Faust: The Cathedral
Summary
Gretchen is at church, attending the funeral of her mother and brother. Gretchen feels tremendous guilt, since both her mother and brother are now dead due to her actions with faust. Her mother drank a poison, probably due to depression and disappointment, and Valentine was murdered while fighting Faust and Mephisto. An evil spirit looms over Gretchen, taunting her, reminding her of her "role in this catastrophe" (Study Guide). The spirit reminds Gretchen of simpler days, while taunting her for her loss of innocence, her path into the darkness. The spirit also hints that these deaths are not the end of her suffering, something else is coming, "under your heart, that faint stirring" (I. 3629).
Notes
The Evil Spirit is acting as Gretchen's conscience. It reminds her of times in her childhood, innocent days at the church when she was "half playing a child's game" (I. 3619). The spirit acts as an especially guilty conscience, reminding Gretchen of all that has come of her actions. Through the spirit, we discover the death of Gretchen's mother, and are again reminded of Gretchen's pregnancy, that "ominous presence" she feels "under her heart" (I. 3629-32).
The choir sings a song coincidentally perfect for Gretchen's situation, a perfect harmony to the Evil Spirits taunting. The songs talks of Judgement Day, a day when all secrets will be revealed, no sin will remain hidden, and all shall be avenged. The song reminds Gretchen that her sins will not remain a secret for long. God already knows, and the community will find out soon enough about her new expectancy, if a decision she does not make.
Commentary
Study Questions
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.