Well, we all knew how this play would end, didn't we? It's no surprise to anyone that Faustus would be getting his one-way ticket into Hell in due time. What we might have not predicted was the way that he handled his imminent damnation. Throughout the entire play we're shown this character who, despite his astounding naivety, is fairly level-headed, at least at first.
As the play progresses, so does Faustus' own personality deteriorate. His pranks are petty, if slightly harmless, but it isn't long before they descend into being downright cruel. Yet despite Faustus' cruelty in his mischief, he still manages to retain that same child-like haughtiness and, in a very light sense of the word, innocence.
This all seems to crumble apart come the last hour of his life on line 140 in Act V scene 2. Upon completely isolating himself from everyone around him, Faustus starts to do the one thing that so many of the characters had begged him to do before, pray for salvation. Up until this very point he has done nothing but shield his true self behind a facade of either curious indifference or boredom.
I don't know about you guys, but this was probably the first time that I've felt legitimately bad for Faustus. I've been sympathetic of his loneliness, sure, but reading his final cry for help being directed towards Mephistophilis of all people, one of the ones dragging him into Hell, really sucker punched me in the gut, and it made me really dearly Faustus cared for him, just in his own selfish way.
Anyone else feel differently about Faustus after this?
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ReplyDeleteSorry! I saw a spelling error right after I pressed published so of course I had to delete my comment and correct it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you broke down the deterioration of his personality. I understand how sympathy can be evoked when we finally see Faustus' breakdown (some real emotions). But I can't feel any sympathy for him. He's just pathetic and I can't understand how he never thought to repent before he was an hour away from being dragged to hell. Maybe I'm just being too harsh and practical, but for someone so book smart, he's kind of stupid and I dare say, naive. How can you not see your life ending that way when you're raising the dead and calling on demons?? It's common sense! But maybe Faustus is just an example to show how those high and mighty intelligent scholars are just as dumb as the rest of the world OR maybe even dumber because they're noses are stuck so far into a book that they don't learn how to adapt and operate in the real world. Hmmm... I feel like I'm describing myself.
I have the same problem Jordan has. I can't really find it in me to feel bad for Faustus mainly because he has been given all these options to repent throughout the play, and he never takes a single one. So now, when he chooses to repent when it's too late? I don't know if he really means it. A part of me honestly feels like he's repenting as a last resort, as a kind of "get out of Hell free" card. Especially since up until this moment he still isn't really taking responsibility for his own demise.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest issue with him choosing now to repent is the fact that he knew this was coming. He knew what was going to happen the minute he signed that contract, and that didn't bother him at all. Until it was actually happening to him, he didn't seem too worried with the fact that he was going to be spending eternity in Hell.
I wouldn't say I felt anything malicious towards Faustus in the end. I would rather say I had a profound feeling of pity for him. The guy falls into such a pit of despair within himself that he turns to the devil for power. And I mean, he seems to enjoy his new power, despite him using it for childishly cruel pranks and not something more substantial to the world. For everything he does I pity him. I don't know, I wanted Faustus to do good and have a happy ending because of how pitiful and pathetic his actions are throughout the play, but I was expecting his personality to deteriorate further and for him to eventually go to hell. The last scene when he prays for salvation was when I felt for him the most. I know a lot of people didn't like Faustus for all his stupidity and pathetic actions, but everything he did throughout the play made me pity him all the more and hope that he was able to turn himself around.
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