Faust in Eden
By
Jeanne-Marie Garcia
A Senior Essay submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree, Bachelor of
Arts in the Integral Curriculum of Liberal Arts.
_____________________________________
Mike Riley, Advisor
Saint Mary's College of California
April 3, 2014
Within Goethe’s Faust is a reworking of the biblical Garden of Eden in Genesis.
The protagonist, Heinrich Faust, is the new Adam, and his guardian is the devil, called
both Mephisto and Mephistopheles. Goethe tells the story of a man who stops at nothing
in his search for complete happiness. Faust succeeds in this venture when he adjusts his
perspective from an initial position of self-absorption to an other-oriented existence.
While Faust does not for a long time understand the responsibility that comes with the
faculty of reason (and magic), he does at last appreciate it as an aspect of his humanity.
As he becomes less obsessed with his own fate, he contemplates the importance of the
community alongside the vigor of the self. Just before his death, Faust unites these efforts
into a single vocation when he finalizes the production of his empire. In building his
fortress on the seaside and tending to the surrounding land, Faust completes a new Eden
in which humankind can learn to thrive in spite of natural hardship and foster the wisdom
and happiness that he himself is able to grasp in the end. Faust's altruistic growth releases
him from his enslavement to Mephisto and wins him a place in heaven. Goethe expresses
a kind of redemption in Faust based on collective human effort rather than on revelation.
Doctor Heinrich Faust, prior to his adventures with the devil, is an educated and
intelligent individual, but a miserable one. Having studied in various subjects –
philosophy, medicine, theology, and law— he is dissatisfied that these pursuits have only
led him to the conclusion that “for all our science and art/we can know nothing” (1.1.365366). Faust is plagued by the limits he has reached and, rather than accept this aspect of
human nature, seeks a way to gain more power. Swaying back and forth between calling
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himself a godlike peer to a spirit, and likening himself to a burrowing worm, Faust
endeavors to form a definition of his own self and is disillusioned with the apparent
result. Though he is fearless, he lacks happiness; though he has read many a book, he
does not feel confident that he could teach “what would better mankind or what might
convert” (1.1.374). At the outset there are traces of a Faust that can see beyond the
immediate betterment of his own person. He mutters morosely about his own faults and
shortcomings, yet this same criticism reveals the beginnings of a sense of philanthropy.
A part of him wonders how he as one man can contribute to the whole of mankind.
As turmoil brews in Faust’s head and heart, the devil himself appears –right on
cue. Mephisto is a clever spirit who enjoys tricks and adventures and acts as Faust’s
guardian and servant for the rest of Faust’s life. However, as the story continues, it
becomes unclear who is guiding whom. Just as he struck up a bet with God over Faust’s
soul, Mephisto lures the joyless Faust into making an eternal pact. Mephisto, when
speaking with God and other spirits, is confident that he can lead Faust to Hell, but when
he speaks with Faust himself, his control over the situation is not so apparent. In fact, his
influence is so subtle in speech that it almost seems as if he had never made the deal to
win over Faust. The devil’s method is to goad Faust’s actions by guiding his thoughts. In
order to exact his goals, he does one of three things: he suggests his wish directly and
persuasively, or he promotes the opposite action with confidence that Faust will reject it
and perform his actual wish, or he does both. In this situation, he supplies the concept of
a contract and also makes a show of endorsing the action that would remove Faust from
his influence and cause him to lose the bet.
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On the night Faust signs away his soul, Mephisto appears to him as a squire
dressed in gold and red. He encourages Faust to adorn himself in similar attire so that he
might “feel released and free” and “find what life can be” (1.4.1542-1543). This prompts
Faust to launch into a series of speeches about the fact that he cannot overcome his
struggles by such simplistic behavior. Faust explains, “if I think of any pleasure/Bright
critic day is sure to chide it” (1.4.1558-1559). The joys he discovers, once reflected upon
by himself or others, turn into things he feels he should not be enjoying. Even the
possibility of criticism by others affects him, yet even worse is his feeling of being
confined by his own nature: “The god that dwells within my heart…Rules all my powers
with relentless art/But cannot move the world outside” (1.4.1566-1569). So far, all is
carrying on as expected. Mephisto proposes the silly idea of simply going out into the
world dressed for pleasure knowing that Faust will vehemently reject it. What Mephisto
is after is, in reality, the outpouring of the thoughts that follow. The devil is keen to the
fact that Faust likens himself to a god and plays on this point. He first jeers at him by
calling his “melancholy” a “folly” and by reminding him that he is still “human with the
rest” (1.4.1635-1638). Immediately afterward he suggests that they unite forces, making
himself the personal servant to the godlike Faust. Mephisto takes the initial godlike-butmerely-human Faust, squashes this thought and calls him solely human, then reinterprets
Faust-as-human-and-god since he has a godlike servant, himself, that is, the devil.
