Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Biography

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Chronology

1749 August 28	Born in Franfurt-am-Main, Germany.
1765	Sent to study law at Leipzig. Begins writing poetry.
1771	Obtains his law degree in Strasbourg, having left Leipzip after an extended illness.
1772	Writes the drama Gotz von Berlichingen.
1774	Publishes the short novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.
1775	Joins the court of Duke Karl August of Weimar.
1786	Resigns from the Weimar court to travel for two years in Italy.
1789	His son is born to his mistress.
1792	Accompanies the Duke during a military campaign against France.
1806	Marries his mistress.
1808	Publishes Faust, Part One.
1832	Completes Faust, Part Two.
1832 March 22	Dies.

 

Works

• Faust, Part One, Poem: 1808
• Faust, Part Two, Poem: 1832

Commentaries

Faust: The Legend

Like Shakespeare, Goethe began with familiar stories and expanded them,
making them his own. In his more than 140 volumes, readers can easily
locate familiar characters, themes, and stories. The epic poem Faust is no exception. The basic story of Faust is possibly a retelling of a story found in the New Testament, Acts 8:5-24. Acts recounts the story of Simon Magus, a sorcerer who envies the apostles’ powers. His jealousy leads to an offer of money for power:

Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the poeple there about
Christ. Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the
miracles he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they
left their victims, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed,
so there was much joy in that city.

A man named Simon had formerly been a sorcerer there for many years;
he was a very influential, proud man because of the amazing things
he could do — in fact, the Samaritan people often spoke of him as
the Messiah. But now they believed Philip’s message that Jesus was
the Messiah, and his words concerning the Kingdom of God; and many
men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized
and began following Philip wherever he went, and was amazed by the
miracles he did.

When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria
had accepted God’s message, they sent down Peter and John. As soon
as they arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive
the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come upon any of them. For they
had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and
John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy
Spirit.

When Simon saw this — that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles
placed their hands upon people’s heads — he offered money to buy this
power.

“Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that
when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”

But Peter replied, “Your money will perish with you for thinking
God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart
is not right before God. turn from this great wickedness and pray.
Perhaps God will forgive your evil thoughts — for I can see that there
is jealousy and sin in your heart.”

During the Middle Ages, stories were told of a sorcerer who was willing
to trade his possessions for knowledge of the definitive truth — such
as knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Over time, various stories about such
sorcerers were gathered into united legend. The name Faust, Fausten,
or Faustus was often given to the main character of this legend. The
legend was so pervasive that one of the most popular books of occult
spells and magic was attributed to Faust. To capitalize upon the fame
of Faust, a German wanderer took to calling himself “Faust the Younger” during
the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

In 1587 a supposed biography of Faust the Younger was published in Frankfurt.
An English translation followed in the same year. It was literally just
months until the Faust legend began to assume a new identity: that of
a man in search of freedom and individuality. Faust became a just rebel,
opposing the Church and clerical authority. In 1588, Christopher Marlowe
published the Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.

Marlowe’s Faust signs a pact with Satan for 24 years of unlimited power
and pleasure. At the end of the poem Faustus fears his fate in Hell and
tries to find faith. Unfortunately, Faustus’ faith in God is not strong
enough to save him, and he is carried away to Hell by Satan.

Faust: Goethe’s Version

Goethe’s Faust finds himself calling to Satan out of dispair. He is
lonely, alienated from his fellow men by his own intellect. While the
earlier Faust legends feature a man driven by a quest for power, Goethe’s
anti-hero is driven by a desire to know and understand himself and absolute
truth.

The primary contribution of Goethe’s Faust to existentialism is that it features a man struggling to understand existence. His devotion to who and what he is makes him a heroic figure. Understanding why mankind exists, and in what terms it exists, is important enough for Faust to risk damnation. This purity of purpose and being parallels Sartre‘s contention that the people who should be admired are those who hold true to their natures.

The “Prologue in Heaven” introducing Faust, Part One, sets the theme of the epic. When Mephistopheles, or Satan, enters the room of God, he finds three archangels singing the praises of God and His creations. Mephistopheles criticizes what he views as empty praise of an imperfect creation. When asked what is not perfect, Mephistopheles points out that after the Fall of Man, reason and intellect have made mankind miserable. After some debate, God and Mephistopheles make a wager that man will ultimately find redemption.

The object of the wager between the Lord and Satan is Faust, a scientist
confounded by existence and his own alientation. If Faust does not find
faith in creation, Satan may have his soul; otherwise Satan must admit
that mankind will find redemption. In Goethe’s epic, it is clear Mephistopheles,
or Satan, is meant to test men, either proving that they are unworthy
of Heaven or that they are indeed faithful to God and Truth.

In what many might view as a heresy, Faust’s drive to understand universal
truths is eventually rewarded, despite the consequences of his actions
throughout the poem. In the final scene of Faust, the main character is about to be burried. While the devil and his demons wait to carry the soul of Faust away to Hell, angels appear to rescue Faust’s soul and take it to Heaven.

Of course Satan argues that Faust and he made a deal, which gives him
the right to Faust’s soul. The angels counter that by seeking Truth Faust
has proven himself worthy of mercy. Though he dies without faith in himself
or the existence of universal truth, Faust is accepted into Heaven by
God.

Quotes

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Bibliography

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