Tag Archives: Doctor Faustus

Doctor Faustus and the best of both worlds

Posted on March 5, 2013 by peterb

Faustus’s famous bargain with Lucifer was not “worth” it. Trading his soul for a little more than twenty years was not worth forfeiting his previous success and climb up the social ladder. The bargain is simplified for the audience in 1.4 when Wagner attempts to persuade Robin the clown for a similar deal. Robin frames the argument in terms of food. Clearly a nice roasted piece of season meat is better tasting than a bloody raw piece of meat. Why would an educated Faustus not see the flaw in the bargain like Robin simply points out? Well, Faustus believes he can have the best of both worlds.

Faustus asks Mephistopheles to bring him Helen of Troy. When he kisses her he says that her lips are his heaven. As his deal creeps toward its end Faustus believes he can have the best of both worlds. Helen is his heaven and his necromancy is his hell. Faustus cannot have both heaven and hell in his life. Both the good and bad angels have warned him that it is one way or the other. But Faustus, humanly, want everything. When it is time to pay his soul to Lucifer he will only have hell in his life. Hell is described as the absence of god. Faustus will lose the privilege to kiss Helen or even enjoy his power.

Faustus’s dilemma is not unheard of or unrealistic like Emdymion’s. Faustus’s flaw is very real and happens every day. It is the greatest flaw of man to want everything and anything. A modern day Faustus could be Bernie Madoff. He was a very successful hedge fund manager who was already living in extreme luxury and privilege. Madoff simply wanted more. Illegally he pulled a ponzi scheme which ultimately ended his life early. He’ll spend the rest of his days in jail. You can draw connections to Faustus. The ponzi scheme is similar to Faustus’s bargain with Lucifer. Madoff’s jail sentence is comparable to Faustus being dragged into hell to pay.

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The Internal Struggle

Posted on February 28, 2013 by thomash

Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” is a dark theatrical piece that draws attention to conflict in the main character, Doctor Faustus. Many great works of literature involve a troubled main character or lead role who experiences some sort of conflict, whether it is internal or external.  In works such as “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, the main characters are tortured by the internal conflict of man vs himself in their troubling situations. Dr. Faustus also finds himself in a struggle with his own conscience, as well as with external forces in society as well. Many times, characters are torn between doing what is right and what is beneficial, and they often suffer the consequences of making the wrong choice. Despite his own skepticism of promising his soul to Lucifer and the warnings of the Good Angel, Dr. Faustus ignores his internal conflict and suffers at the hands of the devil.

Dr. Faustus, feeling bored with the world and seeking a new challenge, takes to the black arts and thrusts himself into a difficult situation. He enslaves a demon, Mephistopheles, with his newfound power and abandons God and Catholicism. In exchange for Mephistopheles’ service, Doctor Faustus promises his soul to Lucifer. This is where the conflict begins.

In act 1.1, the Good Angel and Evil Angel appear on stage and depict the classic battle of good vs. evil in an argument to influence Doctor Faustus’ decision to pursue the black arts. The angels are the external forces that are guiding Doctor Faustus’ decisions, showing the conflict of man vs. society. The skepticism that the Good Angel raises regarding the decision that Dr. Faustus makes to promise his soul to the devil raises Doctor Faustus’ own skepticism as well, showing the conflict of man vs. himself. However, in an entertaining instance of irony, Doctor Faustus’ soul is enslaved by the very devil that is at his service throughout the play because of his decisions.

The conflicts that arise in a story or play can add a strong storyline and sense of anticipation to a plot, but they often lead to similar outcomes. Like we have seen all too many times before, Doctor Faustus was torn between doing what was right and doing what felt right. He chose selfishly and paid the ultimate price with his soul.

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