Under this new contract with Mephisto, what Faust desires most is to wear
“mankind’s crown” and be closer to the Infinite (1.4.1804, 1815). For this Faust promises
his soul to the devil for eternity after death. He wishes to experience an excess of both
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pleasure and pain in hopes of achieving something above humanity. Mephisto
discourages this thought, saying that this state of being is for God alone (1.4.1781). This
disheartens Faust, but Mephisto quickly proposes a solution within reach: “You see
matters just as they lie/We have to look at them more shrewdly/Or all life’s pleasures
pass us by” (1.4.1817-1819). The devil essentially tells Faust that he needs to change his
perspective. At first, Faust sees the greatness within himself and at the same time sees his
limitations. After Mephisto intervenes, he believes that only the help of a magical
companion can lead him to his desires. Rather than having Faust see himself as a god
trapped in a human body, Mephisto suggests that Faust consider himself a human with a
godlike companion (that is, Mephisto). Mephisto cleverly inserts himself into Faust’s life
as an indispensable tool in the search for happiness. However, Mephisto does not yet
realize that a change in Faust’s perspective is what will cause him to lose the bet with
God.
As the pair travels from place to place, Faust is displeased with the results of
Mephisto’s powers because they mostly involve simple but amusing illusions and games.
However, when he is given a love potion, he sees Margaret and is immediately enthralled
by her. Margaret, or Gretchen, is Faust’s Eve. She is pure, beautiful, and “blemishless”
(1.7.2624). Even Mephisto admits that he cannot lead such a sinless woman astray. But
Faust, focused on the lustful pleasure stirring in himself, demands that Margaret be his.
From the moment of their meeting, Margaret is introduced to the restlessness that Faust
has been trying to escape. In the Bible, Eve is the one who brings sin to Adam by offering
him the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The roles in Faust are reversed.
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Prior to her encounter with Faust, Margaret lived a difficult life but carried on with
purpose. She tells Faust that while “one’s spirits, sir, are not always the best...one can
relish meals and relish rest” (1.12.3147-3148). At first content to live simply as her
mother’s helper, Margaret, now swirling with thoughts of Faust, finds that her “peace is
gone,” “this world is all turned into gall,” and that her “poor mind is rent with pain”
(1.15.3374, 3380-3381, 3384-3385). Although she had not been living in a paradise like
Eden, Margaret suffers an allegorical Fall from Grace by way of Faust, who thus deprives
her of her previous innocence.
Faust’s infatuation with Margaret creates sickening effects. At the outset, Faust
and Mephisto refer to Margaret as a child or a maiden because of her status as a virgin. In
the dichotomy of the pure virgin and the dishonorable whore, Faust does not predict that
this concept includes a tormented spirit. Alas, the same night Margaret is to go in a maid
and “come out a maid no more,” she enters into unthinkable madness (1.19.3689).
Margaret’s brother, Valentin, upon hearing of her tryst with Faust, appears at her
doorstep to curse her for casting aside her honor. He shames her for forsaking, along with
her virginity, what is left of her childhood and innocence. Upon his deathbed, Valentin
condemns his sister as a harlot, but Margaret loses more than the principles that support
her reputation. Because of Faust, Margaret loses what remains of her family, her brother
and her mother, and in her resulting loss of sanity she takes the life of her and Faust’s
child. Naïve as she was before the night of their rendezvous, forever afterwards she
cannot be referred to as such. Instead, as Eve in the Book of Genesis, Margaret faces the
reality of her own death compounded with that of her family through the despair of sin.
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Much before her downfall, the excited Margaret appears to be struggling to
endure the “insanity” of lust brought on by Faust. Meanwhile, Faust takes a moment to
contemplate his state. Faust recognizes the beauty of the world and himself as its ruler,
but also seems changed by the powers of lust. He struggles between desire and
enjoyment, whereas before his contract with the devil he was immersed in restless
disappointment. Since he has attained the affection of a beautiful virgin but has
committed his afterlife to Mephisto, he concludes that “man is granted nothing perfect”
(1.15.3240). Faust looks upon his life as Adam does after being cast out of Eden for his
disobedience. He rejoices at the perfection of innocence manifest in Margaret but is
simultaneously aware of the loss of his own freedom in the future. Yet he fails to see in
his own meditation that he is obsessed with possessing objects and experiences for
himself rather than living for or loving another –that is, Gretchen. Goethe muddles the
clarity surrounding Faust’s will by using a potion as a catalyst for “love,” but even this
mystical element cannot account for Faust’s recklessness with Margaret’s life. Once
Mephisto tells him that his beloved is suffering, Faust blames him for the situation and
hopelessly calls for “her fate come shattering on my head” (1.15.3364), as if to quicken
the pace of her impending doom. Faust not only denies responsibility for ruining
Gretchen’s peace but also tries to decide her destiny for her.
