Make Your Bed and Lie In It Too...

               The only thought that kept running through my mind as I finished Doctor Faustus was " Are you kidding me? Buddy, there's no way you can get out of this". I tried really hard to give him credit, but I just couldn't. His actions and decision making process were just aggravating to read. Someone as smart as Faustus is should know better than to sell his soul to the devil just for kicks. It's pretty self explanatory.  The other thing that got me was when all of the scholars and the old man were looking for ways to help Faustus, he seemed to want no part of being saved. When the Scholars suggest different options of redemption, Faustus denies all, almost as if it's easier to give his soul to the devil than to try and save himself at all. It's the same with the old man. The old man tells him that all he has to do is ask for forgiveness, and Faustus just says no, I'm too far gone and it's not worth it. All of this makes it seem like Faustus WANTS to be dammed, which makes me wonder if there was any reason why he he chose exactly twenty four years that was not revealed in the play. I guess I'll never know.        
        Even through all this, I can't sympathize with him, and I think, for as brilliant a scholar as he is, he's the only character in the world for whom I can't find a teaspoon of sympathy for. I like to think I'm a pretty understanding human being (I think I'm one of the few people who actually felt sad when the dragon in Beowulf was killed). However, Faustus just doesn't receive any from me. In general, I liked the play because of it's unique plot and lively characters. I just don't like Faustus. He seems like one of those people who are very, very 'book smart', but have absolutely no 'street smarts'. Besides the obvious lesson that it teaches its audience (don't sell your soul to the devil, however, if you do, make your wait time is longer than twenty four years), I think that Doctor Faustus teaches us to live life to the fullest and to enjoy our lives because you never know what will happen.  Carpe Diem, friends.

Deny Deny Deny

            I’m a pretty compassionate person, so I tried (honestly, I did) to find at least an ounce of sympathy for Faustus.  In truth, I could see where the sympathy could possibly come from (although that wasn’t an easy task, either).  We have this guy who is tempted by wealth and knowledge (arguably two of the biggest tempters of sins) and gives in to a devil.  Personally, I don’t think 24 years of unlimited power is a fair trade for an eternity in Hell, but that’s just me.  I think the guy truly believed that it couldn’t happen to him.  There’s a common belief in Christianity that, if you ask for forgiveness (and you truly mean it) God will forgive you until your last breath.  So yes, of course Faustus would be in denial about his sealed fate.  But he didn’t consider some things.  1.) He didn’t even think about what the Lucifer would do if he tried to repent.  2.)  He had many opportunities to ask for forgiveness, yet he continuously chose the wrong path.  So really, this was a no-win situation for Faustus.  He was in denial about his contract with the Devil (he couldn’t possibly be sent to Hell) and he was also in denial about God’s willingness to forgive him.  Never once did he stop assuming things (and you know what they say about that).  That’s one reason I don’t feel sorry for him.

            But his real nail-in-the-coffin moment for me was the fact that, even though he had enormous access to wealth and power, he chose to screw around and play practical jokes.  On the Pope, nonetheless.  You know, if he chose practical jokes as an outlet the first time he was bored, he’d never be in this mess in the first place.  What bothers me is the fact that he supposedly had all this “magic” but it was Mephostophilis just doing his bidding.  There’s no magic involved at all here.  He was duped, yet he should’ve known better because (especially during this time period) it was basically drilled into their heads to beware temptations from the Devil.  Seriously Faustus??? Have your philosophical studies impaired your ability to see the obvious?

            It’s funny because as I’m writing this, I’m getting more confused about my feelings on the issue.  It’s easy to be mad at Faustus’ stupidity, but it’s another thing entirely to try to understand the reasoning behind his actions.  

Faustus The Satanic Minion?

Okay wtf is up with Faustus now? So it's a good idea to meddle with life and death? Is that fun Faustus? Do you feel like God now? Do you feel in control of everything now, like you wanted in the first act? Faustus is annoying and I'm ready to throw my book out of the window. He chooses to play tricks on the pope and cardinals instead of looking for salvation AGAIN. Hell no, I will NEVER feel sorry for this dumbass. I don't find it funny that Faustus is mocking religion and lighting fireworks and crap during the exorcism. If he doesn't believe, fine---but you DO NOT mock someone else's God! I find it impossible to pity him because he is foolish and swears he knows everything. He is disgusting and his actions incense me.v

The whole text is actually starting to piss me off because I don't like how everyone is ignoring the gravity of the situation. The pope is a condescending moron and people are playing with heaven and hell, and it's supposed to be funny? It's unsettling for me because I take religion serious enough not to play with it, even if I do have my own opinions and disagree with a lot of things in the Bible. Robin and Dick are clowns, but I still don't excuse them for calling on Mephistopheles to scare the man at the tavern. Like no one seems to understand that you will be damned to hell, and since you are so ignorant and stuck in your ways, you will NEVER  be saved.

