Faust: Prologue in Heaven

Summary

The Lord and the Heavenly Host converse with Mephistopheles. The Archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael first praise creation, remarking on its order, continuity, mystery, and power. The Lord agrees to allow Mephistopheles to tempt Faust, and He futher agrees not to interfere: "As long as man strives, he is bound to err" (l. 77), but that a "good man still knows which road is the right one" (l. 89).

Notes

"The Prologue in Heaven" is patterned on the Book of Job: essentially a meeting between God and Satan wherein the two make a wager: God allows Satan to test Job in order to prove that the latter's devotion is not based on materialistic reward. Goethe's The Lord seems to be closest to the image of Yahweh in the Old Testament: one who demands that the righteous fear God and shun evil, yet also a bit easier going. Even though the original legend of Doctor Faustus was published in 1587, Goethe sets his play in latter 17th century, and its creation spans the 18th century (Weigand 69). This was a time of change — of revolt and revolution, where the individual took center stage (Heller 94). During this time, Heller writes, people believed that demons, devils, and spirits took human and animal forms, rather than their figurative dissemination of today (94).

Lines 1-28: The Heavenly Host

Ptolemaic Universe

Spoken by the Heavenly Host: Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael, respectively. These lines celebrate the Lord's Creation in all its sublime wonder. Raphael, representing the heavens, praises the harmony of the spheres (the harmony of heavenly music), continuity, and order. He acknowledges that the Lord gives strength to the angels, yet remains mysterious and wonderful. He, like His creation, are solid and permanent, but remain unfathomable in many ways. The system that he is talking about is represented in the picture to the right: the Ptolemaic, or geocentric, view of the universe.

Gabriel narrows the scope to earth, the center of the universe and of the Lord's creation. He further develops an idea that Rapheal begins: that of the duality of creation: day and night, height and depth, all present together on the Lord's swiftly moving globe.

Michael's speech concentrates on the sublime power of the Lord as it manifests itself in nature; he is often seen as representing the elements. This "chain of blazing energy" (l. 20) is both frightening and destructive to humans, who, relish the quieter times. All three echo words originally spoken by Raphael, which emphasize the mystery and permanence of creation.

Lines 29-52: Mephistopheles' Speech

de trop (l. 31) means excessive or unreasonable.

Mephistopheles contrasts the concerns of the Heavenly Host with that of the suffering of humans. His harangue criticizes the Age of Enlightenment's emphasis on Reason and the belief in the best of all possible worlds; see lines 44 and 45.

Mephistopheles' metaphor likens humans to insects; the word "absolute" in line 50 seems to be a jab at the Lord and His creation.

Lines 53-115: The Lord and Mephistopheles Make a Bet

The Lord is often seen as representing the creative power of the universe; Mephistopheles, then, would be the nihilistic or desctructive force.

The Lord begins to lose his temper, accusing Mephistopheles of being eternally accusatory. Their dialogue suggests something that never changes: Mephistopheles is eternally cynical. Yet, here he seems also comic, rather than tragic; cf. lines 56-58.

Mephistopheles seems genuinely dissatisfied with the current state of humanity — so much so, that he doesn't even like "tormenting the poor ninnies" anymore (l. 58).

The Lord mentions Faust for the first time in line 59 as His "good servant," but Mephistopheles counters that Faust is "quite unsatisfied," suggesting that the view of the universe that the Heavely Host hold cannot satisfy humans for long.

In lines 78 through 82, Mephistopheles tells that he prefers dealing with humans while they are alive, with "round and rosy cheeks," rather than those is Hell. It's more of a game of cat and mouse with Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles continues to answer the Lord in an irreverant and sarcastic manner.

The "old aunt of mine, the famous snake" is an allusion to Genesis' snake that tricks Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. The snake's punishment, given by God, is to forever crawl on its belly and eat dust.

"Carte blanche" in line 98 literally means "blank check." The Lord is allowing Mephistopheles to do what he wants in order to steer Faust away from the right road.

Commentary

This first section of Goethe's celebration of human striving sets the mood for the vigorous, spirited, and critical look at Faust's striving toward self-identity even in the face of despair (Weigand 63, Heller 93). According to Heller, the grandeur and misery of striving are present in this first scene, setting the stage for Faust's journey toward self-discovery (93-94).

Goethe's obvious allusion to the Old Testament's Book of Job suggests that this will be Faust's own test, and like Job, he will have to lose all he has in order to find his salvation.

Implicit in the Heavenly Host's praise is the presence of light: a symbol of reason. They praise the Lord's creation, both solid and sublime, and seem to be the Lord's yes-men. Their speeches seem to be like that of a song, formal and well rehearsed.

