Surrealist Daisies: Choosing Your Own

Goodness

An Independent Script Analysis Project on Goethe's Faust

Amanda Grace

   

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Table of Contents

Introduction:

A Love Letter To Goethe.............................................3

Chapter One: Given Circumstances

The Life and Times of Doctor Faust............................9

Chapter Two: Character

Out of Stock...............................................................18

Chapter Three: Plot

Machismo and Motivation.........................................29

Chapter Four: Theme

Acting Upon Curiositas..............................................43

Chapter Five: Production Implications

Weight Without Realism............................................52

Bibliography..................................................................................64

   

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Introduction A Love Letter to Goethe

~

Wir fühlen uns nicht angezogen durch dies ßild; doch wer versteht den anderen ganz?

Er hat zu viel Recht noch heute, als das wir recht urtheilen können.

We do not feel enthralled by this picture;

but who understands the other person completely?... He has too much deserved knowledge even today

as that we cannot judge him completely.

Armin Seidl, Goethes Religion (1895) ~

This manuscript, for all the admiration it pours out on Johann Wolfgang von

Goethe, is the manifestation of an act he thought impossible: the analysis of his seminal

epic, Faust. The product of a lifetime of effort, a pastiche of stories spanning years and

their mentalities, was and is considered by many—including the author himself—to

evade all forms of deduction in its fantastical whimsy and disjointed narrative, and yet,

here we are. This analysis in no way covers every moment of brilliance contained in

Goethe's words; I would venture to say that many if not most of them remain untouched

by my investigation. Similarly, this volume does not attempt to recreate the inimitable

originality of its source text; after all, to do so would be to disprove its ingenuity, a feat I

suspect no writer will ever be able to do. This labor of love was created in the hopes of

making Faust accessible to those who bring theatre to life. It is my humble but strong

belief that Goethe's classic has been absent from the stage for far too long: the day that

the masses consider this ultimate tale of humanity too far out of the common man's reach

is the day it must be performed. As the following pages will testify, Goethe's play is

cerebral, and challenging, and dense for those who read it. But for those who watch it,

   

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Faust is enticing, and exciting, and oh-so relevant. The ensuing chapters seek to explain

the depth of Doctor Faust's story so that artists who read it will be capable of designing a

production worthy of Goethe's name—the production implications of my own personal

vision are given in Chapter Five, but Chapters One through Four offer enough detail that

readers will be able to dream their own dreams of Faust's heavenly and hellish life.

The following Introduction contains information on Goethe's personal beliefs I

thought it critical for readers to know before embarking into this analysis, as well as a

note on the translations used and a summary of the subsequent chapters. I conclude my

own digression here by wishing you all the wonderful joy that Goethe's Faust has

brought to me; it is, as Walter Kaufmann remarked, a truly incommensurable work.

Goethe's Life

Goethe's life was abundant with the search for knowledge. He studied the

sciences; he contributed to early color theory; he, of course, was a remarkable poet and

playwright. But our purpose here is not to compile a biography—such work has been

done, and done well, before. Rather, the author hopes to provide a few words on Goethe's

complex views and beliefs as they pertain to the creation of Faust.

Chapter Four will introduce the themes central to Faust, one of which relates to

the holiness of dedication to a singular objective. In Goethes Religion, Armin Seidl

stresses this as a major facet of Goethe's personal spirituality:

He calls it an Article of his religious beliefs that "We, through

steadfastness and integral loyalty solely to the present existence, give

Heaven a true worth and are able to enter it." (16)

   

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As Goethe's life progresses, war with France provides evidence of humankind's

capacity for viciousness, and he becomes cynical. This loss of faith runs concurrent to

Goethe's disenchantment with the traditional view of God as an interactive deity. Goethe

begins to consider God as an outside force, and this perspective causes severe dissonance

once he feels some unknown energy working through him, inspiring his art. Of this,

Goethe remarked:

"God uses me like with His old Saints, and I don't know where it's

coming from. If I ask for proof of God's grace1, that 'may the fur stay dry

and the threshing floor be wet', then that's the way it is." (16)

After deliberation, Goethe came to call this force "Spinoza," which invokes not so much

a singular God as a pervasive spirit of Life:

"Spinoza does not prove the existence of a God, deeper understanding

is God." (16)

Seidl considers this realization a result of Goethe's involvement in the arts; certainly, the

piece that became Faust deals with the many conceptions humans have of the divine. In

any case, Goethe's obsession with this "deeper understanding" drives his life as a scholar

and influences the occupation of his protagonist Faust. Audiences should know that

Faust's pursuit of knowledge is something incredibly holy and of magnificent value.

Nicolas Petersen, translator for the author, noted that Seidl's words (17) implied that this

was a moment of rebirth for Goethe, phrasing the moment of recognition quite

                                                                                                               1 This word appears, so far as the author has uncovered, only in Seidl's writing; this translation is a composite of multiple opinions, integrated by Nicolas Petersen. Petersen remarks that, as one would typically prefer the fur to be wet as it keeps out the rain and the floor to be dry so the grain doesn't rot, that Goethe views God as a deity "who just doesn't care at times".

   

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beautifully: "it's as if Goethe is finding the correspondence between himself and 'God'—

how the Earth would suddenly understand its existence because of the Sun."

Goethe's lust for life and subsequent bitterness gave way to a whole new

conception of Heaven and goodness itself; the concept of Spinoza is a legacy he left

throughout the pages of his seminal work. Seidl reveals in one last direct quote a final

maturity in this man who dedicated his life to the honor of seeking:

"Only in the innermost of my plans and motivations and undertakings

do I secretively stay true to myself... what I carry in me and others, no

one can see. The best thing is the deep Silence, in which I grow against

the World, and am winning."

Faust is the product of this Silence; its significance as an exploration of spirituality and

the human concept of The Lord is nothing less than deafening.

A Word on Translations

Every passage quoted in the format (Act, Line Number) is from Walter

Kaufmann's translation of Goethe's original German, Goethe's Faust (1961). Kaufmann's

translation is the most widely available English printing of Faust. However, readers

should be aware that Kaufmann—though indulgent enough to include fifty-eight pages of

his own research and accolades as vaguely related to the text at hand—elected to cut the

majority of Act Two from his publication. He assures his readers that much of the Act

was nonsensical; therefore, this analysis trustingly only evaluates the scenes from Act

Two Kaufmann elected to keep along with the entirety of Act One.

One passage quoted in Chapter Three is taken from an unknown translation found

online. Though the translator evades identification, this particular version of the passage

   

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is more widely proliferated online, and does a better job of capturing Goethe's intention

in the scene than the translation referenced elsewhere in this analysis; it is so excellent, in

fact, that the author has made the risky decision to quote it without a source, of the mind

that its brilliance will excuse its mysterious origins.

The quotes above and scattered throughout this volume from Goethes Religion

(1895) by Armin Seidl were translated from the original German text personally for the

author by Nicolas Petersen. Nico, for the gift of your time and caring deliberation, thank

you. This one's for you.

Chapter Breakdown

The chapters of this portfolio are as follows:

Chapter One, "The Life and Times of Doctor Faust", explores the given

circumstances, stated and implied, which affect how Faust interacts with the worlds

around, above, and below him. This chapter discusses with particular interest the effects

of Germany's Protestantism after the Reformation on society and the significance of

using Goethe's homeland as a backdrop for his epic tale.

Chapter Two, "Out of Stock", explains how each major player in Faust's story

fits and breaks the molds set out for stock characters. These dynamic individuals work

alongside the given circumstances to challenge audience expectations of what life will be

like for ordinary citizens in seventeenth-century Germany.

Chapter Three, "Machismo and Motivation", attempts to cover the intricate and

lengthy plot of Geothe's classic while utilizing character motivations to justify the ebbing

and flowing of energy onstage.

   

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Chapter Four, "Acting Upon Curiositas", the two main themes of Faust are set

forth. These should be at the heart of every production, no matter the style or twist.

Chapter Five, "Weight Without Realism", sets forth the major production

implications of the author's personal design vision for Faust, which may be used to

construct a surreal staging that holds true to the grandiosity of the original text.

It is the author's hope that this Introduction has been illuminating as to the

contexts contributing to this portfolio while remaining succinct for its scope. The

remaining pages will endeavor to persuade all who read them that Faust is a living,

breathing, pertinent piece of theatre demanding to be produced.

   

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Chapter One: Given Circumstances The Life and Times of Doctor Faust

~

I have, alas, studied philosophy, Jurisprudence and medicine, too,

And, worst of all, theology With keen endeavor, through and through—

And here I am, for all my lore, The wretched fool I was before.

Called Master of Arts, and Doctor to boot, For ten years almost I confute

And up and down, wherever it goes, I drag my students by the nose—

And see that for all our science and art We can know nothing. It burns my heart.

Faust (I.354-365)

~

Through establishing the given circumstances of Faust, this chapter aims to put an

end to two common critiques of Goethe's classic: that it was never written for production;

and that it is unexceptional. Here, the argument will be made that Faust was, and

remains, an incredibly brave and nuanced statement about the fragility of man and the

transcendentalism of God. Examination of Goethe's given circumstances surrounding the

religion and academia of eighteenth-century Germany, the play's plethora of physical

settings enhanced by a fantastic reality, and the deals driving the major players will prove

that Faust is a story that can and should be transferred to the modern stage.

Religion and Academia

Goethe (1749-1832) wrote Faust with his own Germany in mind, although the

scarcity of time-specific contextual clues make it difficult to place the plot in a single

year. Besides bards throughout the text directed toward Jews and the French—whom

   

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Goethe especially loathes—the only indication of era is shared during the Easter scene,

when Faust enters town for the first time in recent memory:

ANOTHER CITIZEN: On Sun- and holidays, there is no better fun, Than chattering of wars and warlike fray, When off in Turkey, far away, One people beats the other one. We stand at the window, drink a wine that is light, Watch the boats glide down the river, see the foam, And cheerfully go back at night, Grateful that we have peace at home. (I.860-867) This monologue could ostensibly refer to any the conflicts that happened throughout the

history of the Ottoman Empire. However, if we seek to limit the possible setting of Faust

to the years in which Goethe was dreaming it up—for he did not begin writing the

Urfaust until 1772 (Kitchen 142)—the most likely setting seems to be in the early 1740s,

when Frederick II, having "defeated the Austrians at the battle of Mollwitz on 10 April

1741... won an instant reputation as a daring young general," which certainly helped

when nations including "France, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, Poland, Sweden, Naples,

Cologne, and the Palatinate" joined Prussia's side for the War of Austrian Succession

(Kitchen 143,144). If the events of Faust occur sometime before the Treaty of Breslau—

signed June 4th, 1741—Germans, comrades-at-arms with the Austrians, would likely be

aware of conflict and speak of it, but would not be at war.2

Placing the action of the play in the eighteenth century gives us a wealth of

context about the schools of thought popular during Faust's life. The first wave of

educational reform in the 1700s emphasized

                                                                                                               2 Goethe's distrust of the French, particularly Napoleon, would have developed later with the advent of the French revolution, as "[t]he aim of French policy was to weaken Austria and to divide the empire up into a number of stronger states" (Kitchen 149).