Doctor, Doctor, Gimme the News, I got a bad feeling that Faustus is loose!

We’ve spent a lot of time considering how dumb Faustus is with all of the bad decisions he makes, but at this point in the play (Acts 3&4), I’m wondering what his intentions have really become. In the beginning he was all about getting money and being cool, truly the stuff of greatness. However, in act 3 we see Faustus freeing Bruno from what appears to be a pretty damn corrupt Pope with the help of Mephostophilis. At this point I’m wondering if his intentions have remained the same, and this is a way of furthering those goals, is Faustus trying to have fun at the expense of others, or is he legitimately trying to do good?

My vote is for option two. It seems like Faustus is all about having fun at this point and Bruno’s rescue is simply a byproduct of Faustus trying to mess with the Pope. At some point it seems like Faustus begins to care less about money and prefers to show off his powers and cause inconveniences. With the powers Faustus is shown to have (invisibility, conjuring spirits, etc.) it would be pretty easy for him to get as much money as he needs. However, Faustus never really does anything about that. Instead he curses the Pope and slaps him. Clearly he’s using those powers to their full effect.

I don’t completely fault Faustus for his change of heart though. If I had been given demonic powers with 24 years left to live I would likely end up trying to have fun with it as well. If he spends those 24 years amassing a great fortune, what will that do for him in death? Faustus is aware that there is a countdown on his life, and I suppose is now trying to make the most of it. I can’t say he’s not being dumb about it because he absolutely is, but it seems like a fun time.

Lastly, I’m interested in why his limbs are so easily dismembered. The horse-courser very easily detaches Faustus’s leg and walks away with it. Obviously when magic is involved some weird shit is gonna happen, but in this case I’m just wondering how Faustus is so unfazed. After his head is cut off he remarks about not being able to die until the 24 years is up (I didn’t realize immortality was part of the deal, but that’s cool), but generally I would consider losing a limb to be fairly inconvenient. He seems not to stress it too much.

Renaissance Figure or an Idiot?

The Renaissance era came after the medieval era, but not without some debate.  Some scholars would debate that the Renaissance era brought all these neat and cool ideas to the forefront, pushing philosophy, science, and the arts forward. However, others would argue that the Renaissance did not just have this spark of genius and that everyone before them was not just a bumbling fool.  Long story short, was Dr. Faustus a misunderstood Renaissance figure with some neat ideas on life or was he an idiot?  I think a little bit of both. 

            For starters, the medieval period was circular around God, Catholics, Protestants, and picking sides. Neither side condoned magic. So when Dr. Faustus decided to take up black magic he denounced both churches.  He decided that he did not believe in Christianity, therefore signing his soul to the devil, because why not? Whether the logistics of his though process are sound or not, he still had an idea of focusing his spirituality in the Renaissance camp of scientific thought through exploration.  His interest in trying to gain power over materialistic things, and controlling nature, he is leaving the older ways and into a more modern mindset. 

            Although, Dr. Faustus is a smart man to accomplish the schooling that he did early in life, he probably wasn’t signing his soul away to become some heroic trailblazer for satanic followers in sixteenth century Europe.  More likely, judging by his character, one can assume that he is just an idiot.  Instead of thinking his new idea of doing black magic through, he just listens to his friends. Which come on, didn’t his mother ever tell him not to do something just because all the cool kids are doing it?

            Furthermore, when he summons a devil he believes that he did it all on his own, when the devil just came because God’s name was being used in vain.  Dr. Faustus then argues with the devil about why the devil came, like an idiot.  Like really, your going to argue with the devil about why he decided to come or not?  Then he’s going to follow that up with telling the devil that he just doesn’t have tough enough skin to deal with hell, when he’s never even been there.  Then denounce hell as a place all-together. 

            Finally, at the very end of Act Five, Dr. Faustus finally comes to the realization that signing your soul away to the devil maybe isn’t worth not having to be bored in church.  However, he is still stubborn at he end of his life that he still doesn’t repent and try to save himself.  Then again, even if he did try to change his mind he would probably just get distracted by some dancing deadly sins and forget why he wanted to repent in the first place.  