Here the question arises of whether or not Faust actually loves Margaret. Despite
the fact that the catalyst of his interest in her was a witch’s concoction, it is still possible
for him truly to love her as their relationship develops. The evidence certainly does not
denote this progression in the beginning. For Faust, Margaret is at first a possession or an
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experience to be had. When he beholds her in the witch’s mirror, he calls her beauty
“heaven’s quintessence from another sphere” (1.6.2439). These praises sound elegant, but
his interest is piqued by her “shape,” her “image,” and her “body” (1.6.2435, 2436,
2438). When he sees her in the street in passing, he makes it his goal to “seduce such a
little thing” (1.7.2644). Of course, Faust knows nothing about Margaret at first except
what her physical attributes reveal. Yet it is immediately apparent from the language that
Faust initially views Margaret as an object to own, rather than as an individual with a
separate identity. Yet even selfish Faust begins to grow. In her bedchamber, Faust
observes the movement in himself from lust to love: “Immediate pleasure was my
bent/But now— in dreams of love I’m all but spent” (1.8.2723-2724). His perspective
changes as he begins to feel the presence of someone, other than himself, who holds a
place of significance in his life.
Despite this progress through love away from self-absorption, it is one step
forward and two steps back for Faust’s character development when he reacts to
Margaret’s declining state of being. The tension between Faust and Mephisto grows as
Faust attempts to shed his guilt onto the latter. Mephisto’s diversions leave Faust with
unsolved mysteries, and Faust deals with this frustration by blaming the devil totally.
Meanwhile, Margaret’s state only worsens and, unsurprisingly, Faust turns to insulting
Mephisto while demanding that he intervene in the reality he himself has caused.
Mephisto, in response, checks Faust’s pride and attempts to show him that he is at fault.
In his proverbial manner, Mephisto notes that “shattering those who answer innocently, is
the tyrant’s way of easing his embarrassment” (1.23.4381-4383). Between the pair, it is
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apparent that neither is innocent. It is true that Mephisto is the devil, the famed tempter
into sin; nevertheless, Faust was not unfamiliar with this fact when he entered into a
contract with him.
Rather than shirk all responsibility, Faust should recognize the part he plays in
Margaret’s downfall. Although he does not hold Mephisto’s sorcery and company in high
regard, he still thinks the devil responsible for the whole of Margaret’s future. In his
distress –which the imprisonment of Margaret’s mind and heart amplifies— Faust
augments Mephisto’s role to the active cause and reduces his own role to the
infinitesimal. Faust’s perception of logic here is surprisingly skewed, in spite of his
education and scholarly practice. His process of applying logic –that is, his reason— is
what brings him difficulty. Goethe touches upon the duality of reason in the “Prologue in
Heaven.” He speaks through the voice of Mephistopheles in the most peculiar
commentary on the creation of Man:
“His life might be a bit more fun,
Had you not given him that spark of heaven’s sun;
He calls it reason and employs it, resolute
To be more brutish than is any brute.” (Pro.283-285)
Mephistopheles exposes a trait of human nature, reason, as one that can create malice and
misery. Faust, miserably human as can be, is an embodiment of these dispositions.
In the “Prologue in Heaven,” Mephisto and God examine human nature in the
specific case of Faust. They agree that “man errs as long as he will strive” (Pro.317). In a
sense, this statement is in agreement with Faust’s comment on the fact that mankind is
given nothing perfect. Their opinions diverge, however, in determining if Faust will
return to God and “remember the right road throughout his quest” or if he is doomed
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since he “cannot soothe the upheaval in his breast” (Pro.329, 307). In the end, both have
complete faith in their respective opinions, and await the results. Yet what does it mean
to enter into a deal with God? Mephisto, as a spiritual being, is not all-knowing but sees
more than the simple human can (1.4.1582). Assuming then, that God is the omniscient
deity as depicted in the Old Testament tradition, the bet on Faust’s soul has no purpose
other than to supply amusement for the devil, and perhaps, also God. Mephisto enjoys the
idea of “triumph with a swelling breast” over a miscalculation by God, but the results of
the wager are apparently fixed (Pro.333).