   

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modernism propagated by court circles, the demand for a realistic knowledge of the world of the day, for modern languages, georgraphy and history, and above all for mathematics and the new sciences founded on it, all at the expense of Latin and religion in the timetable. (Bruford 241)

By the measured of his fellow professionals, Faust was the pinnacle of what a scholar

should aim to be—his scope of expertise was both avant-garde and expected in this way.

For the peasants living in Faust's village, however, the definition of enlightenment

revolved less around the sciences:

The curriculum was extremely narrow, reading, writing and perhaps a little arithmetic, and a good deal of religion. Little was read beyond the Bible and catechism. (Bruford 123)

Religion was of deep importance in Faust's time, and although no character ever

directly states that Faust's Germany is a stronghold of the faith, many scenes imply this to

be true. Early in Act One, Faust surprises the small town he lives in by emerging from his

study to celebrate with the villagers at a festival; by the time Faust arrives with Wagner,

the rest of the town's populace is already present (I.982-992). The type of doctrine

practiced among the masses at this time was strict and conservative, as evidenced by

Margaret's desperation while in jail:

I've put my mother away, I've drowned my child, don't you see? Was it not given to you and me? You, too—it is you! Could it merely seem? Give me your hand! It is no dream. Your dear hand!—But alas, it is wet. Wipe it off! There is yet Blood on this one. Oh God! What have you done! Sheathe your sword; I am begging you. (I.4507-4517)

   

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Obviously, Margaret—one of the poor "commoners" of Faust's day—was raised in a

faith that preached condemnation and justice over forgiveness and grace. It is notable that

in a time where upwards of twenty percent of Germans lived underneath the poverty lines

(Kitchen 135), "[t]he Protestant clergy were solidly bourgeois" (Kitchen 134). Margaret

was one of many Germans who likely felt neglected by the Protestant leadership of the

time, and may have sided with the Catholics who were "more skeptical [of civil

authority]" (Kitchen 135). In any case, religion touched the lives of the lower class

immensely, in pure doctrinal form and in how they related to the upper classes and

national leaders. Faust, separated from religion by both his class, which focused less on

indoctrination, and his resulting scientific nature, likely knew little of the struggles

Margaret, Martha and the other villagers endured.

The given circumstance of orthodox Christianity also allows Goethe to challenge

popular views of what actions qualify as sin and which deserve mercy. Faust commits

many immoral deeds—benign and grave—during the play, including consuming lager in

a run-down pub, summoning spirits, and taking part in Walpurgis Night, a festival held

by and for witches in the Harz Mountains. According to Protestant ideology, Faust's soul

would be irredeemable.

Isolating the specific time in which Faust takes place has provided us with the

religious and scientific context of Faust's life; these aspects of society are important given

circumstances because they, like all societal norms, impact the way in which Faust

interacted with his world prior to the action of the play, and empowers the audience to

judge characters' growth as they adhere to or deviate from these norms over the course of

the plot.

   

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Physical Setting and Reality

Although Goethe abstained from the glories of religion, as a writer, he was

ostensibly a disciple of the "more is more" credo. Faust is so many things at once, among

them a love letter to Goethe's beautiful motherland. Throughout the First Act, audiences

are led through all the natural wonders of Germany, from the rolling hills circling Faust's

town to the nearby streams. Faust, walking with Wagner early in Act One, observes the

landscape:

For they themselves are resurrected From lowly houses, musty as stables, From trades to which they are subjected, From the pressure of roofs and gables, From the stifling and narrow alleys, From the churches' reverent night They have emerged into the light. Look there! Look, how the crowd now sallies Gracefully into the gardens and leas, How on the river, all through the valley, Frolicsome floating boats one sees, And, overloaded beyond its fill, This last barge now is swimming away. (I. 922-934)

Although Faust is not familiar with the narrow alleyways of those "subjected" to baser

work than he, the Doctor shares a great deal of community in the physical land with

Germans of all social strata. This may be why his best connections with Margaret later in

the play occur outdoors in the gardens; he is most like his fellow humans surrounded by

the nature they have in common.

Beyond the natural landscape, Faust also explores surreal locales and situations—

as much can be gathered from the title of the Prologue in Heaven. This dramatic contract

is one where audiences are immediately aware that anything can happen. The devil walks

   

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the world as a poodle. Witches ride on broomsticks. Animals can speak—what's more,

they do it in rhyme:

MEPHISTOPHELES: ...(To the ANIMALS.) It seems the lady isn't home? ANIMALS: She went to roam Away from home, Right through the chimney in the dome. MEPHISTOPHELES: And how long will she walk the street? ANIMALS: As long as we warm our feet. (I.2379-2385)

Being able to read about places above the clouds, or places on Earth where animals can

express thoughts as easily as people, is an exciting experience, but seeing it done onstage

is enthralling. Understanding physical locales and the magic at work within them informs

the design of the show, settles the theatrical contract to be pushed to the audience, and

explains why Faust would or wouldn't react with surprise or inhibition to the surprises

that come his way. Knowing these given circumstances helps the creative team establish

a baseline of reality before embarking on a journey through it.

The Spark and Bets

Most of the characters' lives will be introduced in Chapter Two; however, a very

few situations prior to the start of the main action will be mentioned here so that actors

and analysts alike will understand the "moment before" Faust begins fully, with

interpersonal context to bolster the context given from social tradition and locale

descriptions.

The Spark

   

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In the Prologue in Heaven, a very significant exchange occurs between

Mephistopheles and The Lord. Placing the fault with The Lord for mankind's wandering

from Him, Mephistopheles says,

Of suns and worlds I know nothing to say; I only see how men live in dismay. The small god of the world will never change his ways And is as whimsical—as on the first of days. His life might be a bit more fun, Had you not given him that spark of heaven's sun; He calls it reason and employs it, resolute To be more brutish than any brute. (I.279-285)

No matter one's religious convictions, if this is taken as a true fact of creation—a given

circumstance of all humanity in Faust's world—then Faust's struggle is at least in part a

result of his creation by The Lord; his genius, a curse. Much debate will occur in the

succeeding chapters over this point; what matters now is that "the spark" is a given

circumstance: The Lord has imbued His children, especially Faust, with curiositas, which

haunts the most brilliant of them.

The Bets

Although both bets made in the play happen onstage, they set the conditions for

the majority of the action—that is, what character can and cannot do, and what the stakes

are for success and failure in their personal objectives. Thus, they are given

circumstances for the majority of situations presented in the plot, and so we include them

here.

The first bet is taken in Heaven between The Lord and Mephistopheles:

THE LORD: Though now he serves me but confusedly, I shall soon lead him where the vapor clears. The gardener knows, however small the tree,

   

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That bloom and fruit adorn its later years. MEPHISTOPHELES: What will you bet? You'll lose him yet to me, If you will graciously connive That I may lead him carefully. THE LORD: As long as he may be alive, So long you shall not be prevented. Man errs as long as he will strive. (I.308-317) This bet is an important given circumstance because The Lord gives His verbal word that

He will not prevent Mephistopheles from meddling in Faust's life. When audiences see

Faust in his desolation much later on, they must remember that a circumstance of The

Lord's world is now that the devil may interfere with Faust's life on Earth in order to

move up in the supernatural power ladder. What is at stake in this bet is likewise

important:

MEPHISTOPHELES: Enough—he will soon reach his station; About my bet I have no hesitation, And when I win, concede your stake And let me triumph with a swelling breast: Dust he shall eat, and that with zest, As my relation does, the famous stake. (I.330-335) The stakes of this given circumstance are such that Faust will die if Mephistopheles has

his way. Since The Lord has already agreed to stay out of the experiment, the audience

will be infinitely more invested knowing a life is at stake—so long as they know it is at

stake; so long as this given circumstance is introduced clearly.

The other bet of significance in Faust is the bet made between Mephistopheles

and Faust. Faust is unaware that his deal is just an outgrowth of the deal made with The

Lord; he, wittingly, signs away not only his mortal life, but his immortal soul:

FAUST: Right. If to the moment I should say: Abide, you are so fair— Put me in fetters on that day,

   

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I wish to perish then, I swear. Then let the death bell ever toll, Your service done, you shall be free, The clock may stop, the hand may fall, As time comes to an end for me. MEPHISTOPHELES: Consider it, for we shall not forget it. (I.1698-1707)

Awareness of the given circumstance of Faust and Mephistopheles' bet keeps the

audience engaged in Faust's pursuit for knowledge that satisfies his curiositas once and

for all: if he finds it, we will feel successful, but we cannot afford to luxuriate in success

if it costs Faust his soul. Audiences will feel double the anxiety for the two bets running

concurrently, unbeknownst to the poor protagonist.

All of these given circumstances inform the story of Faust, turning Goethe's

drama into a veritable tragedy; this tragedy is given emotional weight by the given

circumstances of social norms, fantastical realism, and the spark and bets. Without these

elements, the audience cannot understand the stakes as The Lord and Mephistopheles do;

with them, Faust becomes a play which involves issues and debates still relevant today.

For its specific vivacity, Faust is certainly deserving of modern stagings; the rest of this

portfolio will provide the information needed to make this demandingly charged dream a

reality.

   

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Chapter Two: Character Out of Stock

~

What you don't feel, you will not grasp by art, Unless it wells out of your soul

And with sheer pleasure takes control, Compelling every listener's heart.

But sit—and sit, and patch and knead, Cook a ragout, reheat your hashes, Blow at the sparks and try to breed

A fire out of piles of ashes! Children and apes may think it great,

If that should titillate your gum, But from heart to heart you will never create.

