FREE ESSAY ON IMPLICATIONS OF CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY IN GOETHE'S FAUST

IMPLICATIONS OF CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY IN GOETHE'S FAUST

In Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe builds a dramatic poem around the basis of human
strengths and weaknesses, two traits exemplified by Goethe through his main character,
Johann Faust. Throughout his life, Faust becomes knowledgeable in math, science, and the
Holy Scripture, yet desires to find happiness as a result of his persistent struggle for
power. Faust seeks not power through knowledge, but power resultant from knowledge
achieved through transcendence. Infinitely, it is this desire that is the downfall of
Faust; he sacrifices his beliefs and morals to his pursuit of ultimate knowledge, and, in
doing so, he becomes detached from reality. Through his ignorance of the surrounding
humanity, Faust becomes obliterated by emptiness. During the time period of the poem's
setting, Christians and society considered this type of greedy pursuit to be immoral and
unjust, and thus, many Christian elements play key roles in Goethe's interpretation of
the legendary figure. Through allusions to religious archetypes, along with symbolic
Christian principles, the "tragedy" of Faust shows the lifelong struggle of a man who
longs for transcendence and the world, yet, remains imprisoned by his own mind.
Throughout Faust, basic elements of the Christian faith are seen within its composition.
In Christianity, the number three is considered to be a harmony with the Divine, and its
use throughout the play helps to create the religious overtone. The most basic of
Christian fundamentals, the Trinity, shows the existence of God embodied in three
persons: God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. In the scene in the study,
it is the Trinity that lets Mephistopheles into the study, but will not let him leave.
The physical representation of God traps the Devil into the room, and as a result, forces
him to trick Faust in order to leave. When Mephistopheles says that "Three in One, and
One in Three" is "illusion and not truth," he is mocking the Christian doctrine of the
Holy Trinity. The belief that God can simultaneously be three people within one body is
one of the most controversial aspects of the Christian belief, and Mephistopheles
delights in pointing this idiosyncrasy out. Along the same lines, the pact made between
the Devil and Faust also shows this idea of the number three in that both sides place
three stipulations on their side of the bargain. During the same scene, Faust must invite
Mephistopheles into his study three times in order to symbolize his willingness to become
involved in the evil the spirit represents, and thus consecrate his choice of desire over
religious belief. Perhaps the reason for this is not only in mockery of the Christian
perception, but it is also a representation of three being the perfect number, because it
typifies the beginning, middle, and end. 
Along the lines of this religious theme are the specific roles the characters represent.
Mephistopheles is the Devil, and this is explained during the Prologue to Heaven, at
which time the Devil bargains with God for the soul of Faust. The character of Gretchen
is more complicated, due to her sudden character change in the middle of the text.
Initially, she is portrayed as sweet and innocent, therefore paralleling to the Virgin
Mary, yet, in the later scenes, after she is corrupted by Faust's immorality, she
parallels to Eve. The Virgin Mary is perceived in Christianity as the mother of mankind
and thus the pure woman who makes man's salvation possible. Eve, on the other hand, is
the fallen woman; the archetype of man's suffering. When taking these two ideas into
account, it is revealed that the character of Faust is a polarization of each of these
two facets, and thus, the core of a complex being living within a net of polarities can
be seen. 
Although Faust turns from his religious principles, in the end, he still receives
Salvation. In the Prologue to Heaven, God tells the Devil that he has faith in Faust
standing by his belief in the Divine Principles. Yet when the Devil bargains with Faust,
the plot turns toward a downward spiral. Initially, Faust is seen with Mephistopheles as
his companion and servant, but the reality is that Faust is merely a puppet of
Mephistopheles, and in turn, it is revealed that Faust has been the true servant all
along. Throughout the twenty-four years of this "Faustian Bargain," it can still be seen
that Faust is continually striving for excellence. Through his heroic striving for
knowledge and power, God sees that he is still worthy of salvation, and the archangels
carry him to Heaven. The Redemption of Faust reveals that Christian overtone is so
powerful that it can conquer evil, assert eternity, and ultimately, lead a tranquility of
the soul.
Thus, it can be concluded that Goethe's Faust embodies aspects of Christian principles in
its composition. Through the symbolism of events and physical objects, along with the
paralleling of characters to Christian archetypes, the play exonerates a Christian
overtone. Through Goethe's description of Faust's search for truth,meaning, and how he
renounced his faith then repented, show that the drama is more than just the story of
Faust's promised salvation, it is the celebration of heroic ideals deep-rooted in
religious principalities. 
Bibliography
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