These confounding reflections aside, the dialogue between God and
Mephistopheles in the “Prologue in Heaven” sheds light on an interesting fact about the
relationships between the spirits and humankind. While the reader struggles over
deciding whether Mephisto or Faust is ultimately the servant to the other, Goethe
provides a thought-provoking answer through the voice of God. After God and Mephisto
solidify the bet over Faust’s soul, God compares the devil in the spiritual sphere to the
“knavish jester” in the earthly sphere (Pro.339). Just as the devil’s playful bet stirred God
into action, so does the jester keep other people from living stagnant, pointless lives.
Indeed, the jester and the devil alike help “create” and move God and his “rightful sons”
–humankind— out of the sloth of “uninterrupted rest” (Pro.344, 341). Following this
remark that speaks almost endearingly of the devil and at the same time humbles him,
God disappears along with his entourage of angels. Even Mephisto, who prompted this
debate about Man, cannot help but comment on the charming and humane words of the
“Old Man” (Pro.350).
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During their time together, Mephisto entertains Faust with magic in order to fulfill
his side of the contract. He does not realize, however, that as a result of his actions, Faust
stirs from his morose conceitedness into forward movement. Under the effect of love,
Faust reflects on his influence on Margaret’s life and forsakes his own desire for pleasure
for Margaret’s peace.
“As, like the cataract, from rock to rock I foam,
Raging with passion, toward the abyss?
And nearby, she— with childlike blunt desires
Inside her cottage on the Alpine leas,
And everything that she requires
Was in her own small world at ease.
And I, whom the gods hate and mock,
Was not satisfied
That I seized the rock
And smashed the mountainside.” (1.8.3350-3359)
In his contemplation, Faust envisions himself as a rushing stream of water, leaping along
a line of Mephisto’s amusements, awaiting his destiny in the “abyss” of the underworld.
As first a menacing torrent, he encounters Margaret at peace and at rest and causes a
landslide in the foundation of her livelihood. Afterward, he witnesses the catastrophe he
has caused by allowing his passions to dominate his decisions and actions, and seems
resigned not to continue to torment her. But now he cannot help but bemoan the turmoil
he has already wrought. Poor Margaret, having experienced Faust’s overwhelming
attention, “sits inside, glum and in despair” as she thinks that he will not return to her and
again express his love (1.8.3304). The first two lines of the speech are long and flowing,
in accordance with the image of a rapid (1.8.3350-3351). As Faust speaks about his
beloved, Goethe draws out his lines as if to imply the tone of a helpless dreamer. These
lines, 3352 through 3355, are likewise lengthy. When Faust comes to the subject of
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himself, Goethe makes the lines curt and bold, expressing Faust’s impatience and disdain
with himself and his choices (1.8.3356-3359). Mephisto, like the “knavish jester,” is
influential in these changes in Faust’s thought and speech since Faust begins to see
himself as the cause of Gretchen’s despair.
Mephisto unknowingly enacts the part of his nature that God referred to in the
“Prologue in Heaven”. Upon appearing to Faust at his darkest hour and purchasing his
soul, Mephisto expects that he need only wait for Faust to die in order to reap the
benefits. He does not consider what alterations in Faust’s fate will result through a
positive change of heart. Faust imagines himself to be careening towards his doom, but
by these very words of reflection and self-denial in this scene, he propels himself in the
opposite direction. Within his reflection is an analysis of his negative impact on
Gretchen. This fact, coupled with his affection for her, turns him towards acting upon that
affection and changing for the better. Faust steps away from obsessing over his own wellbeing and moves closer to his own redemption and escape from eternity in Hell.
Two cataclysmic events remain for the formation of the final Faust: Gretchen’s
judgment and Faust’s loss of eyesight. The scene with Gretchen in the dungeon reveals
two important features of Faust the play. To begin with the aspects most relevant to the
protagonist, an examination of his developing character is in order. While his
transformation into an other-oriented, selfless hero is not yet complete, his selfishness
appears to be dwindling beside the dominating concern for another –that is, Gretchen.
Determined to free his lover from prison before her morning execution, Faust commands
that Mephisto make it possible to sneak into the cell and save her. In light of the “blood-
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guilt” and “avenging spirits” certain to seek recompense for Valentine’s murder, it is
surprising that Faust chooses to return to the town, and much more that he intends to
march directly into a cell (1.23)! Yet this is where he is in the last scene of The First Part
of the Tragedy.
At first Faust hesitates at the cell door, dreading a reunion with Gretchen. Despite
the fact that “a long unwonted shudder grips, Mankinds entire grief grips” him, Faust
enters, since his “wavering waves on death’s decree” (1.25.4405-4406, 4411). Faust
acknowledges the uniquely heavy devastation he has caused by chasing after Gretchen.