"You can't break someone who is already broken"

My mom used to say, “you can’t break someone who is already broken.” I know this saying may seem quite random, but it seems to apply well to Faustus, both physically and mentally. As we read in the story, Benvolio plans to attack Faustus and proceeds to cut off his head. Benvolio, Frederick and Martino then dance around in joy when they think they have killed Faustus, yet to find out that he magically is pieced back together and alive. Faustus has already given his soul to the devil, so he cannot die because his soul is already in the hands of death. They cannot break Faustus because he was already broken as soon as he signed the contract with the devil. But, perhaps Faustus was already broken the moment he started doubting his faith. The second Faustus questioned who he was and who God was to him, was the minute he started listening to the devil. Did the devil break Faustus or was he already broken?

            At the end of class last week, we were told to think about the significance of the clowns. It seems to me that these clowns foreshadow the being Faustus will become by giving his soul to the devil. Like the clowns, Faustus submits to simple trickery and this helps lead to his downfall. Faustus plays numerous pranks on people, even those of high religious status like the Pope. It seems to me as if Faustus is mocking those who believe in God, those who are against the devil. I understand the saying that “curiosity kills the cat,” and maybe Faustus’ curiosity lead him to side with the devil, but why take it a step further and mock those who believe in God? Isn’t he mocking his friends, his family, his old self? How can Faustus mock who he was when he ultimately still isn’t happy with who he is now? He is using the devil as a way to escape his problems, to run away from the answers he does not know and pretend like he is happy when he is not.

            Although I have jumped all over the place there are a few key points I’m hoping to make:

• ·      Faustus is broken
• ·      The Devil broke Faustus (Or Maybe Faustus broke Faustus?)
• ·      Clowns=Faustus’ future self
• ·      Faustus is not happy and seems like he never will be

Also, could there be more to the clowns? Could they in fact be on the side of the devil too?

From what Faustus has tasted of desire, Faustus holds with those who favor fire

Anyone who knows me or who had the misfortune of being in honors with me last semester, has probably heard me rant about death and more specifically, the afterlife. It's a creepy, eery subject that gives me anxiety and chills just thinking about it, but I think it's something we all ought to wonder about. Sure, we spend a 100 or so years on earth and it shouldn't be filled with worrying about whatever comes next, but after those decades on earth, what happens to us and our souls for the rest of eternity? I find anything that mentions heaven, hell, limbo, purgatory, the great beyond, etc. absolutely fascinating so I was really excited about this book, but I'm disappointed in the character of Faustus himself.

Dr. MB told us that we should try to sympathize with Faustus if we hadn't while we read, and I did sympathize with him to a point. I often have those Thoureau feelings where I wonder what life really is all about and if we're living the right way and sometimes wish I could remove myself from society and write poetry in the woods somewhere. So, I definitely understand Faustus growing tired of his life and his careers and hobbies and wanting to venture out and do something new. For me, this was doing everything in my power to get out of my hometown and go to college in another state. But for Faustus, his boredom and tiredness doesn't bring him to journey around or to pick a new career path or hobby. He turns to dark magic.

I agree with Dr. MB that this magic isn't really magic at all. I think that the so-called "magic" is symbolic for religious and philosophical thoughts and feelings that were frowned upon at the time of this book being written. Faustus making a deal with the devil, well several little devils, is less of a mid-life crisis, and more of a cry for help. I want to slap him across the face for being so arrogant and self-absorbed that he doesn't even believe that hell and evil are real when there is proof all around him and a contract signed in his own blood. Sometimes you just really want to shake a character and tell them how stupid they are.

On a more symbolic note, I am really intrigued by motifs and themes in this book. Especially, hell itself. In act 2, scene 1, line 125, Mephostophilis says, "Within the bowels of these elements where we are tortured and remain forever. Hell hath no limits nor is circumscribed in one self place, but where we are is hell and where hell is there must we ever be...all places shall be be hell that is not heaven!". Isn't it such a bold thought to say that we are in hell right now? That living your life on earth is hell and that maybe you can escape it in death, but maybe you will go on living in hell. Throw away the images of fire, swampy waters filled with skeletons and Satan sitting on a throne of thorns and imagine that instead of life, we call it hell and the only way to get out of hell is to die. And here, faustus has signed an agreement to never escape the hell that he's already in. I think Marlowe has made every reader stop and say, "wait, what?" in just a few lines of a play.

Besides flying dragons, ripping people's legs off and having the seven deadly sins dancing around, I do think that Marlowe is trying to send his readers a message. Yes, Faustus grew bored and signed away his soul and his freedom for greed, but it was of his own doing. I think Marlowe is continuing with that old message that we make our own fate. We need to appreciate life and follow a path, or we'll end up free falling into the depths of hell where we sign away to make bad decisions in order to feel good for just a while. I think this play was a moral lesson on what happens when we stray from our work and our religion, but on some level, it's still relevant today.


(thanks Robert Frost for letting me butcher your poem and use it to title my blogpost)