If from your heart it does not come.

Faust (I.534-545) ~

One of the qualities that makes Faust a particularly enchanting achievement in

playwriting is the dimension it bestows to characters that are clearly developed from

stock character tropes. Where other classic pieces of theatre have entertained audiences

with these flat personas, Goethe made sure that his drama would engage and endear by

injecting each of his players with heart. In the following pages, it will be made clear that

Goethe imbued each of his characters with distinctive relationships to each other and

fluid experiences of life, including his unexpected but unequivocally formidable

antagonist.

Character Relationships

   

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The relationships in Goethe's Faust can be loosely depicted as so, where single

arrows indicate a parent—offspring relationship, double lines a friendship, and wavy

lines some sort of romance3:

                                                                                                               3 The wavy line connecting Martha to Mephistopheles indicates a very unusual relationship: in brief terms, Mephistopheles is courting Martha, but only as a trick, while Faust works on winning over Margaret. Mephistopheles has Faust swear to the devil's lie that he had witnessed the grave of Martha's missing husband, saying In Padua, in Italy, He is buried in St. Anthony [the patron saint of finding lost people] In ground that has been duly blessed For such cool, everlasting rest. (I.2925-2928) After delivering this devastating "news", Mephistopheles engenders himself to Martha by sharing with her the various [concocted] insults her husband threw her way prior to his death: MEPHISTOPHELES: I stood besides the bed he died on; It was superior to manure, Of rotted straw, and yet he died a Christian, pure, And found that there was more on his unsettled score. "I'm hateful," he cried; "wicked was my life, As I forsook my trade and also left my wife. To think of it now makes me die. If only she forgave me even so!" MARTHA (weeping): The darling! I forgave him long ago. MEPHISTOPHELES: "And yet, God knows, she was far worse than I." (I.2951-2960) This hot-and-cold relationship is mostly used for comedic effect: although not significant enough to be mentioned alongside the integral relationships of Faust, The Lord, and Mephistopheles, the uniqueness of this courtship is powerful enough to make it into wonderful comedic relief to the more serious of Goethe's subplots.    

   

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Major characters are given white rectangles; supporting characters have white hexagons;

dead and absent characters—as well as populations which cannot be captured in their

entirety, as with Mephistopheles' subjects—are included in red.

Faust

Faust is connected by one or two degrees of separation to every character in the

play, while Mephistopheles is fairly isolated; these points will be relevant to our analysis

of these characters' roles in the play later. Right now, it will do well to touch upon which

relationships are reciprocal and which are one-sided. Faust, sheltered from the world for

some time in his decaying study, has two important reciprocal connections in the play: a

familiar camaraderie with Wagner, his learned assistant, and a budding sweetheart

situation with Margaret. Whereas Faust and Wagner's friendship appears in most

!

The Lord

Faust Mephistopheles

Margaret Valentine

Martha

Wagner

Fath er (Dec.)

S in gle mo th ER

Runaw ay h usban d

Sister (Dec.)

Drowne d b aby

old witch and all evil spirits

in the world

   

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situations to be a relationship of equals—insomuch as a friendship can be evenly

yoked—Margaret and Faust hold very different perspectives on religion and the

appropriate progression of physical expressions of love, which introduces a dynamic of

inexperienced lover—versed teacher to their relationship. At their first meeting, when

Faust crosses Margaret walking in the street, she holds her virginal ground, but this feisty

front melts away after Margaret's lust is satisfied by the jeweled necklace Mephistopheles

leaves for her. This adornment, given on behalf of Faust, would have been far out of her

impoverished reach. From here on, Faust spends his time tearing apart Margaret's room to

catch glimpses of her private life and wooing his vixen into joining him in the bedroom;

most of these moments feature such cringe-worthy monologues as the following, where

Faust imagines Margaret's "maturation":

And here! (He lifts a bed curtain.) What raptured shudder makes me stir? How I should love to be immured Where in light dreams nature matured The angel that's innate in her. Here lay the child, developed slowly, Her tender breast with warm life fraught, And here, through weaving pure and holy, The image of the gods was wrought. (I.2709-2714)

Goethe never excuses Faust from these drooling asides; they remain brazen and

uncomfortable.

The audience is ultimately left to decide whether Faust's lust transforms into love

before Margaret's death, and although Faust is certainly driven by his drive, there is some

evidence for his compassion for Margaret as well. Whereas Margaret spends her first

walk alongside Faust in the garden bemoaning her "poor talk" (I.3077), Faust delivers the

most idolizing, flattering line the theatrical cannon has yet to outdo:

   

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One glance from you, one word gives far more pleasure Than all the wisdom of this world. (He kisses her hand.) (I.3079-3080)

Lest the audience think this is sycophantic smooth-talk, Goethe includes two

abnormalities: a specific stage direction—which he doles out sparingly—of a courageous

but still respectful physical interaction with Margaret; and the assertion that Faust's object

of affection, in his own words, surpasses in wonder the knowledge he has dedicated his

life to acquiring. This is a remark made in earnest.

The Lord

Goethe chose to isolate The Lord from the other players in Faust. His sole

corporal appearance takes place before the main plot begins in the Prologue in Heaven;

thereafter, The Lord's will is executed visibly by His Chorus of Angels and carried out

imperceptibly by the systems He has set in place in the universe. This lack of stage

presence may seem a risky choice for such an important figure, but Goethe intended The

Lord's absence to be an important contribution to the thematic dialogue of the play.4

The Lord has no reciprocal relationships in the show, save for His heavenly

father—estranged daughter rapport with Margaret. Although He created All Things and

thus every character in Faust, most of the characters do not actively seek a relationship

with Him. Faust acknowledges his existence but largely spurns his presence: as The Lord

Himself frames it, "he serves me but confusedly" (I.308). Mephistopheles, spiteful from

the split reviewed in Chapter One, actively competes against Him as the force of evil

diametrically opposed to Good in Faust's world. While we will save the discussion of

what motivations lead to The Lord's absence and its implications on Faust's thematic

                                                                                                               4 Discussed in Chapter Four.

   

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content for Chapters Three and Four, audience members should certainly feel the lack of

input from Heaven throughout the show; this facet of The Lord has great bearing on the

whole work as Goethe's personal theological investigation.

Mephistopheles

The thick arrow flowing downward from Mephistopheles to the evil spirits of the

world represents a type of parent—children connection in that Mephistopheles is the ruler

and voice of all evil in the universe. The Lord created All Things, and so gave life to

these spirits, too, but when they proved unworthy of Heaven, Mephistopheles took them

under his wing.

Mephistopheles used to harbor a close connection with The Lord before he was

cast out heaven. He references this in the Prologue:

Since you, oh Lord, have once again drawn near, And ask how we have been, and are so genial, And since you used to like to see me here, You see me too, as if I were a menial. (I.271-274)

The relationship, of course, is modeled after the relationship between Satan and God in

the Bible; Satan used to be angel, but was cast out after seeking undeserved advancement.

Mephistopheles and The Lord have history, and a raw one at that, which will factor into

our discussion of theme in Chapter Four.

Dynamism

Faust includes all the typical dramatis personae—Faust is the erudite scholar;

Margaret is the bashful young maiden; Mephistopheles is the personification of all evil.

Most of the supporting characters embody some form of stock character as well: Wagner

is the optimistic partner-in-crime; Martha is the lonely spinster; Valentine is the mighty

   

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slider. Placing each character in a role established by centuries of dramatic canon allows

theatre patrons to quickly identify what their possible purposes in the plot might be.

And just when onlookers think they know what will happen, Goethe changes

everything. Each character receives the incredible gift of complexity. Faust is the erudite

scholar, but one who holds in his heart a heavy burden:

The crowd's applause now sounds like caustic fun. I only wish you could read in my heart How little father and son Deserve such fame for their poor art. (I.1030-1033)

Faust hides away in his tomb of a room because every time he walks among people they

praise him for the works of his father, in which he assisted. The villagers think he was a

healer, but Faust knows the truth—that the first Doctor killed as many as he tried to save

with his concoctions. The toll of his medicinal misgivings gives Faust is the impetus of

both Faust's desire to learn and his childlike humor. Faust's moods target whomever is

unlucky enough to be by his side—for the majority of the play, Mephistopheles—and

switch rapidly from vehement ("Damnable fiend! Get yourself hence", I.3326) to

imploring ("Help, Devil, shorten this time of dread", I.3362) in mere portions of scenes.

This is immaturity far from what audiences would expect of the typical secular sage,

adding dimension by illustrating his emotional incompetence—a result of his tragic

upbringing.

Margaret is given the same treatment, endowed with a painful backstory, which

offers insight her present personality. She is, yes, the pretty maiden, but she is by no

means innocent to the ways of the world. She recounts to Faust how she ended up caring

for her younger sister:

   

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I brought her up, and she adored me, too. She was born only after father's death; Mother seemed near her dying breath, As stricken as she then would lie, Though she got well again quite slowly, by and by. She was so sickly and so slight, She could not nurse the little mite; So I would tend her all alone, With milk and water; she became my own. (I.3125-3133)

Without a father, taking the place of her father was a challenge for Margaret. When Faust

remarks inattentively that to be so close to her sibling must be a joy, Margaret retorts,

"also many hours of distress" (I.3137). Margaret was forced into maternal duties from an

early age, coerced into cooking and cleaning and captaining her household, but—

wondrously—she has not let this harden her. Where any other girl would be bitter,

Gretchen5 still finds the heart to dream of her lover, singing as she spins:

My bosom surges For him alone, Oh that I could clasp him And hold him so, And kiss him To my heart's content, Till in his kisses I were spent. (I. 3406-3413)

What's even more incredible than Margaret's capacity for dreaming even after her

arduous life is her sensibility when it comes to men; one of the most iconic moments of

Goethe's play occurs when Faust meets Margaret for the first time in the street:

                                                                                                               5 Gretchen is a nickname taken from the German diminutive of Margaret. Margaret is sometimes referred to as Gretchen in stage directions and certain scenes, and occasionally by the characters in dialogue, particularly when Faust is speaking to Mephistopheles about his love.