He sought to own her, and in fulfilling this desire caused the deaths of Gretchen’s
mother, brother, child, and soon caused the death of Gretchen herself. Applying this to
the reversed biblical allegory, Faust gave Gretchen the devil’s touch –that is, knowledge
of good and evil— and thus wrought “Mankinds entire grief.” His curse mortally affects
not only Gretchen but also her immediate family and her lineage. He intends to reverse or
at least diminish this “grief” by moving Gretchen out of death’s way. When she refuses to
leave the cell, Faust even goes so far as to declare that he will stay with Gretchen in the
dungeon (1.25.4550).
Faust’s bold promise of self-sacrifice almost warrants the belief that he has
returned to God’s “right road” referenced in the “Prologue in Heaven” (Pro.329). He falls
short most obviously by abandoning Gretchen in the end to save himself. The dialogue in
the dungeon reveals his subtler shortcomings. Also revealed are Gretchen’s state and
eventual salvation, which point directly to Goethe’s treatment of the first sense of
redemption. From Gretchen’s first lines in the scene it becomes clear that she is losing or
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has lost her mind. The song she sings ends with “Into a fair bird I have grown;/Fly, fly
away!” which loosely refers to Ophelia’s song in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1.25.44194420). Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, loses her mind after the death of her brother and father at
Hamlet’s hand. Her insanity is brought on by a combination of the deaths as well as
confusion and dismay at Hamlet’s rash behavior towards her and all others. In Faust,
Gretchen blames herself for the death of her mother, brother, and child, when in fact
Faust is more responsible directly and indirectly for the tragedies.
The dialogue that follows the song alternates between Faust’s short, pleading
commands and Gretchen’s wandering speeches. Our belief that Gretchen is not in her
right mind is reassured when we see that she confuses Faust for the hangman brought to
execute her (1.25.4427). In the first part of the scene, before she recognizes Faust,
Gretchen begs the “hangman” to take pity on her and spare her life. Her words revolve
around her misery and self-pity. The chief points in her argument against execution are
her youth, her beauty, her happiness, and her social image (1.25.4432, 4434, 4447, 4448).
Margaret here has fallen to the state Faust held at the beginning of the play. We recall his
demand for an excess of pleasures, happiness, and self-absorption above all. He even
likens his study to a dungeon (1.1.398). In her delusion, Margaret descends (or rather,
gets dragged down) to the state of selfishness of the initial Faust.
For such a long Fall from Grace, it takes only a direct call from her lover to bring
her back to her original state. Immediately upon hearing him call her name, the chains
that trapped her literally drop off, along with her fears, pain, and preoccupation with
herself. Upon beholding Faust, she cries out happily, “Where, then, is all my pain?/Where
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the fear of the dungeon? the chain?” (1.25.4472-4473). Love frees Gretchen physically,
but most importantly frees her in the non-physical sense. Her delusional ramblings
disappear and are replaced by a recitation of fond memories from her time with Faust
before the tragic events occurred. Faust attempts to leave the cell with her, but Gretchen
sees no need to depart, “because I am so happy where you are staying” (1.25.4480). In
the presence of her lover, she declares, “It is you. Come to save me./I am saved”
(1.25.4473-4474)!
Here lies the discrepancy between Faust and Gretchen. Immersed in love,
Gretchen no longer feels despair or self-pity, and has no need to remove herself from the
physical trappings of the cell. Faust, on the other hand, focuses solely on the physical,
insisting that, “I shall caress you a thousandfold;/Only follow me! That is all I plead”
(1.25.4498-4500). While his words sound promising, Gretchen notices when she kisses
him that his lips are cold and his “loving air” has vanished (1.25.4493, 4495-4496). Even
though he successfully entered the cell despite his apprehension, Faust was unable to
shake his horror of the situation. His affection turns cold with dread, and rather than
responding to Gretchen with the appropriate, non-physical love, Faust strives to vindicate
himself by taking her from the dungeon and from her execution.
Once Gretchen realizes that Faust does not love her, she gives other reasons to
remain in the cell. She, unlike Faust, sees no hope in her future but only misery and a
perpetual chase. “What good to flee?” she asks, “They lie in wait for me./To have to go
begging is misery,/And to have a bad conscience, too” (1.25.4545-4546). Because
Gretchen blames herself for the deaths in her family, she cannot in good conscience leave
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the dungeon. Her execution will be her final penance for their deaths. Gretchen has little
faith in the life of a beggar on the run, besides. Here Faust offers to stay with her in the
cell, to which Gretchen responds with pleas for him to save the drowned child. At first,
Faust’s comment appears courageous; this phrase, however powerful it may be to the
reader, barely reaches Gretchen’s ears. His seemingly heroic statement is actually
cowardly. Faust does not admit to Gretchen that the deaths of her family are his fault. He
does not attempt to stay in place of her –which might be a true act of heroism, since he is
in fact responsible. His “I shall stay with you” reveals again his lack of understanding and
lack of repentance (1.25.4550).
