Faustus' Sins

Doctor Faustus is an intelligent person in the field of Law, Divinity, Logic, and Medicine but still he does not satisfied with what he already got and wants to gain knowledge beyond the human limitations. One of the major themes in Doctor Faustus is the battle of good and evil which it being depicted in the early of the play. The existence of good and evil angels play give a big impact towards Faustus’ decisions either to stay and serve for God or choose the opposite which deals with Lucifer, the Prince of the Devils. The good angel urges him to repent his pact with Lucifer and return back to God when he still have time, meanwhile, the evil angel urges him to not repent his pact with Lucifer and resembled as what he desired most to satisfied his life and needs. He knows how to differentiate between good and evil, right or wrong, but because of his eagerness to gain knowledge more than a merely human should be, he decide to choose the wrong way which make the pact with Lucifer that leads to his life in doomed. In Act 1, scene 1, both the angels try to urge him. The good angel said,

O Faustus, lay that damned book aside,

And gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul,

And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head:

Read, read the Scriptures; that is blasphemy’ (line 69-72).

But the bad angel convince him,

Go forward Faustus in that famous art,

Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained:

Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,

Lord and commander of these elements. (Line 73-76)

We can see that the persuasion by the bad angel more convincing and attractive for Faustus to choose. So, he chooses to give away his soul to the Devil and lead to his life in doom eternally. The theme that Marlowe centralized in this play is the Seven Deadly Sins which consist of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. When we went through the play, we could see that Faustus is a man with full of pride. Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and it leads Faustus to commit other sins.

“Within the Christian framework, pride is a lethal motivation because it makes the sinner forget his fallen state. For Christians, men are fallen since birth, because they carry with them the taint of original sin. A men made haughty with pride forgets that he shares Eve’s sin, and must therefore be saved by the gift of grace. Only God, through Christ, can dispense this grace, and the man who forgets that fact deprives himself of the path to salvation.” (Q.I. Janjuar, n.d).

Faustus’ pride is not the only sin he commit but as reflected by Christian view, pride is the source that led to commit other sins and it happens to Faustus who is in the end become a fallen man without soul. Faustus dares to make pact with Lucifer even though Mephostophilis urges him to forget about the deal.

Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.

Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God,

And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,

Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,

In being deprived of everlasting bliss?

O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,

Which strike a terror to my fainting soul. (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 76-82)

But because of his pride as men who seeks for knowledge and feels superior than Mephostophilis, he continues and command Mephostophilis to proposed his offer to Lucifer as his soul can be taken away. His desire or lust become another sins he already commit His pride continues and led him to another sin which is his greediness on gaining what he really desire most which are power, wealth and knowledge. For him, as a human he feels not enough with what he already got and what he had learned. Faustus wants to know beyond the limitation of human knowledge and decide on involving with magic and deals with the devil, Mephostophilis.

I’ll have them fly to India for gold;

Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,

And search all corners of the new-found-world

For pleasant fruits, and princely delicates.

I’ll have them wall all Germany with brass,

And make swift Rhine, circle fair Wittenberg:

I’ll have them fill the public schools with silk, (line 81-89)

Here shows Faustus’ thought of what he will do with the spirits and most of them are related to wealth, ambitions and power. The gold, pearl and silk resemble his identity as a materialistic person. In Act 2, scene 1, Faustus has second thought on his decision either he need to continue to deal with the devil or not. Because of seduction by the Bad Angel and his desire, he claims ‘Wealth!’ in line 22. Here, his identity changes differently and turns to someone who thirst of power and wealth.

Then, when Faustus had make pact with Lucifer using his own blood, the theme of Power comes as a main theme in the scene. Mephostophilis serves him really obediently and all of the things that actually impossible for a mere human as Faustus want become reality. With his unlimited power, it led him with terrible consequences and this is one thing that Faustus does not realize and drown with power. Only for 24 years agreement of unlimited power, he lost in his own power but in the end, he begging Lucifer to let him go but once a man have make agreement with the devil, he already place himself in hell eternally. Those who have great power demands great sacrifice and that the value that Faustus forgot before choose for it. And power itself leads Faustus’ life to damnation.

Marlowe put sins as the core of the play. Since from the beginning of the play, Faustus commits sins one by one and continues until the last day of 24years of agreement with the devil ends. He ends his life with regrets as a fallen man who his soul been taken away by the fallen angel. Limitation for something comes with its own reason.

References:

Gill R. (1971) Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe, London. Ernest Benn Limited.

Novel Analysis Doctor Faustus (2011). Retrieved February 14, 2011 from http://www.novelguide.com/doctorfaustus/themeanalysis.html

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe. A Critical Analysis by Qaisar Iqbal Janjua (n.d). Retrieved February 14, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/24940547/Christopher Marlowe-s-Dr-Faustus-A- Critical-Analysis-by-Qaisar-Iqbal-Janjua