Faustus has many opportunities to repent during the course
of the play Doctor Faustus. One scene
that particularly stuck out to me was when the old man confronts Faustus
beginning on page 530. The old man starts to get through to Faustus when he
says on page 531 line 47, “…call for mercy, and avoid despair.” I think that at this point Faustus starts to
have a glimpse of hope that he might still be able to enter Heaven’s gates.
Faustus states on page 531 lines 54 through 56, “I do repent…what shall I do to
shun the snares of death?” However, his hope is shattered when Mephastophilis
calls him a traitor. The sad part of this part of the play is that Faustus had
the chance to turn his life around, but he decided that sinning was the easier
option.
After he renews
his oath to the devil, Faustus decides to engage in more sin. Faustus commands
Mephastophilis to beckon Helen of Troy. The text suggests that Faustus is
seeking his Heaven in Helen because he says on page 531 lines 85 through 86,
“Come Helen, come, give me my soul again. Here I will dwell, for heaven be in
these lips…” I think that in this scene, Faustus has come to the realization
that he will never know the joys of eternal life in Heaven and is trying to
make his own paradise on earth. This is really interesting because what Faustus
is actually doing is being lustful, which is also a sin. I think that the
character Faustus is very relatable in this part of the play because he is so
tempted by sin. Faustus had the opportunity to repent his transgressions and have
a chance of being forgiven by God, but he decided that it would be easier to
just continue with his sinful ways. Faustus felt that he had sinned past the
point of no return, but his lack of repentance ultimately led to his biggest
regret and eternal damnation.
· 1. There were scenes in Doctor Faustus, like with the good angel and the old man, where it
seemed like Faustus still had a chance of going to Heaven even after he had
made a deal with the devil. Do you think that at any point Faustus could have
repented and been forgiven after he sold his soul, or was he eternally damned
after making that decision?
· 2. Do you think that Faustus accomplished anything
he originally wanted to do with his dark magic skills?
I really like this post, Kate. I completely agree with your statement that Faustus is trying to create hi own personal heaven on earth, another aspect in which he tries to make himself similar to a God. His heaven is one where you can sin and still belong, distinguishing his new heaven that he created from the actual Heaven. I think that in the back of his mind he wanted to repent and be forgiven, but knew that he was already too deep, and that maybe if he would've tried to turn to God, he might not have been forgiven.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post, Kate. I completely agree with your statement that Faustus is trying to create hi own personal heaven on earth, another aspect in which he tries to make himself similar to a God. His heaven is one where you can sin and still belong, distinguishing his new heaven that he created from the actual Heaven. I think that in the back of his mind he wanted to repent and be forgiven, but knew that he was already too deep, and that maybe if he would've tried to turn to God, he might not have been forgiven.
ReplyDeleteI really found this post interesting! Although I had read that scene I did not think of it in that way at all. You brought up some very good points such as how Faustus thought that sinning would make his life easier. Also, I would like to think that even after someone sins or makes a deal with the devil they could end up being forgiven. Although we will never know if Faustus could have been forgiven because he continued to sin I feel it is very much possible he could have sooner in the tale.
ReplyDelete