As dawn breaks, Mephisto abruptly appears to bear Faust away. Gretchen is
shocked and afraid that Mephisto has come to the “holy place” to take her. Mephisto’s
presence stands in opposition to God’s justice in the now sacred dungeon. Gretchen
beholds a choice between evil and good and submits herself to the “judgment of God”
(1.25.4605). Faust, in contrast, revokes his courageous statement and chooses evil. As
they depart, Mephisto claims that Gretchen is judged –that is, that she is condemned to
Hell (1.25.4611). A voice from heaven, however, speaks on Gretchen’s behalf and
declares that she “is saved” (1.25.4612). Since Faust abandons Gretchen, it is clear that
he is still trapped in his own selfishness. He was unable to vindicate Gretchen to herself
because, despite his repeated efforts to free her, he was ultimately still concerned with
saving his own hide. Faust failed yet another test. But what of Gretchen?
Goethe determines Gretchen’s final fate to be salvation. It is true that she
administered the lethal potion to her mother the night that she and Faust consummated
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their love. She was entwined in the throes of love, and watched as her brother was slain
objecting to her actions. Finally, she drowned her child in a river before being thrown in
jail as a lunatic. Nevertheless, Goethe does not seem to attribute these horrendous
tragedies to Gretchen. Heaven receives her. Either this is the case, or Goethe is showing
the reader that God can and will save whomever he deems worthy of salvation. As there
is not much to support the second case, let us examine what reasons Goethe might have
had for saving Gretchen.
In the scene at the well, Gretchen and another girl, Lieschen, discuss the newly
pregnant mutual acquaintance, Barbara. While Lieschen spews derisive insults about the
“fool” and “sinner,” Gretchen rather pities Barbara (1.17.3547, 3569). Afterwards, alone,
Gretchen reflects on her past and present perspectives. Prior to her own parallel situation,
she “for another person’s shame…found not words enough of blame” (1.17.3579-3580).
Now that she is “caught in sin,” she finds it unsuitable to blacken another woman’s
reputation and “boast and grin” about herself (1.17.3584, 3583). From her reflections,
Gretchen feels it is unjust to shame another for her actions. However, she does not seem
to be repenting for her own actions but calling them “good” and “dear,” although their
end is one of rejection by the rest of society (1.17.3586). This scene at the well shows us
Gretchen’s growth. Her actions with Faust, while considered impure, give her new
knowledge and perspective on the injustice of judgment of others. Goethe does not
condemn her as the rest of mankind (and Mephisto) does, but sends her to heaven.
Gretchen was good all her life until the end, when Faust's influence tormented her.
Goethe makes a point to declare that perfection is not required to go to heaven. Even
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though she fell from the grace of her “blemishless” state and took part in the deaths of her
mother and child, Gretchen is still saved because she chose love and selflessness as her
ultimate guiding life principles rather than pleasure and selfishness.
Goethe pulls Margaret into the plotline of Faust not only to reiterate that
“mankind is granted nothing perfect” but also to call the reader to reflect upon the
dichotomies that humans obsess over through the eyes of Faust. Faust struggles with
whether he is a lowly animal of the Earth or a reasoning-driven god. He desires pure
happiness. He tries to obtain Gretchen’s so-called perfect innocence and purity in his
quest, yet the lofty concept dissolves at his very touch. The aftermath is not a vast, dismal
emptiness but a painfully achieved compromise between opposites. Faust thinks and
speaks in opposites and extremes, but should realize that life exists in the mixing of the
two. According to him, Mephisto is wholly to blame for Gretchen’s downfall. In reality,
both Mephisto and Faust are responsible. Gretchen’s image falls from pure to base, but in
the intermediate stages she employs self-reflection and learns not to judge so harshly the
imperfections of others. Goethe provides pairs –the devil and God, Faust and Gretchen,
innocence and evil, love and strife— and throughout Faust proceeds to create an array of
unions from their mixtures. The most pertinent image to conclude with is that of the
human being.
What elements constitute the human in Faust? In the dawn that breaks following
the dungeon scene, Faust finds an answer to this question in the coalescence of the sun
and the mist of a waterfall. The resulting image is that of a rainbow, which he likens to
human life. Prior to resting on the gentle vision of a rainbow, Faust turns his eyes away
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from the blinding light of the sun (2.1.4703). Faust’s early reflections on the “bright critic
day” judging his every wish are echoed here in his speech about the sun (1.4.1558-1559).
