Faustus
seems to me a severe case of ADD. Immediately, he tackles several disciplines
of learning. “To dispute well” is logic, which is extremely humorous and
accurate. Now, only if he can make people live forever makes being a doctor worth
pursuing. The study of law is a “mercenary drudge” not worth exploring. Alas, “when
all is done, divinity is best.” He’s indecisive. He quickly changes this mind-frame
too, saying that the “reward of sin” as death is too extreme and unrealistic.
So naturally, onto magic because “a sound magician is a demigod” which is close
enough to divinity, right? In his attempt to leave behind divine studies, he
does just the opposite and sparks the good and evil angels’ appearance.
Evil
quickly takes over, leaving only a false presence of good, being Mephistophilis in the shape of a
friar. Faustus keeps trying to maintain a little good in his world overtaken by
the devil.
Back
to his ADD nature, Faustus shortly after signing the deed wishes to repent:
“Homo, fuge: whither should [56] I fly?
If unto God, [57] he'll throw me down to hell.
My senses are deceiv'd; here's nothing writ:--
O, yes, I see it plain; even here is writ,
Homo, fuge: yet shall not Faustus fly.”
If unto God, [57] he'll throw me down to hell.
My senses are deceiv'd; here's nothing writ:--
O, yes, I see it plain; even here is writ,
Homo, fuge: yet shall not Faustus fly.”
He is constantly presented with options, yet this
hopelessness that there’s nothing more takes over his soul, as it earlier took
over his mind. There was no more to learn in philosophy, no more of physical
nature, and no point to law. Now, if he were to choose repentance, there would
be no purpose as he sees is because the deed is done and God will refuse him.
Faustus fails to see the internal satisfaction that may come if he gives up
external praise (or more so, force of service.)
On
a side note, these are some lines I thought were really awesome:
FAUSTUS: I charge thee wait upon me whilst I live,
To do whatever Faustus shall command,
Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere,
Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.
To do whatever Faustus shall command,
Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere,
Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.
FAUSTUS:
How comes it, then, that thou art out of hell?
MEPHIST: Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
MEPHIST: Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
Also! Wagner can conjure up devils? What?
Addie,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that your blogpost is very similar to what is going through Faustus' head. Like him, you are contemplating many different possibilities. This being said, it shows that Faustus is only human. Yes, perhaps he is a bit full of himself and eager to do more and be more, but then again, who is not? I think rather than criticizing Faustus for everything that he does, we could try and show at least an ounce of sympathy toward him, knowing that everyone gives into temptation at some point and makes mistakes. Maybe you haven't sold your soul to the devil, but if God forgives ALL sins, aren't our sins just as bad as his?
So I love that you mentioned the fact that he has ADD, because I agree. But really, I think he’s a victim of greed. I know we’re supposed to find sympathy for him, but I’m having trouble. He has chances to repent and save his soul from hell. But whenever he entertains the idea, he convinces HIMSELF (the devils have no role in this) to remain one of the damned. The idea of freewill comes into play here. He has every chance to change his mind. I guess I could try to find some sympathy for him with the whole being a victim of greed thing. But then again, it is one of the seven DEADLY sins. You’d think that would be a clue, right? Sure, we all sin, but some of us choose to repent. In reality, our sins send us to the same place he’s going if we don’t ask for forgiveness. The difference is, he thinks it’s too late and we know it’s not.
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