Even as he seals the bargain that promises his soul to hell, Faustus is repeatedly filled with doubt and indecisiveness, which is shown by the duels between the good and evil angels. Even his body seems to give him a sign that he is making a bad decision when his blood congeals when he tries to sign away his soul and he sees a written warning telling him to fly away appears on his arm telling him to fly away. At times like these Faustus seems to understand the gravity of what he is doing. When Lucifer, Belzebub, and Mephastophilis appear to him he becomes afraid and says to himself, “O Faustus, they are come to fetch thy soul!” Despite this awareness, however, Faustus is unable to commit to good because he is so eager to have power in dark magic.
One of the several times Faustus is reconsidering the good angel tells him to abandon his plan and “think of heaven, and heavenly things,” but he dismisses the good angel’s words, saying that God does not love him. After Faustus signs his name in blood a group of devils appears and covers Faustus with crowns and riches which put his doubts at ease and he hands over the deed to his soul.
After he refuses a she-devil as his wife, Faustus once again wavers and leans toward repentance as he contemplates the wonders of heaven from which he has cut himself off. The good and evil angels appear again, and Faustus realizes that “My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent!” (p. 1037 line 194) Once more, after Mephastophilis storms out when asked about who created the world Faustus turns his mind to God, and again he wonders if it is too late for him to repent. The good and evil angels enter again and the good angel says it is never too late for Faustus to repent. Faustus begins to appeal to Christ for mercy, but Lucifer tells him that “Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just,” and orders Faustus to cease thinking about God and think only of the devil. Faustus’s sense that he is already damned can be traced back to his earlier misreading of the New Testament to say that anyone who sins will be damned eternally. He ignores the verses that offer the hope of repentance.
Faustus’ behavior is confusing with his not repenting of his sin even though he has ample opportunity to do so. I agree with Feathery Friend with their thoughts of Faustus being indecisive with his decision like the appearance of the Good and Bad Angels. Even though the Good Angel tells Faustus he can still repent, Faustus does not seem to believe the Good Angel and is easily swayed with the persuading of the Bad Angel to not repent or that it is too late to repent. Also I thought Feathery Friend’s point of Faustus’ blood congealing when he is trying to make the deal with the devil very interesting. I did not think of this before as Faustus’ body trying to reject the immortal deal that will cause him damnation. There are always situations that occur that seem to stop Faustus from repenting. One example is at the end of the play when Faustus thinks seriously about his eternal damnation that is about to come and he thinks about repenting, but then Mephastophilis tempts him. Mephastophilis tells Faustus “...what else thou shalt desire, shall be performed in twinkling of an eye,” (1052 lines 79-80). Mephastophilis then makes Helen of Troy appear and due to her beauty, Faustus forgets all about his repentance. The Scholars try to help Faustus repent, but even they think it is too late for Faustus’ soul to be saved. At first the Scholars try to say that Faustus can be saved but the moment Faustus tells of his selling his soul to the devil they all realize there is very little that they can do to help Faustus and he is damned.
Even as he seals the bargain that promises his soul to hell, Faustus is repeatedly filled with doubt and indecisiveness, which is shown by the duels between the good and evil angels. Even his body seems to give him a sign that he is making a bad decision when his blood congeals when he tries to sign away his soul and he sees a written warning telling him to fly away appears on his arm telling him to fly away. At times like these Faustus seems to understand the gravity of what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lucifer, Belzebub, and Mephastophilis appear to him he becomes afraid and says to himself, “O Faustus, they are come to fetch thy soul!” Despite this awareness, however, Faustus is unable to commit to good because he is so eager to have power in dark magic.
One of the several times Faustus is reconsidering the good angel tells him to abandon his plan and “think of heaven, and heavenly things,” but he dismisses the good angel’s words, saying that God does not love him. After Faustus signs his name in blood a group of devils appears and covers Faustus with crowns and riches which put his doubts at ease and he hands over the deed to his soul.
After he refuses a she-devil as his wife, Faustus once again wavers and leans toward repentance as he contemplates the wonders of heaven from which he has cut himself off. The good and evil angels appear again, and Faustus realizes that “My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent!” (p. 1037 line 194) Once more, after Mephastophilis storms out when asked about who created the world Faustus turns his mind to God, and again he wonders if it is too late for him to repent. The good and evil angels enter again and the good angel says it is never too late for Faustus to repent. Faustus begins to appeal to Christ for mercy, but Lucifer tells him that “Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just,” and orders Faustus to cease thinking about God and think only of the devil. Faustus’s sense that he is already damned can be traced back to his earlier misreading of the New Testament to say that anyone who sins will be damned eternally. He ignores the verses that offer the hope of repentance.
Faustus’ behavior is confusing with his not repenting of his sin even though he has ample opportunity to do so. I agree with Feathery Friend with their thoughts of Faustus being indecisive with his decision like the appearance of the Good and Bad Angels. Even though the Good Angel tells Faustus he can still repent, Faustus does not seem to believe the Good Angel and is easily swayed with the persuading of the Bad Angel to not repent or that it is too late to repent. Also I thought Feathery Friend’s point of Faustus’ blood congealing when he is trying to make the deal with the devil very interesting. I did not think of this before as Faustus’ body trying to reject the immortal deal that will cause him damnation. There are always situations that occur that seem to stop Faustus from repenting. One example is at the end of the play when Faustus thinks seriously about his eternal damnation that is about to come and he thinks about repenting, but then Mephastophilis tempts him. Mephastophilis tells Faustus “...what else thou shalt desire, shall be performed in twinkling of an eye,” (1052 lines 79-80). Mephastophilis then makes Helen of Troy appear and due to her beauty, Faustus forgets all about his repentance. The Scholars try to help Faustus repent, but even they think it is too late for Faustus’ soul to be saved. At first the Scholars try to say that Faustus can be saved but the moment Faustus tells of his selling his soul to the devil they all realize there is very little that they can do to help Faustus and he is damned.
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