His every “keen desire” is blown out by its brightness (2.1.4704). The force exerted by
the sun represents the divine. Its overwhelming strength forces Faust to avert his eyes and
focus on an easier vision –the green and then the waterfall. Unable to stare directly at the
sun, he instead must look at the objects it illuminates and allows him to see. At the
beginning of the play, Faust’s goals included being closer to the “Infinite,” or the divine
(1.4.1815). In the meadow he realizes that he must behold the divine indirectly by
surveying the green earth. Between the divine sun, rising higher in the sky as the day
breaks, and the “low terrain” and downward-seeking waterfall is the human rainbow
(2.1.4699).
Faust observes the mingling of the holy and the lowly as the sun’s rays illuminate
the mist. At the same time as he witnesses the water “plunging” as it “roars down into the
ravine,” another image “out of the thunder, rises, iridescent” (2.1.4719, 4717, 4721). The
vision of “the rainbow mirrors human love and strife” because it is composed of both the
divine element of the sun (love) and the turbulent, earthly element of the water (strife)
(2.1.4725). Faust’s experiences with Mephisto have affected his understanding of
humanity positively in the sense that he is no longer obsessed with strict dichotomies but
rather enthralled by their combinations. Faust is following Adam in Genesis by accepting
an allegiance with the devil and using his Knowledge of Good and Evil –that is, his
experiences with the devil— to learn that “in many-hued reflection we have life”
(2.1.4727). The union of the sun and water produces the single rainbow, which itself has
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multiple colorful elements. In the same way, life is a product of the merging of the divine
and the lowly, and the result is not a simple, one-dimensional act but a multi-faceted
endeavor.
At the end of the play, we see an old Faust, human godhead of a palace he created
near the ocean by erecting dams and utilizing the available land. Mephisto notes his
“noble wisdom” and we know from the construction of his fortress that he has
accomplished a great deal materially since the beginning of the Second Part of the
Tragedy (2.5.2.11221). It is important to note that in the abridged edition of Faust (with
which I am working), portions of the Second Part are omitted. Faust’s progress –or
regress— from the scene in the meadow to the Fifth Act on the seaside I will only here
consider by comparing his state in the former to his developments in the latter.
The last act begins by offering opposing viewpoints about Faust’s colonization
and working of the land. The opinions come through the voices of an old peasant couple
whose property is the last bit of land not yet in Faust’s possession. Baucis, the woman,
looks with sorrow and fear upon the “human sacrifices” Faust makes while increasing his
empire (2.5.1.11127). Her husband, Philemon, takes the contrary position, praising
Faust’s productions and trying to convince Baucis to accept the new estate which Faust
offers in exchange for their current property. His argument stems from the agricultural
and trade possibilities that arise: “right and left, the land is teeming,/Offering men a new
existence” (2.5.1.11105-11106). Baucis nevertheless stands her ground, wary of the
section of “swampy marsh” that remains uninhabitable and hazardous.
Baucis’ concerns with the wetlands actually foreshadow Faust’s decision to create
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a dike, which will be his last product before his death. However, attaining this solution
comes at a price. Before his final transformative experience, the ancient Faust is once
again a jaded, miserable man, this time with possessions that would be infinite if not for
the spot of peasant life blocking his view of grandeur. With their property and the
adjoining church in his ownership, “a single glance could impart/The masterpiece of
human art” and allow him to “gaze into the infinite” (2.5.2.11246-11247; 2.5.3.11345).
His success in controlling the ocean for his civil project is his art, yet he struggles with
the injustice of forcing Baucis and Philemon off of their land. Unfortunately, Mephisto
dispels the dilemma by persuading Faust to abandon his moralizing and evict them.
In the dead of the following night, Faust comes face to face with Care, a shade
whose existence he has never considered or respected. It has never been in Faust’s nature
to care or to worry. He did not bat an eye at the deaths of Gretchen’s mother, brother, or
child. Indeed, Gretchen’s impending death affected him more than did her actual death.
In light of this carelessness, Care charges him with never having faced her force, to
which he responds, “I only would desire and attain,/And wish for more, and thus with
might and main/I stormed through life” (2.5.4.11437-11439). Faust proudly denies her,
and so Care punishes him with blindness and proclaims:
“Experience it deep in your mind,
As with a curse I now descend!
The human being is, his life long, blind;
Thus, Faustus, you shall meet your end” (2.5.4.11495-11498).