   

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FAUST: Fair lady, may I be so free To offer my arm and company? MARGARET: I'm neither a lady nor am I fair, And can go home without your care. (She frees herself and exits.) (I.2605-2608)

In an age when men had the first and final say in every interaction, Margaret may have

been a maiden, but she was determined to be nothing of a lady: not complacent, and not

complying. After she succumbs to Faust's advances and faces the shame of her brother

and the village, Margaret's reaction to hearing of another girl's downfall shows her

capacity for growth:

How I once used to scold along When some poor woman had done wrong. How for another person's shame I found not words enough of blame. How black it seemed—I made it blacker still, And yet not black enough to suit my will. And now myself am caught in sin. Yet—everything that brought me here, God, was so good, oh, was so dear. (I.3577-3586) Margaret's ideas of fairness and morality are nothing close to the conventional, mirroring

Goethe's complicated humanism more than clear-cut Protestantism. The fact that she

could change perspective enough to offer mercy to another person out of contrition is

truly exceptional, and makes her an emblem of goodness in a rather dark world.

A Word on the Protagonist and Antagonist

Goodness and evil are problematic constructs to discuss, especially when

analyzing Faust. It is a common mistake to write off the villain of a play as the

antagonist. However, Mephistopheles cannot be the antagonist of Faust because he never

   

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presents Faust6 from reaching what he searches for. He certainly tricks the Doctor,

employing alcohol, love potions, and out-of-place dramas staged by witches7, but he

never once strives to give Faust anything other than what he wants: omnipotence. The

desire to possess this Godly quality is a sin, of which Faust is very aware—he signs his

soul over to the devil for it, since The Lord would refuse the pursuit. Instead of blocking

Faust, Mephistopheles passes him the instruments of his own demise.

Faust's antagonist, then, is the force that prevents him from attaining ultimate

knowledge and, thereby, satisfaction. This force is rooted in Faust's own humanity—it is

the universe created by The Lord, with its restrictions, rules, and regulations of human

transcendence. Mephistopheles recalls at the top of the play how The Lord has cursed

Faust with an especial need to surpass these boundaries:

From heaven he demands the fairest star, And from the earth all joys that he thinks best; And all that's near and all that's far Cannot sooth the upheaval in his breast. (I.304-307)

                                                                                                               6 Faust is the person who offers the deal between himself and the devil: FAUST: If ever I recline, calmed, on a bed of sloth, You may destroy me then and there. If ever flattering you should wile me That in myself I find delight, If with enjoyment you beguile me, Then break on me, eternal night! This bet I offer. MEPHISTOPHELES: I accept it. (I.1692-1699) For instigating the original action by inviting Mephistopheles into his home and accepting his bet, and for the empathy the audience feels with him—seeing the story from his eyes—Faust is considered the protagonist of his own story. 7 This interjection occurs in the Walpurgis Night scene, a mostly nonsensical break in the narrative meant to cleanse the dramatic palate that sees Mephistopheles' charges present their own production of The Golden Wedding of Oberon and Titania.  

   

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Still, The Lord is not the force Faust struggles with directly. Faust's issue is with The

Lord's laws of nature. This is not a conflict between man and god, nor man and himself,

not man and nature. The central conflict of Faust is a conflict between man and his very

nature; between man and fact; between man and humanity itself. Faust was created by

The Lord to desire what he can never have—given "that spark of heaven's sun" as

Mephistopheles put it—yet The Lord, as an embodied character, never directly stops

Faust's attempts at reaching the stars (I.284). The antagonist to Faust's titular protagonist

is a spiritual force, one which precedes him and which will remain long after his death in

the void between mankind and God.

These are the entities that drive Goethe's epic. Faust, the protagonist; Margaret,

the maiden; Mephistopheles, the villain; and natural order, the antagonist. All of these

energies, embodied and otherwise, defy expectations as set forth by the theatre that came

before Goethe's contributions. Margaret is complex through her plasticity. Faust is

complex through his living past. Mephistopheles is a fool's antagonist. Ultimately,

Goethe's characters portray the heights and depths of humanity within a story that pitches

humanity as The Lord's ultimate curse. The brokenness of humankind becomes poetry

through the characters' mutability and resilience in the face of an unalterable system.

   

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Chapter Three: Plot Machismo and Motivation

~

Above all, let us have a lot of action! They want a show, that gives them satisfaction.

The more you can enact before their eyes, The greater is your popular acclaim;

And if the crowd can gape in dumb surprise, You gain a celebrated name.

The mass is overwhelmed only by masses, Each likes some part of what has been presented.

He that gives much, gives something to all classes, And everybody will go home contented.

You have a piece, give it in pieces then! Write a ragout, you have a pen;

It's easy to invent, and easy to unroll. What good is it, if you construct a whole?

The public takes it all apart again.

Director (I.89-103) ~

Goethe, subversive in all aspects of life, was the trailblazer of his own genre of

play. The Director warns audiences in the Prologue in the Theatre that the plot of

nouveau-epic Faust will be complex, winding, and disjointed, to say the least. The

following chapter will sort through Goethe's more frivolous scenes—written for the

basest of audience members, and particularly those of the pastiched second act—in order

to produce a cogent analysis of the underlying structure, making manifest the basic

Aristotelian elements of introductory incident, moment of engagement, rising action,

climax, falling action, and dénouement.

Chapter Three will also serve to identify the major dramatic question of Faust,

along with the motivations of and conflicts between the major characters of Faust,

Mephistopheles, and The Lord. It will become clear that Faust contains a certainly

   

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modified but definitely distinct "masculine" plot structure8 carried by high-stakes

conflicts, particularly the battle between Mephistopheles and The Lord for Doctor Faust's

soul.

We will start at the beginning. Just after the above address is given in the

Prologue in the Theatre, the initial circumstances of The Lord and Mephistopheles'

opposing motivation are revealed in the Prologue in Heaven. Immediately following this,

the first scene of Act I—an incredibly long scene for Goethe that demands disciplined

attention—introduces both the introductory incident and moment of engagement in

Faust's tale. The first of these, the introductory incident, occurs when Faust attempts (and

fails) to put his incomparable knowledge of the sciences to use by summoning a spirit:

FAUST: Should I, phantom of fire, fly? It's I, it's Faust, your peer am I! SPIRIT: In the floods of life and creative storm To and fro I wave. Weave eternally. And birth and grave, An eternal sea, A changeful strife, A glowing life: At the roaring loom of the ages I plod And fashion the life-giving garment of God. FAUST: You that traverse worlds without end, Sedulous spirit, I feel close to you. SPIRIT: Peer of the spirit that you comprehend Not mine! (Vanishes.) (I.499-513) This is the audience's first glimpse of Faust and his insistence on gaining a taste of the

supernatural. Even just in this first, somewhat pathetic, moment of denial, the futility of

                                                                                                               8 Although the whimsical presentation and always-present themes of Faust may appear to lean toward what is deemed in the field of script analysis as a feminine structure—typified by many disconnected scenes revolving around a central subject and a lack of resolution—it is the opinion of this author that the strong use of climax and constant pitting of rising and release energies designate Faust as possessing a masculine structure, albeit one with unsatisfying—but identifiable—resolution.

   

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Faust's mission is established. Though his humanity manages to shine through this spurn

as humbling and heart-wrenching, the truly dramatic incident befalls Faust soon after

when his suicide is thwarted by the aptly-named Chorus of Angels.

Thus forced to keep trekking through his misery, Faust enters the surrounding

village with Wagner. Here, after facing the knowledge that most of the villagers' praises

for him and his farther are undeserved, the duo picks up an unlikely hitchhiker: a black

poodle, who merrily follows them home. Faust invites this poodle into his study, begging

it to "[b]e quiet, please, and be my guest"; the poodle does, and soon after Faust is

horrified to watch as Mephistopheles takes his more-human form, resistant to all spells of

banishing (i.1193). After some coaxing and an enchantment, Mephistopheles proposes a

deal far too enticing for Faust to ignore:

MEPHISTO: Here you shall be the master, I be bond, And at your nod I'll work incessantly; But when me meet again beyond, Then you shall do the same for me... ... FAUST: If ever I recline, calmed, on a bed of sloth, You may destroy me then and there. If ever flattering you should wile me That in myself I find delight, If with enjoyment you beguile me, Then break on me, eternal night! This bet I offer. (I.1656-1698) This moment of agreement, this exchange, is the moment of engagement between Faust

and Mephistopheles; this is the moment that their journey together begins and the action

of the plot is activated.

Faust's rising action—building of conflict as the plot progresses—comprises

many of the following scenes in Act I, including Mephistopheles' night of debauchery in

the village pub, where he turns wine into flames—a spiteful, flashy challenge to Jesus'

   

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miracle of turning water into wine—and the evening spent with a haggard Witch and her

squirrely servants. Much of this rising action involves making matters worse for Faust,

especially when he consumes a love potion concocted by the Witch at Mephistopheles'

request. The next day, Margaret is so unlucky to be the first woman to pass Faust on the

street, and audiences are left to decide whether the Doctor is cathecting9 with Margaret,

the vision of fetishized maidenhood, or sincerely falling in love with a girl he has only

just met. Conflict builds when Mephistopheles supplies Faust with jewelry for Margaret's

wooing; when her mother confiscates said jewelry; when Mephistopheles claims to have

watched Martha's elusive husband pass on, spewing insults towards his once-beloved

wife just before he succumbed; and, of course, in every moment Faust lusts, vocally and

implicitly, after Margaret's body. All of these events serve to complicate the relationships

and motivational arcs of each character unlucky enough to be involved in the drama.

If our definition of plot might be expanded to include climaxes of energy—not

just the traditional climax, where the major dramatic question is answered—many peaks

emerge from the valleys of Faust. The first of these can be placed at the point when Faust

finally sleeps with Margaret10. Considering traditional Christian expectations of female

chastity, the loss of Margaret's maidenhood is a concrete point of no return for her public

image. From this new balance, audiences are ushered through the form-shattering scene

that is Walpurgis Night, where all the evil spirits and entities of Faust's world come

together in the Harz Mountains to put on a play; this scene contributes minimally to the

                                                                                                               9 Feminist scholar bell hooks identifies the total infatuation with another as an emotional rapport completely separate from love. Cathecting, according to hooks, is an emotional investment that does not require compassion or care to be offered to another, only attention demanded from them. This concept is fully explored in All About Love: New Visions (1999). 10 This occurs offstage, of course.    

