important because Mephistopheles is speaking to a young, fresh, impressionable student. As he did in the story of Eve, the devil is uses the word gray which is a word meaning some confusion, doubt or haziness as when he told Eve in the bible that God had lied to her and it was not as cut and dry as God had said. This is the same way he is speaking with the college student saying that choosing another path will be better or the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Line 1829 “Eritus sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malum.”

Genesis 3.5 “Ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.”

At this verse Mephistopheles writes in the student’s book an encouragement, the very same encouragement he gave Eve was according to the bible to eat from the tree. With the college student he uses this same statement in the sense of seeking out knowledge which is two fold corresponding with the two natures that exist with in man.

Critical Perspectives

Just as Satan tempts Faust he also tempts priests. Faust is tempted by the Devil. The devil is willing to do anything for Faust to make him happy except make moral decisions. The Devil becomes Faust’s servant. He does so to get Faust’s soul, this occurs when Faust is finally truly happy. As soon as Faust becomes happy he will die and the Devil will get his soul. Priests are also tempted by the Devil in the way of their vow for celibacy. Many priests are sexually tempted to sin and indulge their mortal yearning. Although they know that this indulgence is sin, the Devil makes the opportunity appear very promising and pleasurable. Faust has the same problem; the Devil says he will do anything for him to please him. Faust believes he can withstand the Devil’s temptations to become perfectly happy so he accepts the Devil’s challenge. Faust begins with having the Devil make him young again and then he sees a beautiful young lady and demands that she be his. Then failing to see the Devil’s trickery, he gives in to the Devil’s demise and “deflowers” her and she becomes pregnant. Faust then leaves and she goes crazy in her jail cell. Priests are often subjected to public reproach after committing their sins. Faust’s sin was not the sin that the Lord and the Devil bet on. Faust did not find a moment that he wanted to linger. The Devil fails to tempt Faust enough to take his soul.

External Links and Resources

• Faust Summary, Commentary, Notes
• Study Guide for Goethe's Faust
• Faust Study Guide
• Another Faust Study Guide
• Booknotes on Faust