Faust: Night (2)
Summary
This section begins with Valentine talking of a time in a pub when men were comparing ideas of the most beautiful girl in the land. He listens to all the men throw out their opinions, then he names his sister, a beauty no man can deny. As soon as he says Gretchen's name he regrets having done so, now having to deal with the taunts and crude comments of all the men in the pub. Valentine remembers this occasion while waiting outside Gretchen's door, hoping to encounter this man who has not only stolen his sister's heart, but taken her innocence as well. As Faust and Mephisto approach, Mephisto sings a sample of a song he feels will make Gretchen swoon, a song which Valentine hears and becomes infuriated by. Valentine and Mephisto begin to fight, and Faust delivers the killing strike. Faust and Mephisto run away before Gretchen and Marthe come out to find Valentine dying. With his last few breaths, Valentine lectures Gretchen for her sins, and condemns her for having given herself to Faust.
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External Resources
Works Cited
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust, Part 1. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. Vol. 2. 8th Ed. Trans. Martin Greenberg. Sarah Lawall, et al, eds. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006.