   

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plot and serves mostly as a tension-breaker, a cleansing of the dramatic palate before

Faust kills Valentine after he insults his own sister's honor (since Margaret, after all, is

now the village whore). The third and major climax of the first act comes soon after when

Margaret, disgraced and alone, dies in jail. The major dramatic question of Faust can be

formulated in the context of Act One thusly:

Will Faust be able to surpass the confines of the human existence in order to

experience and understand All Things11 that The Lord has created?12

With Margaret's death, the answer is a resounding no—Faust is not able to drive his horse

fast enough across the countryside to save her; there is not time enough for a man to both

romp with the spirits and relate with other men. Faust cannot have everything he wants,

and so he shares the base humanness he despises—the limitations of mortality.

Throughout the course of the plot, human faculty is simply incapable of supernatural

understanding and acts.

A play that explores such an ambitious question is forced to cover many topics in

finite scenes. To do so, characters utilize a wealth of tactics in short bursts, which

maintains the plot's appropriately quick pace. Such is evident in the Dismal Day scene,

broken down in beats below, where Goethe uncharacteristically abandons his traditional

                                                                                                               11 "All Things", which has been introduced sparingly in earlier chapters, is the author's shorthand for the intrinsically and inexpressibly vast scope of knowledge and experience afforded to an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and omnibenevolent entity—the only One, in Goethe's view, being The Lord. 12 This is a preliminary draft of the major dramatic question; it will be reworked in context of both Act One and Act Two later.    

   

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verse for prose. Here, Faust squares off with Mephistopheles, blaming the devil for

Margaret's imprisonment and eventual fate.13

____

(UNIT ONE: Faust blames Mephistopheles for Margaret's suffering.)

FAUST: In misery! Despairing! Long lost wretchedly on the earth, and now imprisoned!

As a felon locked up in a dungeon with horrible torments, the fair ill-fated creature! It's

come to that! To that!— (Beat.) Treacherous, despicable Spirit—and that you have kept

from me!—Keep standing there, stand! Roll your devilish eyes wrathfully in your face!

Stand and defy me with your intolerable presence! Imprisoned! In irreparable misery!

Handed over to evil spirits and judging, unfeeling mankind! And meanwhile you sooth

me with insipid diversions; hide her growing grief from me, and let her perish helplessly!

MEPHISTO: She's not the first one.

(UNIT TWO: Faust indignantly defies blame.)

FAUST: Dog! Abominable monster!—Change him, oh infinite spirit! Change back this

worm into his dog-shape, as he used to amuse himself in the night when he trotted along

before me, rolled in front of the feet of the harmless wanderer and, when he stumbled,

clung to his shoulders. Change him again to his favorite form that he may crawl on his

belly in the sand before me and I may trample on him with my feet, the caitiff!—(Beat.)

Not the first one!—Grief! Grief! past what a human soul can grasp, that more than one

creature has sunk into the depth of this misery, that the first one did not enough for the

guilt of all the others, writhing in the agony of death before the eyes of the ever-forgiving

                                                                                                               13 Beats are divided here by the author using modern notation. Units are separated and named, but otherwise continuous in the original text.

   

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one! The misery of this one woman surges through my heart and marrow, and you grin

imperturbed over the fate of thousands!

(UNIT THREE: Mephistopheles puts Faust in his place.)

MEPHISTO: Now we're once again at our wit's end where your human minds snap. Why

do you seek fellowship with us if you can't go through with it? You would fly, but get

dizzy? Did we impose on you, or you on us?

FAUST: Don't bare your greedy teeth at me like that! It sickens me!— (Beat.) Great,

magnificent spirit that deigned to appear to me, that know my heart and soul—why forge

me to this monster who gorges himself on harm, and on corruption— feasts.

MEPHISTO: Have you finished?

(UNIT FOUR: Faust resolves to save Margaret.)

FAUST: Save her! or woe unto you! The most hideous curse upon you for millenniums!

MEPHISTO: I cannot loosen the avenger's bonds, nor open his bolts.—Save her!— Who

was it that plunged her into ruin? I or you? (FAUST looks around furiously.) Are you

reaching for thunder? Well that it was not given to you wretched mortals! Shattering

those who answer innocently, is the tyrant's way of easing his embarrassment.

FAUST: Take me there! She shall be freed!

MEPHISTO: And the dangers you risk? (Beat.) Know that the blood-guilt from your

hand still lies on the town. Over the slain man's site avenging spirits hover, waiting for

the returning murderer.

FAUST: That, too, from you? A world's murder and death upon you, monster! Guide me

to her, I say, and free her!

   

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MEPHISTO: I shall guide you; hear what I can do. Do I have all the power in the heaven

and on the earth? I shall make the jailer's senses foggy, and you may get the keys and

lead her out with human hands. I shall stand guard, magic horses shall be prepared, and I

shall carry you away. That I can do.

FAUST: Up and away!

(Goethe 399-405)14

____

In the movement from Unit One to Unit Two, Faust's childishness and irresponsibility is

brought to light; his immaturity so far into his life—and, indeed, in the play—is

magnified with Mephistopheles' magnificent takedown of Faust's unearned pride in Unit

Three. Mephistopheles, the "villain" of the story, becomes the voice of reason, giving

Faust the chastisement that the audience knows he deserves. Even more compelling, in

Unit Four, Mephistopheles promises to haste Faust to his love—an act of charity so far

from what Christians of Goethe's Germany would expect from an impish devil. The

Dismal Day scene broken down thusly reveals the deep honor Mephistopheles has had in

his dealings that Faust, with his constant complaints and accusations, has never

embodied. This scene also heightens the conflict to reach its pinnacle just after in the

climax of Act I: surely, if the antagonist has vowed to work alongside the protagonist,

audiences will expect their combined efforts to be enough to save the maiden. When this

is not so, the dramatic payoff of the futile cooperation between Mephistopheles and Faust

is so much more effective than it would have been had Faust fought and fallen alone.

                                                                                                               14 Because the Dismal Day scene was written in prose and not verse, no line numbers are given; the dialogue quoted is cited with page numbers instead.

   

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Act One's falling action—the actions cleaning up the various exploits of the

plot—comprises the ushering of Margaret's soul to Heaven and Mephistopheles' calling

of Faust "[h]ither to me" (I.4613). Although the audience sees no explicit dénouement

after this—as the Act comes to an abruptly energetic end—it is safe to assume that Faust

will continue life as a rogue on the run, ruining lives in the tow of Mephistopheles.

This is the plot of the first act; Faust's second act is a haphazard extension of the

first developed over many years of Goethe's later life that reaches a similar ending as the

first, as mentioned previously: In the climax of Act Two, The Lord's heralds wage a

grand war against Mephistopheles' army as he attempts to claim Faust's soul. Faust dies

without beginning to grasp All Things, but is saved in spite of his straying so far from the

path given to him. Both acts' plots end in divine mercy regardless of its target's adherence

to creed. Since both climaxes, taken together, emphasize the import of The Lord in the

plot, our first major dramatic question should be reformulated to focus less on Faust's

struggle to know All Things—which is still significant—and more the judgment of Faust,

which is the ultimate and final climax in Goethe's epic. Our final major dramatic question

of such a complex story can be proposed concisely, and it should be, for Faust is

reflective of every man's struggle with being:

Will Faust be able to transcend human confines and consequences?

This question is constantly being tested, but the answer only begins to emerge with the

climax of Act One, solidified in the climax of Act Two. This question still keeps in mind

both major themes (which will be explored in Chapter Four). This question is the query

posed when Faust first shakes with Mephistopheles, waging his soul for the chance at

something greater.

   

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Deeply-rooted character motivations function to heighten the conflict created as

Faust explores this major dramatic question. First and foremost, the audience is presented

with Faust. The Doctor is a prideful man, but his pursuit of endless learning stems from

Faust's understanding of his own obliviousness, exacerbated by the shame he feels

knowing that his father, trusted by his village as a learned man capable of healing, was

the harbinger of so much death. Faust's pursuit of a complete knowledge may just be his

attempt to ensure no more harm is done by ignorance; this lifelong atonement is such a

humbling act that audiences cannot help but love him. Faust most clearly vocalizes his

desires in an exchange with Mephistopheles:

Whatever is the lot of humankind I want to taste within my deepest self. I want to seize the highest and the lowest, to load its woe and bliss upon my breast, and thus expand my single self titanically and in the end go down with all the rest. (I.1769-1775)15 Even driven by circumstances specific to Faust's life, there is something so recognizable

about this struggle—which Mephistopheles immediately admonishes as impossible for

anyone but a god—that Faust's fellow humans cannot help but hope that the answer to the

major dramatic question will be yes. We all want the universe. Good Christians know that

their God is the only one meant to know All Things, so they employ their best efforts to

suppress this longing and settle for the world instead. Faust is not a "good" Christian—

and neither is Goethe; but their persistence in hoping to appreciate all that The Lord has

                                                                                                               15 This passage is from another translation of Goethe's original work, the only instance where the author feels that Walter Kaufmann's translation pales to another. This translation—which, unfortunately, eludes the author's efforts to source—more accurately captures the poeticism behind Faust's yearnings.

   

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created is representative of another, more dangerous and perhaps then more self-

sacrificial, kind of Goodness.

As Faust is caught in the throes of Mephistopheles and the Lord's meddling,

audiences are seduced into feeling wins and losses alongside the Doctor as they, together,

chase knowledge that cannot be theirs. This dedication to the inhuman costs a life;

Margaret, one of literature's most innocent personages, loses her the little expanse of

learning she could have had on Earth in retribution for Faust's obsessions. We empathize

and we admonish—we are split between both sides. Goethe manipulated Faust's

motivation to remain constant throughout the plot so that his fate is inevitable, and still,

audiences through the ages prayed from their seats that the resolution might be sweeter

than they knew it had to be in the end. This is quality playwriting. This is drama.

Conversely to Faust's, Mephistopheles' motivation is left unspoken through the

play. His persistence implies that the game of damnation is a game he has played before,

perhaps without much luck—sorely needing a win might push him to such efforts as

dragging Faust across the expanse of Germany to win a single soul. It is doubtful that the

devil has such time to personally inflict pain on every miniscule man, and so we must

answer the question: Why Faust? Two possibilities are intriguing. The first is that

Mephistopheles is the source of all conflict and therefore also fills the role of King of

Pettiness; his antagonization of Faust is simply an outgrowth of his desire to life as

difficult as possible for any being that crosses his path. The second, even more enticing,

is perhaps the oldest motivation in the theatrical canon: vengeance. As established in

Chapter One, Mephistopheles was The Lord's close companion before being cast out of

Heaven. Although the cause is never directly explored in Goethe's interpretation of the

   

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event, Biblical text tells that the devil lost The Lord's camaraderie after attempting to take

more power than he was allotted—perhaps Mephistopheles' misadventures with Faust are

nothing more than methods of coping with his humiliating, eternal failure by pushing

smaller beings to also seek what they were never meant to have. This motivation creates a

depth to a character that might easily be dismissed by less thoughtful audiences as the

snarky jester and raises the stakes that Mephistopheles invests in making Faust's failures

and ultimate death as excruciating as inhumanly possible.

