Goethe's Faust
"The man will err as long as he shall strive."
There was an historical Faust, described as a magician,
who was expelled from Erfurt (in central Germany) after
boasting of a blood pact with the devil. Sixty years later, in
1587, the first work of fiction appeared. The story
spread throughout Europe.
Doctor Faustus by English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) is
a famous version. Faustus contracts to deliver his soul after 24 years
in exchange for magical
powers. He suffers torment as the hour of doom
approaches, but is unable to repent and is swallowed by the jaws of hell.
Marlowe's Faustus is a corrupt
modern man, who has traded certainties of faith and
social hierarchy for the dangerous power of
technology.
Goethe's Faust is different. Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)
was a towering figure in German history and Faust
occupied his whole life. He allowed Part II to be published only
after his death. It is an enormous work. Any interpretation is narrow.
In Goethe's Faust, Faust is saved. God snatches his soul by distracting Mephisto and using
sleight-of-hand at the moment of Faust's death.
This conclusion is reached at the end of a long life that
includes:
- the blood pact
- Faust's participation in a religious
festival of evil (Walpurgisnacht)
- a love affair where he seduces
and impregnates a girl, leading to the deaths of their baby, the
girl, and the girl's mother and brother
- involvement in government, including financial finagling
- the creation of
an artificial man
- a battle won by magic
- industrial reclamation of land
from the sea achieved despite suffering of the populace
Faust's record would not seem to merit special leniency.
"Faust is saved because he aspires to that self-realization
through which he loyally realizes the will, order and
ultimate purpose of the cosmos itself. It is by virtue of the
'subjective harmony' that Faust's infinite enthusiasm must
yet triumph in the end over Mephisto's ironical, cold and logical
mind -- the supremely detached mind." (Heller)
In the play, just before his death, Faust declares:
I followed the call of an inner sense
And found that wisdom reached an end:
We earn our freedom like our lives
In each day's effort.
The line quoted at the head of Stage 3 of the Water Trail
(repeated at the top of this page)
comes from the
Prologue to the entire work. The Prologue takes place in heaven.
- The Lord:
- Do you know Faust?
- Mephisto:
- The doctor?
- The Lord:
- Aye, my servant.
- Mephisto:
- It's service in the modern fashion --
He drinks his own fermenting passion
And rides the vapors like a rocket car
Until he bounces on his ass,
Demands from heaven the brightest star
And all the world's delights first-class;
But nothing he touches, near or far,
Can give relief from pressure of the gas.
- The Lord:
- Although his fantasies are grandiose,
His heart shall guide him while confusion clears.
The gardener knows that when the sapling grows,
Blooms and fruit adorn its later years.
- Mephisto:
- Would you like to bet?
You lose him to me every day.
And if you'll let me, I'll contrive
To lead him even more astray.
- The Lord:
- Agreed. While he remains alive,
I'll stay my hand:
The man will err as long as he shall strive.
(author translation)
References
Goethe's Faust, translated and with an introduction by
Walter Kaufman (Doubleday Anchor Book 1961)
Erich Heller: On Goethe's Faust, from Heller, The Artist's
Journey Into the Interior, reprinted (in pertinent part) in
Goethe, A Collection of Critical Essays, V. Lange, ed. (1968)
Walter Kaufmann, Discovering the Mind: Goethe, Kant and Hegel
(1980)
Charles Masinton, Christopher Marlowe's Tragic Vision: a Study
in Damnation (1972)
Return to Stage 3 of the Water Trail
All materials copyright by Robert Kovsky, 1997.