While the Archangels speak in an elevated tone, Mephistopheles, the spirit of negation and nothingness, apologizes for his "lack of eloquence" (l. 33) (Heller 95). Mephistopheles seems unimpressed with the Heavenly Host, and he seems somewhat put out and bothered from having to be here, like he's a regional manager being badgered by corporate. He accuses the whole host of being unrealistic: of having their heads in the clouds. He then suggests that he is more in tune with the actual lives of humans (ll. 38-39). Humanity find the world a difficult place, despite its brilliant design. Man abuses Reason, seeking to soar ever higher, but always finding himself in stark reality. The implication of his speech impunes the Lord's creation by suggesting that humans can be easily turned from the light because they are so pathetic. There seems to be an insect/worm motif throughout Faust when describing humans; look for more instances throughout the work.

Humans (as insects) cannot help but be what they are, since the Lord made them that way. This "absolute" idea seems to be a critique of Neoclassicism's belief in absolutes. Romanticism emphasized the individual and his/her striving toward an understanding of the universe, away from notions of absolutes. In many ways, Goethe's Mephistopheles suggests some aspects of the romantic hero: a soul in revolt, melancholy and anti-social, cynical, and bored.

Mephistopheles has almost lost his spirit: when the world seems mostly evil, how can the devil have any fun? All we need to do is look at Candide for an example of what he's talking about. The Lord almost seems sympathetic toward Mephistopheles, and mentions Faust immediately. This seems to suggest that, seemingly contrary to the orthodox notion that seeks to obliterate evil, Mephistopheles seems to be an integral part of the Lord's design; this theme will be echoed again in Faust's study when Faust asks Mephistopheles his name; the latter answers: "A humble part of that great power / Which always means evil, always does good" (ll. 1119-1120). Indeed, how can one be good if there exists nothing that can be pointed to as evil? Part of his duties, it seems, is to "prod and poke and incite [people] as a devil should," says the Lord, suggesting further the necessity of "evil." Indeed, the Lord's last words seem to suggest that he prefers the devils of the world to his own Heavenly Host. Indeed, who wouldn't?

Faust (like all humans?) is somewhere between the Heavenly Host and Mephistopheles on a quest for self-realization. If the former symbolizes reason, then Mephistopheles must symbolize that which is animalistic, or bodily desires. While learning emphasizes the strengthening of mental faculties, Faust has not experienced this "earthly" side, as Mephistopheles suggests (l. 61). The Lord maintains that "My light," or reason, shall lead him back to goodness, but Mephistopheles seems to think he can distract Faust from this path: thus, the bet. Weigand suggests that Faust was a symbol of man's emancipation from authority (70). Here, ironically, it takes the nihilistic Mephistopheles to animate the despairing Faust (Heller 95).

Unlike Job, where the bet is about whether or not Job will remain pious, this bet is about whether Faust will choose the right road even while under Mephistopheles' carte blanche. This heavenly wager will be echoed later with that between Faust and Mephistopheles; cf. ll. 1459-1470. Faust must discover his own path to salvation, through a self-realization that must walk a dangerous path, symbolic, perhaps, of the entire western world (Weigand 70-71).

Heller suggests that Mephistopheles' pronouncement "Dust he'll eat" refers to his attempt to keep humanity's eyes diverted from the realm of the heavens by distracting them with "the dust of temporality" — distract them with the desires of the moment from the eternity of true being (95). As an unwilling servant of the Lord, Mephistopheles attempts to convince humanity that they — their concerns, their striving, their desires — are nothing more than the dust they taste. Mephistopheles keeps them distracted from their "effort to transcend the insufficiency of all temporal satisfaction, to defeat nonentity, to make still another attempt to relate himself to essential being" (Heller 95).

The scene ends with Mephistopheles praising the Lord in his own way as a decent sort who will talk with the devil. This is perhaps an important lesson of Faust.

Study Questions

Is there evidence that Goethe does not intend his Heaven to be taken too seriously?
Raphael mentions a "contest" that is present in the harmony of the spheres; how do we interpret this? What is he talking about?
All the archangels mention motion; how do their individual treatments of it differ? Why is this significant?
What is the relationship between the Lord and Mephistopheles? How does it seem to differ from His relationship with the other Heavenly Host?
How does Mephistopheles describe humans? How does this differ from the Lord's view?
What is Mephistopheles' attitude and demeanor?
The Lord calls Faust His "good servant"; what does he mean? I.e., what are the characteristics that Faust has that would make him good at this point in the drama? Hint: see the Heavenly Host.
What is the specific wager that the Lord makes with Mephistopheles?
The Lord says "As long as man strives, he is bound to err." What does he mean by this, and how does it fit into the context of their discussion?
What seems to be Mephistopheles' role in the Lord's creation?
What do Mephistopheles' final words suggest about his relationship with the Lord?

External Resources

Prologue in Heaven on Bartleby
Dedication before the Prologue
Notes on the Prologue by Carl Runyon; see also his Faust Intro Notes

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. [All primary text citations are taken from this edition unless otherwise noted.]
Heller, Peter. "Faustian Striving: An Essay on Goethe's Faust." Page and Barron. 93-108.
Page, Alex and Leon Barron, eds. Masterpieces of Western Literature: Contemporary Essays in Interpretation. Vol. 2. Dubuque, Iowa: WM. C. Brown Book Company, 1966.
Weigand, Hermann J. "Goethe's Faust." Page and Barron. 69-92.

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