It may seem counterintuitive that Faust's two main characters have essentially

parallel goals; after all, if one is reached, so is the other, and the play ends before it

begins. The major source of drama in Goethe's play is then not necessarily the conflict

between motivations, but rather the conflict between the end goals of Faust and

Mephistopheles' motivations. In their original deal, Faust promised that his soul was

eternally Mephistopheles' if and only if the devil helped him attain omnipotence that

would quiet his restless spirit; Mephistopheles must struggle against the fabric of The

Lord's universe, knowing but not wanting to believe the consequences of having such

knowledge for a human would be unbearable. There is no way that Faust could reach a

level of enlightenment parallel to a god's while on Earth, corporeally contained. Both

Faust and Mephistopheles' objectives are impossible. Still, just as The Lord agrees to

Mephistopheles' bet, audiences suspend disbelief for a short while, tantalized by the

possibility of seeing the impossible made possible. When the play reaches its end, there

may be disappointment, but it is eclipsed by the overwhelming presence of justice in the

universe: what the rules of The Lord's world declared would happen came to pass, but not

   

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even Faust is damned for breaking them. The exploration of human bounds is satisfying

but safe.

The sentiments that led The Lord to encourage Mephistopheles' manipulation of

Faust might, by this point, seem nothing more than sadism; His motivation may very well

be, as Goethe was fond of leading his readers to redefine righteousness, of which holiness

is the composite concentration. After all, is not the responsibility of Ultimate Good to

protect those to whom He gave life who struggle on their imperfect Earth? Perhaps an

imperfect world could only have been created by an imperfect Lord. This interpretation is

fascinating, but would have been a quite haughtier challenge than Goethe's lesser

dogmatic transgressions to the traditionalists who held power at the time. This, combined

with Biblical context, suggests an alternative motivation.

The Bible tells that God gave man free will in the ultimate expression of Love.

Love, after all, is not love when it is coerced, only when it offered by choice does it

become love. This provision provided the way to damnation, but it also ensured that

obedience to God would be an expression of authentic, self-denying respect. Is the

freedom to die a freedom worth having? The entirety of Faust explores this, and the plot

is rich with metaphysical debate as dictated by the rules of life set forth by otherwise-

absent Lord. We cannot admonish The Lord's motivation, because it cannot be

conceptualized by human minds, but we might imagine that He, just as Faust, is

searching for something He might never be afforded in His universe—in The Lord's case,

the experience of being loved without question. If this is true, then Faust's motivation is

simply a mirror to the motivation of The Lord who created him. Life becomes a tragedy

shared by all its players.

   

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Goethe's Faust expertly utilizes the analogous motivations of its three major

players to heighten the drama created in a manipulated masculine plot. Minor climaxes

build tension so that the answering of Faust's major dramatic question is not only the

seminal moment of the play, but the climax of the history of the world. No one, not even

Faust, is able to transcend human confines and consequences, but the honor of trying is

still rewarded by divine mercy. These two major concepts introduced through plot—

curiositas and mercy—are the hearts of Faust's dual themes and the subjects of Chapter

Four.

   

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Chapter Four: Theme Acting Upon Curiositas

~

It says: "In the beginning was the Word." Already I am stopped. It seems absurd.

The Word does not deserve the highest prize, I must translate it otherwise

If I am well inspired and not blind. It says: In the beginning was the Mind. Ponder that first line, wait and see, Lest you should write too hastily.

Is mind the all-creating source? It ought to say: In the beginning there was Force.

Yet something warns me as I grasp the pen, That my translation must be changed again.

The spirit helps. Now it is exact. I write: In the beginning was the Act.

Faust (i.1224-1237)

~

In the beginning was the Act. It's a risky translation of the Bible's original thesis,

but nothing less than revolutionary would do for Doctor Faust. This chapter will examine

the same high concepts Faust did here in his study: ideas of what The Lord is and is not,

and what The Lord's identity proclaims about what His creations should be. Faust carries

within its wit and rhyme complicated theological and existential implications of

consequence to the scholars and dreamers who have pored through Goethe's pages for

centuries trying to tease out some universal truth. Here, in this chapter, the author will

integrate findings from the previous chapters on Faust's dogma-driven given

circumstances, complex character dynamics, and epic plot to assert that Goethe presents

in his play two sensational themes: that the struggle of man against heaven and hell is

ultimately futile but still noble, and that The Lord perverts definitions of Himself set forth

in manmade religious doctrine, but remains the ultimate purveyor of mercy.

Given Circumstances

   

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The given circumstances set forth in this play explicitly are few. Scenes are not

numbered or titled, though each begins with a description of the location in which it is

set. In rare cases, including those few scenes featuring Margaret discussed in Chapter

One, Goethe gives one or two lines of the specific given circumstances at play in a scene.

The lack of stage directions is not an oversight by Goethe; rather, the poet wrote the play

to be accessible to the masses of his day. What is considered so out of reach to modern

readers was written for all of Germany in Goethe's day, rife with references to specific,

celebrated locations—the greatest of all, the mighty Harz Mountains—that could be

easily imagined no matter who read the play or where it was put on. The underlying

religious conversation would be equally accessible; as noted in the first chapter,

Protestantism was overtaking Catholicism as the orthodox religion of practice with the

advent of the Reformation. Anyone who read Faust in its first printing would understand

that Mephistopheles was Satan, and that Satan was bad, and that he would most likely

look to ruin Faust's life—or at least his day—in whatever way he saw fit. God was Good,

but only so far as Goodness meant Justice, and would be constantly calling to Faust just

as He did to His disciples.

What audiences then may not have understood, lacking training in the art of script

analysis, is that while Mephistopheles does serve as an antagonizing force in Faust's

world, he is not the antagonist of Faust. As discussed in Chapters Two and Three,

Mephistopheles' motivations and actions run in tandem with Faust's desire to experience

All Things; therefore, Mephistopheles' role is more closely aligned to that of the enabler

than of the antagonist. If any other character treated a pub full of minor characters to a

round of lager or escorted someone endless classes beneath him on the metaphysical

   

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status scale, they would be praised as generous and kind. Throughout Goethe's drama,

what given circumstances would lead audiences to designate as the personification of

ultimate darkness attempts to aid Faust in pursuing his goal of omniscience,

omnipresence, omnipotence—of omni-existence. Mephistopheles' most serious

transgressions are terribly dry and tasteless double entendres.

The Lord is equally aggressive in defying expectations of Protestant Christian

audiences. As proclaimed in Psalms 145:916, "The LORD is good to all, And his tender

mercies are all over His works." As portrayed in Faust, The Lord is callous and flippant

with Faust's fate, acting much more like Greek gods who toy with their human playthings

than a God who is the source of all thoughtfulness, revered for His singular tenderness.

Even if Faust's ultimate salvation implies that The Lord can afford to be flippant—if he

plans to redeem Faust at the close of his life—it still seems cruel to play tricks on a being

so unaware of the magnificent workings of the cosmos, so oblivious to The Lord's plans

and promises, as the Doctor. Besides this, The Lord is largely absent from the body of the

play. He appears after the Prologue in Heaven only in the sonic or corporeal form of his

Chorus of Angels and only exacts influence via the forces of the world He created. The

Lord's most common influence on Earth comes from the laws of nature He has

established, the limits of which serve as Faust's true antagonist, as discussed in Chapter

Two.

As seen here, Goethe left given circumstances as the specific and unspoken

locational and religious circumstances of his Germany so that audiences would come to

                                                                                                               16 From the New King James Version translation.

   

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his play expecting the norm; what they got—a helpful devil and a distant deity—were

anything but.

Character Dynamics

Chapters One through Three explored a few emblematic relationships, including:

the lackadaisical mentee—overindulgent chaperone rapport between Faust and

Mephistopheles; the non-relationship between Faust and The Lord; and the ex-brother—

mentor connection between Mephistopheles and The Lord.17 All of these further the first

theme surrounding the uselessness of trying to win in a duel between the devil and The

Lord, as all three are essentially stalled, sum-zero matches.

Faust— Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles and Faust, on one hand, work together to give Faust a god's

experiences, although they concur that it will be his undoing. Mephistopheles aptly

describes the inconceivability of the act:

Believe me who for many a thousand year Has chewed this cud and never rested, That from the cradle to the bier The ancient leaven cannot be digested. Trust one like me, this whole array Is for a God—there's no contender: He dwells in his eternal splendor, To darkness we had to surrender, And you need night as well as day. (I.1776-1784) Faust answers simply, "And yet it is my will", refusing to cave to the probable (I.1785).

Although Faust vocally confirms his understanding that such knowledge is given only to

                                                                                                               17 Faust and Margaret's relationship is important to the story, but does not aid in determining the themes. Rather, it serves to aid the development of the characters as they exemplify the themes—so, while significant, their romance will not be mentioned in this chapter.      

   

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one lord—The Lord—he repeatedly assigns the universe as something that belongs to

humanity:

Alas, what am I, if I can Not reach for mankind's crown which merely mocks Our senses' craving like a star? (I.1803-1805) Obviously, there is a fundamental misunderstanding between the two of what will happen

as a result of Faust's struggle. Of course, his desire for All Things is never indulged, but

both characters' ideas on Faust's pursuit are proven incorrect: though Faust fights against

The Lord to pursue passion, he is not condemned to the darkness as Mephistopheles

was—The Lord decides to exact mercy rather than justice in his case18—and though he

fights the good fight, Faust cannot acquire what is evidently not mankind's to hold.

Neither has the lot of The Lord at the end of the play; the status quo of the universe

remains unchanged.

