The author's Christopher Marlowe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann all have overlapping versions of the famous Faust legend. All three of the main characters are men that seek to overreach their human capabilities in gaining access to more knowledge (or in Thomas Mann's novel) increased musical ability. However, there are key differences in the plot of each version, which demonstrates the intended purpose of each version or, the impact each of them would have on the audience.
The earliest of the three, Marlowe's version of Doctor Faustus has the most plot similarities to Goethe's Faust, which we have been focusing on. However, Marlowe's version involves the presence of a Good Angel and Bad Angel at crucial moments in the text. They are both present when Faust considers the pursuit of magic, they appear again when Faust signs over his life to the Devil, and at the end of the play when Faustus is about dragged to hell. With the Good Angels presence, there are much more opportunities in the play for Faust to repent and choose God over evil. In addition, the purpose of Marlowe's Dr. Faustus is relatively straightforward- it serves as a lesson to the audience about the consequences of trying to surpass the limits of human ability.
Goethe's Faust on the other hand is more complex than Marlowe's version. One of the key differences in his play is the opening scene with the wager between God and Mephistopheles. It sets the stage for Faust to make his own decisions when he is tempted/influenced by Mephistopheles- he has no outside interference or guidance that encourages him to make the right decision. Also, unlike Dr. Faustus in Marlowe's play who does magic and harms multiple people under Mephistopheles influence, Faust's deal with Mephistopheles only harms one other person: Gretchen. Gretchen's downfall caused by Faust's pursuit of her love demonstrates the negative impact his deal had just as well as Dr. Faustus doing harm to multiple people in Marlowe's version. Lastly, what makes Goethe's version of the Faust legend so complex is Gretchen's action of drowning her illegitimate child. This component of the play involves questioning her morality and instills a reaction within the audiences and readers.
Lastly, Thomas Mann's novel titled Dr. Faustus The Life if a German Composer Told by a Friend differs greatly from Goethe's and Marlowe's versions of the Faust legend even though it has a similar story line with the main character seeking enhanced musical genius and composing ability. The German composer named Adrian Leverkuhn intentionally contracts syphilis to deepen his artistic inspiration, through the madness induced by the disease. Throughout his madness, he encounters a character similar to Mephistopheles with whom he strikes a deal with to gain musical genius for 24 years. Mann's purpose of his version of the Faust legend is drastically different from Goethe and Marlowe. It does not necessarily focus on serving as a lesson to its readers regarding how to behave- it parallels the historical times and hardship that Germany was going through when the novel was written.
For more information, on the summaries of Marlowe's and Mann's Faust stories go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(Thomas_Mann_novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tragical_History_of _Doctor_Faustus
The earliest of the three, Marlowe's version of Doctor Faustus has the most plot similarities to Goethe's Faust, which we have been focusing on. However, Marlowe's version involves the presence of a Good Angel and Bad Angel at crucial moments in the text. They are both present when Faust considers the pursuit of magic, they appear again when Faust signs over his life to the Devil, and at the end of the play when Faustus is about dragged to hell. With the Good Angels presence, there are much more opportunities in the play for Faust to repent and choose God over evil. In addition, the purpose of Marlowe's Dr. Faustus is relatively straightforward- it serves as a lesson to the audience about the consequences of trying to surpass the limits of human ability.
Goethe's Faust on the other hand is more complex than Marlowe's version. One of the key differences in his play is the opening scene with the wager between God and Mephistopheles. It sets the stage for Faust to make his own decisions when he is tempted/influenced by Mephistopheles- he has no outside interference or guidance that encourages him to make the right decision. Also, unlike Dr. Faustus in Marlowe's play who does magic and harms multiple people under Mephistopheles influence, Faust's deal with Mephistopheles only harms one other person: Gretchen. Gretchen's downfall caused by Faust's pursuit of her love demonstrates the negative impact his deal had just as well as Dr. Faustus doing harm to multiple people in Marlowe's version. Lastly, what makes Goethe's version of the Faust legend so complex is Gretchen's action of drowning her illegitimate child. This component of the play involves questioning her morality and instills a reaction within the audiences and readers.
Lastly, Thomas Mann's novel titled Dr. Faustus The Life if a German Composer Told by a Friend differs greatly from Goethe's and Marlowe's versions of the Faust legend even though it has a similar story line with the main character seeking enhanced musical genius and composing ability. The German composer named Adrian Leverkuhn intentionally contracts syphilis to deepen his artistic inspiration, through the madness induced by the disease. Throughout his madness, he encounters a character similar to Mephistopheles with whom he strikes a deal with to gain musical genius for 24 years. Mann's purpose of his version of the Faust legend is drastically different from Goethe and Marlowe. It does not necessarily focus on serving as a lesson to its readers regarding how to behave- it parallels the historical times and hardship that Germany was going through when the novel was written.
For more information, on the summaries of Marlowe's and Mann's Faust stories go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(Thomas_Mann_novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tragical_History_of _Doctor_Faustus
This was a very interesting post. I am glad that you did a post on the other versions of Faust because after reading Goethe's interpretation I became interested in how his writing differed from others.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to mention that Goethes Faust also harmed/killed Gretchens brother Valentin.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that claim on "twenty and four years" is correct.
ReplyDeleteso here for trap jokes under goethe in 2021
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