I have had Dr.Faustus on the brain for a good part of the day and I am starting to rethink my earlier callous conclusions about his redeem-ability as well as whether or not he is worthy of empathy. In hindsight, I'm actually kind of ashamed at my immediate dismissal of him as a character worth nothing but derision. Now I see a man disillusioned and lonely, who feels forsaken by God and, as Adelai mentioned, lacks the faith necessary to deal with uncertainty. His story mirrors that of an addict the euphoric beginnings, the slow degradation and the slide into certain hell. Through this lens he becomes an object of pity.
5 Ways Faustus is like an addict
1. He is desperately lonely and disillusioned leaving him vulnerable to poor decisions such making deals with the devil. Also, he shows a determination to this path even though the devil himself tells him it is a bad idea. Heck, his own body shows hesitancy when his blood congeals before he is able to sign the contract and yet he allows Mephistopheles to warm it back to inky consistency!
2. At first he is flying high - literally in a chariot pulled by dragons through the cosmos but...
3. All too soon he is reduced to a clown, begging for attention and playing cruel pranks on those whose circumstances lesser than his own. Which leads to -
4. He becomes so obnoxious that even Mephistopheles distances himself from him. In scene 4, his devil on loan is only found when called. He is becoming more alone.
5. He realizes too late that he has friends. It is not until his hour of death is nigh that Faustus recognizes the scholars as people who care about him. By then it is too late - only because Faustus himself believes it is. The old man tells him that redemption is right there in the form of an angel over his head and yet he refuses to believe it and has the old man punished for his efforts. God and man will forgive Faustus if only he would forgive himself.
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That is a really, accurate analogy, I had never thought about it that way. It makes good sense too, as he no doubt got acclaim earlier in his life for curing the plague and such, but over time it would fade and he would be forgotten by most. That kind of recognition could definitely become addictive, especially if it happened multiple times over the course of his life. So he tries to recapture it by gaining ultimate cosmic power at any price.
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