Faust—The Lord

In his introductory scene, Faust mentions God only to slander Him. The Doctor

shies away from even attempting to communicate with such a power, though he believes

it to exist; rather, he stubbornly endeavors to summon lesser spirits of the earth—things

of death, not life. Even though his perception of The Lord's stinginess in doling out

knowledge, Faust testifies in The Lord as a real being as he calls on the Spirit:

Instead of the living nature which God made man for with holy breath Must stifles you, and every niche

                                                                                                               18 The difference between Faust and Mephistopheles that explains why mercy was shown to one but not the other might, in fact, be their motivations. Faust's need to know is rooted in the guilt he feels for aiding his father in destroying innocent lives; he has to correct a previous wrong. Mephistopheles sought what was not his out of pure avarice. Both are selfish, but Faust has decidedly purer reasons for being so.

   

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Holds skulls and skeletons and death. (I.414-417)

In Faust, The Lord is an absent Father. Faust responds to his perceived neglect with

angst, attempting to prove with his every breath that he is capable of succeeding on his

own. Human success—mastering the major sciences, being loved by one's town—are not

enough for Faust; he takes his obsession with independence to unearthly extremes. If The

Lord was truly gracious, He would embrace Faust in ever moment, but he is seen in the

Prologue taking bets on his son's soul, and never checks in on Faust while waiting for the

outcome. The Lord's gift of free will, the ultimate expression of Love, prevents his

interference, but Faust cannot understand this.19 To the Doctor, The Lord's absence is not

an invitation to love—it is an act of apathy. In his misunderstanding, Faust feels that

human needs are not of interest in the larger struggle between heaven and hell. Though

they are of import to The Lord, Faust's "needs" as he perceives them are unable to be

filled until Faust reaches out; the only gift The Lord can give without Faust's asking is

salvation. And so he does.

Mephistopheles and The Lord

                                                                                                               19 Here, Faust experiences the same spiritual dissonance felt by St. Augustine in his Confessions: "Grant me, Lord, to know and understand which is first, to call on Thee or to praise Thee? and, again, to know Thee or to call on Thee? for who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee? for he that knoweth Thee not, may call on Thee as other than Thou art." (Book I) Faust is incapable of knowing The Lord, so he would not feel led to call on Him. Whether this is the Doctor's own fault or a common depravity among mortals is a question that begs further musing, although that Faust shares an ignorance with St. Augustine himself seems to point to his virtue, or at least his common humanity.      

   

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The relationship between Mephistopheles and The Lord is of particular

significance because it was the dynamic that led two supernatural beings to take an

interest in Faust as a pawn in their battle. The brokenness of this relationship and the

shame of a lowered caste placement is so ancient and yet so sore for Mephistopheles that

he speaks of it directly in the Prologue in Heaven20. It is evident to audiences that

Mephistopheles is still, eons later, bitter about this parting, and The Lord's silence on the

matter indicates that he is either not invested in the fallout at all or decidedly more so—

neither of which positions will give Mephistopheles closure. The danger of interrupting

such a volatile relationship between the devil and The Lord is apparent, and the whole of

Faust's misadventure illustrates the pettiness of the conflict and its unsolicited influence

on Faust's life; he is a statement, not a person of interest, and his thoughts and feelings

have no true bearing on the fight Mephistopheles and The Lord have already resolved to

pick.

Plot

The evidence most revealing of Faust's two themes—that is, the honor of

pursuing knowledge and the ultimately unalienable mercy of The Lord toward all His

human children—comes with Faust's salvation in Act Two:

ANGELS (floating through the higher atmosphere, carrying FAUST's immortal part): Saved is the spirit kingdom's flower From evil and the grave "Who ever strives with all his power, We are allowed to save." (II.11934-11937)

                                                                                                               20 This passage is quoted in full in Chapter Two.

   

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The gentle enthusiasm of The Lord's Angels washes away the hurt caused by the absence

of The Lord during Faust's many plights; their saccharine song suggests that The Lord

was merely entertaining Faust with the game he chose to play.

Their words are especially important and somewhat blasphemous to Protestant

doctrine of the time: any man who tries at life, who dedicates himself completely to the

pursuit of something, has met the requirements for salvation. The holiness of begging for

forgiveness is not mentioned; the holiness of passion is all there is.21 Faust's salvation

                                                                                                               21 Soren Kierkegaard, in his Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing (1938), subscribes to the belief that to "will one thing" in action and heart is to be holy and righteous, but was careful to set apart just willingness from spiritual gluttony: Thus, purity of heart is to will one thing, but to will one thing could not mean to will the world’s pleasure and what belongs to it, even if a person only named one thing as his choice, since this one thing was one only by a deception. Nor could willing one thing mean willing it in the vain sense of mere bigness which only to a man in a state of giddiness appears to be one. FOR IN TRUTH TO WILL ONE THING, A MAN MUST WILL THE GOOD. This was the first, the possibility of being able to will one thing. But in order GENUINELY TO WILL ONE THING, A MAN MUST IN TRUTH WILL THE GOOD. (Chapter 8: The Price of Willing Our Thing: Commitment, Loyalty, Readiness to Suffer All) Whether Faust's Action, his Willingness, is holy depends entirely on our interpretation of his motivation. If we tend toward seeing Faust's objective as to redeem his father's ignorant slaughtering, then Faust most certainly wills The Good. Because Faust is saved in the end, we know that his heart was pure; therefore, to write off the Doctor's singular desire for All Things as existential greed is dangerous and categorically incorrect. If one seeks further affirmation of Faust's nobility, they might read further into Kierkegaard's eighth chapter: "Now the talk may continue. If, then, a man in truth wills the Good, then HE MUST BE WILLING TO DO ALL FOR IT or HE MUST BE WILLING TO SUFFER ALL FOR IT." Faust has sacrificed his life for the pursuit of knowledge, and his curiositas has caused much suffering—albeit, not only to the Doctor. Kierkegaard's theses proclaim Faust to be righteous, insofar as a human being is capable of being.  

   

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indicates that his translation of Genesis was not so far off—that the Act is perhaps all that

the universe can be boiled down to. The Lord appreciates Faust's efforts because He

Himself is embodied Action; for a human being to commit to doing something they find

worthwhile—as opposed to musing upon it or dreaming about it—is next to Godliness.

The Lord's mercy upon His sinning children is revealed even as what has been the

ultimate sin for centuries—the creation of an idol, of a pursuit more important to a man

than The Lord—has been authorized as a righteous action, so long as it is an all-

encompassing, all-engaging Action.

These facets of Faust's story reveal to attentive audiences the fundamentals of

Goethe's personal religion, of which Faust is the sacred text. His life's work illustrates

Goethe's unique sentiments. In the poet's mind, humans could not hope to comprehend,

let alone take part in, the larger cosmic battles being waged above and below them.

Goethe believed firmly that organized religion in no way aided man in becoming closer

to God; rather, a man's proximity to heaven, as the playwright saw it, was determined by

his dedication to what was apportioned to him: to his own gifts, passions, and experiences

only as they are. These suggestive given circumstances, distant and involved characters,

and revolutionary plot were introduced intentionally by Goethe to create a timeless text

of his own spirituality, of which there were only two pillars: that dedication is holy, and

that The Lord saves the holy dedicated.

   

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Chapter Five: Production Implications Weight Without Realism

~

Full lunar light, that you might stare The last time now on my despair! How often I've been walking here At my old desk till you appeared, And over papers, notes, and books

I caught, my gloomy friend, your looks. Oh, that up on a mountain height I could walk in your lovely light

And float with spirits round caves and trees, Weave in your twilight through the leas,

Cast dusty knowledge overboard, And bathe in dew until restored.

Faust (i.386-397)

~

Many have shied away from producing Faust, excusing their cowardice by

labeling it a closet drama—a play intended only for reading, never staging—imprudently

contesting both its inherent demand for proliferation and its appeal as a piece spanning

both the emotional depths and heights of drama and comedy. It is the author's firm

conviction that Faust should be staged as often as it can be put on with integrity and

thought. To reprove the masses who call staging Goethe's epic an inconceivable feat, this

chapter will pitch a specific vision that employs the insurrectionary casting, breathtaking

staging, metaphorical lighting and an iconic emblem as begged by the source material in

order to put up an appropriately surreal run of Faust—with a surprise twist.

Casting

Chapter Two established that all the main players in Faust are complex

interpretations of some of the most static stock characters used frequently in the theatrical

canon. Therefore, casting the company will require special attention to actors' ability to

   

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embody the traditional characteristics of their roles while bringing insight and depth that

can only come from careful, appreciative analysis of the source material. The qualities of

each major character's22 actor necessary to stage a powerful production of the epic are

broken down below.

Faust

Faust is a thoughtful man, but only so thoughtful as a man can be. He is conceited

and single-minded, selfish and honorable. Whoever portrays the Doctor should be able to

balance seemingly contradictory humors. Physical qualifications are less intense: Faust is

old enough to be accomplished, but his story only remains identifiable if he is young at

heart enough to read as inexperienced—typically, elderly characters have a touch of

otherworldly wisdom, being so close to the grave, which Faust cannot attain. However, if

there were an older actor that reads with the necessary combination of eruditeness and

childlike passion, casting a Faust of advanced age would be absolutely appropriate.

Goethe touched upon the experience of returning to his tale late in life in his Dedication:

You come back, wavering shapes, out of the past In which you first appeared to clouded eyes. Should I attempt this time to hold you fast? Does this old dream still thrill a heart so wise? You crowd? You press? Have, then, your way at last. As from the mist around me you arise; My breast is stirred and feels with youthful pain The magic breath that hovers round your train. (I.1-8)

                                                                                                               22 The Lord is not included here because he is offstage for most of the play. His influence is carried almost entirely in the actions of other characters and the world created by the production team's executions in set and lighting design, which will be discussed later in the chapter.  

   

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Because Faust is, in many ways, Goethe's anthropomorphized self-portrait23, casting an

elderly Doctor would allow audiences to better comprehend the span of years Faust's

creation covers, and thus the varied viewpoints and sometimes disjointed narratives

contained within. On the other hand, a youthful Doctor may better draw emotional

investment from audience, who either pity the babe so unluckily born with a curse or

loathe the petulant child who has forgotten to grow up. Both casting choices are valid;

though the author leans toward casting a mature actor in homage to Goethe's presence in

the play, she acknowledges that age is not a defining factor in what makes a fantastic

Faust.

Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles does a well enough job of introducing himself:

The modest truth I speak to you. While man, this tiny world of fools, is droll Enough to think himself a whole, I am part of the part that once was everything, Part of the darkness which gave birth to light, That haughty light which envies mother night Her ancient rank and place and would be kind— Yet it does not succeed... (I.1346-1353)

Squire Satan—as Mephistopheles is sometimes called—identifies his source in the

beginning of all things, or else in the everything that comprised The Lord, before his

downfall. What is even more fascinating is his identification of night, the ultimate

darkness, as female. This is fitting—Mephistopheles is meant to be alluring and

seductive, to be an attack on the traditionalism he so despises. Why not be a she? There is

                                                                                                               23  When taking into consideration Goethe's personal qualms with religion, struggles to understand and develop his beliefs, and feelings about his popularity—these aspects of Goethe's life can be found in Goethes Religion (1895) by Armin Seidl, which is drawn upon a great deal in the Introduction.  

   

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no better subversion of or homage to the role to cast a woman as Mephistopheles. Again,

physical characteristics are less important here. Because Mephistopheles changes form to

best appeal to his24 prey, the actress cast should be "beautiful", but this is such a

subjective quality that further development of the qualification is unhelpful, if not

impossible. It is far more important that Mephistopheles' portrayer should be charming,

quick, explosive, witty, and fierce than slender, fiery-haired, or towering.

Margaret

In order to understand Margaret's transformation from unsuspecting maiden to

questioning martyr, it is crucial that Margaret appear to be a typical damsel at the start of

the show. Therefore, her physical appearance is of slightly more consequence than Faust

or Mephistopheles; typically, the ingénue type is small and somewhat athletic. Diversions

from this formula are encouraged so long as the audience does not suspect at her

introduction that she will break any societal molds—when she does, onlookers will be

that much more surprised. While trying on the jewelry brought to her by Mephistopheles,

Margaret reflects on this misleading nature of appearances:

If those earrings were only mine! One looks quite different right away. What good is beauty, even youth? All that may be quite good and fair, But does it get you anywhere? Their praise is half pity, you can be sure. For gold contend, On gold depend All things. Woe to us poor! (I.2796-2804)

                                                                                                               24 While our vision employs a female Mephistopheles, male pronouns will remain utilized in the analysis to avoid confusion of the character being discussed.

   

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As she mentions, her youthful loveliness is still eclipsed somewhat by her poverty, which

must also manifest in her appearance. For this reason, Margaret should be narrower at the

waist—she would not have had the means to eat well—and fairly "worn". As she is

beautified during her courtship, the audience will follow along, believing hers to be

another fairytale; when she reverts to an even more grotesque presentation—sleepless,

starving—in the prison before her death, the audience will witness the transitory nature of

life in a forceful way. Margaret is more contemplative than witty; her portrayer need not

have an expert grip on comedy so long as she has equal parts conviction and lightness.

Staging

Needless to say, there is no way all of the locales visited by Faust and

Mephistopheles throughout the course of the plot can be portrayed realistically on one

stage. Realism, though, would not do Goethe's vision justice. The grand scope of the

Doctor's story is best told through surrealism, which can imaginatively portray both a

plethora of wondrous landscapes and the heights and depths of intrigue and emotion in

the epic.

Settings can be summoned in seconds with the implementation of an LED screen

in place of the traditional scrim; although this is not a cheap option, it does brilliantly

capture any location needed without the assistance of any set pieces, especially those

places outdoors which would naturally contain an abundance of light.

   

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25

An LED backdrop would also, practically speaking, aid in keeping the audience invested

in the action before them as they are also transported by Mephistopheles' magic across

the German countryside. Any scenic element that promotes audience engagement is

appreciated in a play so thorough as Faust.

The stage itself would only need one set installation. Furthering the surrealist

vision of this production, clouds and mountains alike will be woven from structures

                                                                                                               25 Photo: Holland America Line Entertainment Team

Consider  the  World  Stage  which  sails  upon  the  ms  Koningham.  The  use  of  270˚  cinema  is  a  breathtaking  touch  that  adds  to  the  immersive  experience  of  LED  backdrops.  With  such  a  screen,  the  Harz  Mountains  could  envelop  the  audience  as  they  do  Faust.      

   

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created by artist Kohei Nawa26:

These forms can be built from ULINE foam roll packaging, which is pure white but

translucent enough to be lit from underneath to transform from vapor into landmarks of

substance. In cloud form, the packaging masses can rest on chicken wire structures; when

they need to transform into peaks, they can be lifted from the inside by a rising pole

mechanism. Versatile and gorgeous, these simple set arrangements are perfect to

maintain our surreal Germany while ensuring that Goethe's motherland is as breathtaking

and vast as the day it was written.

Lighting

Two specific types of lighting will be employed in correlation to the two major

themes of the play. The first, representing human curiositas, is inspired by lightbox art27:

                                                                                                               26 Photo: Kohei Nawa 27 Photo: Daniele Buetti  

   

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The second vein of stylized lighting in our production is representative of the second

theme in Goethe's play; this method of lighting indicates The Lord's presence in scenes

Although  this  is  originally  a  lightbox  picture—an  image  with  holes  poked  strategically  to  allow  light  to  flow  through—the  effect  could  be  given  dimension  onstage  by  suspending  small  lights  from  the  electrics  and  attaching  them  to  the  foam  forms.  Ideally,  these  miniscule  glowing  orbs  would  be  placed  wherever  an  object  of  interest  to  Faust  sits.  The  lights  would  be  remotely  controlled,  so  as  to  illuminate  an  area  of  the  stage  as  soon  as  it  tempts  Faust.  Not  only  are  these  small  beams  stunning;  they  have  the  symbolic  purpose  of  attracting  Faust  as  mere  mosquitoes  are  drawn  to  fire.  In  addition,  the  cuing  of  these  would  assist  actors  in  navigating  around  an  otherwise  interpretive  mound  of  clouds  or  mountains.  These  small  suns  are  perfect  to  embody  Faust's  first  theme  surrounding  curiositas.    

   

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where his influence is exacted.28

These two styles of lighting are distinct but work together to create the fantastical

universe of The Lord explored by Faust.

Emblem

One specific image will be used throughout the marketing of this show. It is

inspired by an endearing scene between Margaret and Faust:

FAUST: Sweet darling! MARGARET: Let me do this!

                                                                                                               28 Photo: Vivian Beaumont Theater

Whereas  the  lighting  indicating  human  interest  and  worldly  wonder  was  defined—as  humanity  is  understandable  to  humanity—the  lighting  that  welcomes  The  Lord  to  the  stage  is  hazy  and  soft,  dim  and  difficult  to  decipher.  It  shines  from  above,  not  among  the  Earth,  and  covers  gently  everything  it  touches.  This  top  lighting  would  be  employed  whenever  the  Chorus  of  Angels  speaks  or  pronounces  a  character's  salvation;  when  The  Lord  is  present  in  the  Prologue  in  Heaven,  this  lighting  will  come  at  Him  from  behind,  giving  audiences  little  more  than  a  silhouette,  so  that  He  illuminates  the  world  while  shrouded  still.  

   

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(She plucks a daisy and pulls out the petals one by one.) FAUST: A nosegay? Or what shall it be? MARGARET: No, it is just a game. FAUST: What? MARGARET: Go, you will laugh at me. (She pulls out petals and murmurs.) FAUST: What do you murmur? MARGARET (half aloud): He loves me—loves me not. FAUST: You gentle counteneance of heaven! MARGARET (continues): Loves me—not—loves me—not— (tearing out the last leaf, in utter joy:) He loves me. (I.3178-3183)

This game is a vehicle through which to make evident Margaret's innocence, but she is

more connected to the game than one may think. Loves-Me-Not, as this action is

informally called, has its own term in French: "effeuiller la marguerite". Margaret and

marguerite—French for daisy—share linguistic roots, and so Margaret here is the virginal

"flower" soon to be de-flowered by Faust. What's more, the broader action of destroying

beauty for the sake of knowing the unknowable is essentially an emblem of the passion

that drives Faust in his pursuit of All Things. This specific Act—done in pure naïveté by

Margaret and in thoughtless greed by Faust—is symbolic of all the action in Goethe's

epic. No image begs more to be the emblem of this production.

   

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Style

As illustrated in the sample poster29 above, one further facet of style begs

explanation. In keeping with the surreal vision and visual depiction of the magic in

Faust's world, the production will begin in black-and-white. This is a nod to the order and

melancholy of the Doctor's life before the play occurs. As heaven and hell send

enchantments to greet him, color will ebb in wherever spells manifest, as in the center of

the marguerite that represents our production. This stylistic choice keeps the production

pushing boundaries in a way appropriate to Goethe's work without bringing it too far into

abstraction; gothic touches, including a prominence of the bloody scarlet color used in

our poster, will help keep the show rooted in the spirit of the original text.

                                                                                                               29 Photo: Unknown. Poster created by the author.

   

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Faust is not a play that needs to be re-imagined for modern audiences; there is no

reworked setting or reality that could compare to the original style in which Goethe's

drama was written. Witches will remain witches; mob bosses and streetwalking sirens are

not necessary for the audience to connect to these characters. Faust is timeless. The

religious and spiritual debates at its core remain relevant today, in spite of the historical

context that may be unknown by many theatre-goers. The questions Faust asks of his

world are the same questions holy people have asked for all time. This unwavering

significance is why Faust should be staged today. There are still people in the world

searching, as the good Doctor was, for answers they were never meant to have. And even

though those answers will never come, the journey to come ever closer to them will be

beautiful enough to warrant musing upon one evening in a theatre; after all, theatre is the

closest thing humanity has come to magic.

   

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Bibliography

Bruford, W. H. Germany in the Eighteenth Century: The Social Background of the Literary Revival. London: Cambridge UP, 1968. Print.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von. Goethe's Faust: The Original German and a New

Translation and Introduction. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Anchor, 1989. Print.

Hooks, Bell. All about Love: New Visions. New York: Perennial, 2001. Print. Kierkegaard, Sören. Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing. New York: Harper,

1938. Religion-Online.org. Web. Kitchen, Martin. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany. Cambridge:

Cambridge UP, 1996. Print. Saint Augustine. The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Trans. Edward Bouverie

Pussey. New York: Modern Library, 1949. Sacred-Texts.com. Web. Seidl, Armin. Goethes Religion. Trans. Nicolas Petersen. Leipzig: Barmeister,

1895. Print.