Care’s commentary on the human’s figurative blindness is especially relevant to Faust, a
man who has lived according to the desires for material wealth and thus according to
things plain to the eye. Her act, which causes him to abandon his useless eyes and utilize
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his mind, results not in a curse but in a blessing. Alone and blinded, Faust senses inside
himself that “there shines a brilliant light” (2.5.4.11500). Without his actual vision acting
as an obstacle for his mind, he realizes “to make the grandest dream come true,/One mind
for a thousand hands will do” (2.5.4.11509-11510). The “dream” he speaks of is the
desire to create the dike and thus solve the problem of the dangerous and fruitless
marshland.
The next day, Faust enacts his will. The word “will” is appropriate because the
dike is the last part of what he leaves for the rest of humankind before his death. Faust’s
attitude changes from constant dissatisfaction and cynicism to contentment and optimism
given the task he commands to be done. He foresees a similar bright future for the area he
developed, since now “in mirth/Both men and herds live on this newest earth”
(2.5.5.11565-11566). The land he tends and the palace he builds are together the new
Garden of Eden, this time created by Adam rather than God. The ocean he tamed will
benefit the lives of generations to come. Immediately before falling into his grave (the
dike itself), Faust imparts “the highest wisdom” that he owns (2.5.5.11573):
“Freedom and life are earned by those alone
Who conquer them each day anew.
Surrounded by such danger, each one thrives,
Childhood, manhood, and age lead active lives…
Free men on free ground their freedom share” (2.5.5.11575-11578, 11580).
Faust, while still retaining his characteristic impatience and vigor for life, passes this
thrilling outlook to the rest of humanity through his own created art of the new Eden. He
does not propose that one hide from life’s dangers but that one live among them. In a
sense Faust has accomplished what God predicted. Through his experiences with
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Mephisto, Faust does not prefer “uninterrupted rest” but values the active life, each day
of which calls for a reaffirmation of freedom and life itself. Again, he did not fulfill his
wish for the highest happiness through divine means but by allying with the devil himself
and by harnessing the ocean –the greatest body of water on Earth. He did not utilize the
sacred or divine, yet he achieves “the highest moment” by envisioning the high happiness
which his progeny –so to speak— will chase (2.5.5.11586). Faust’s happiness arises from
imagining the happiness of another –that is, of the whole human race. And so as he
forgets his selfish obsessions he at once attains the happiness he had been striving for,
and dies a satisfied man.
A band of angels saves Faust and prevents his fall to Hell. They carry him up to
heaven where he is reunited with Gretchen. After all of the deaths that he has caused and
the tragedy that he has wrought, it might be surprising that Faust is not dragged down to
the fiery depths to serve Mephisto perpetually. Faust escapes servitude by loving the
humanity that he had initially despised. As Mephisto fights for Faust’s soul, the angels
object and bring him to heaven, since “love alone leads/Loving ones there” (2.5.61175111752). It appears then that for the most part Faust has earned the redemption he receives
by virtue of love for others. Yet the paradise Faust establishes before his death depended
upon the intercession of a spiritual force, Care. In Goethe’s world, the earthly and the
divine are a pair of opposites in frequent conversation. How might this new Adam have
realized happiness if not for the mediation of the magical and divine forces? Goethe uses
the divine not as a standard of goodness but as a device to promote the developed
character Faust becomes.
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Goethe's conclusion to Faust explores morality through traditional Christian
themes of salvation and through redemption by civil and ethical acts of goodwill. The
gradual, self-propelled struggle of redemption contrasts with divine deliverance, or
salvation. With the former, Goethe tests human limitations, and with the latter, he
questions fate. Threaded within Goethe’s rhymes are commentaries on human
weaknesses and strengths and the appearance of mystical or supernatural intervention. In
Faust Goethe shows that his protagonist, although at first reluctant to recognize it, is
indeed responsible for driving his own fate. After all, the angels in heaven are allowed to
save “who ever strives with all his power” (2.5.7.11936). In the introduction to the text,
the translator, Walter Kaufmann, says that Faust “leads us to wonder whether there is any
moral world order at all, and to what extent moral judgments make sense” (55). Although
Goethe uses Christian themes and imagery throughout the play, he presents a different
moral code. Indeed, he damns neither Faust nor Gretchen. Faust does not rely on a single,
central message but has many complex, iridescent elements –like the motley rainbow.
Kaufmann suggests that one follow the advice from the “Prelude in the Theatre”: “If one
begins to read for enjoyment, the play will lead one, willy-nilly, to think” (56). Through
the story, Goethe shows the effect of one human upon others, and in doing so warns that
we must live unselfishly, with the good of other humans in mind. The narrative Faust
provides a testament to collective human fate, which one cultivates not by focusing on
individualized accomplishments but by plural efforts.
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Works Cited
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Anchor, 1990.
Print.
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