Dr. Faustus—The Man’s Got Some Issues
Have you ever known a person who was so annoyingly discontent, it made you wonder if they could ever be satisfied? I’m talking about the people who can’t find contentment with anything. One slice of Hawaiian pizza isn’t enough for them; they want at least three. The iPhone they purchased for big bucks last year suddenly isn’t enough and they need the newest model, complete with a more advanced camera and unlimited storage so they can download all the levels of Crossy Roads. Their 2003 Toyota Camry they purchased from Grandma when they were in high school last year suddenly isn’t cool enough to impress the bros now that they’re in college, and they feel the need for an upgrade.
We see discontentment all around us in our daily life. We should be looking for the good in what we already have, but many times we long for what we don’t have, obsessing over it so that it damages how we choose to live. In Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus, the main character, John Faustus, is faced with selfish discontentment, pride, and impulsiveness. While readers are able to quickly see that Faustus is an incredibly intelligent man, his pride makes him not only blind to his abilities, but leads to him make incredibly harmful decisions. Because of Faustus’ discontentment with his life and the prideful, drastic measures he takes to attain what he does not have, he is led to give his soul away in exchange for for what he believes is unlimited power.
The first example of Faustus’ discontentment is seen from the beginning of the story. Audiences watch as Faustus begins to wonder if there is anything beyond the study of logic that he has dedicated his life to thus far. He considers many different studies to pursue next such as medicine and law in hopes to “heap up gold and be eternis’d for some wonderful cure” (Marlowe 3). However, Faustus soon finds flaws in those areas when he realizes that being a doctor or a lawyer will never give him the power of a deity. Faustus then decides to turn to the world of necromancy with hopes to find fulfillment.“...these [necromantic books] are those that Faustus most desires” he declares upon his decision. “O what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honor, of omnipotence...Here, Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity” (Marlowe 4-5). It is easy to see how Faustus’ pride poisons the way he views his life. Instead of being grateful for and relishing the fact that he is already well-educated, he wants more, which leads him to turn to dark magic and ultimately want to be on par with deity.
Another example of Faustus’ pride is seen in how he communicates with the Good Angel and the Evil Angel, both whom act as his conscience throughout the play. When Faustus turns to necromancy, the angels immediately intercede, the Good Angel encouraging him to “lay the damned book aside lest it tempt his soul” (Marlowe 5). Faustus, however, chooses to heed the Evil Angel, who tells him to “go forward in the famous art” and “be on earth as Jove is in the sky, lord and commander of the elements” (Marlowe 5). From there, Faustus schemes how he may make spirits obey him with hopes that they may “fly to India for gold...tell all the secrets of foreign kings...and fill the public schools with silk” (Marlowe 6). At this point in the play, audiences see Faustus’ greed for power begin to spin out of control. At just the possibility of becoming like a deity, Faustus desires to glorify himself by becoming a great and powerful name throughout the world.
Perhaps the most extreme example of Faustus’ discontentment with life and his prideful spirit is when he chooses to sell his soul to Lucifer for twenty-four years. After an encounter with Mephistophilis, one of the devils of Lucifer, Faustus charges the devil to serve him and do whatever he commands for as long as he lives. When Mephistophilis explains that he is a servant of Lucifer and that he can only do what Lucifer allows, Faustus decides that the only option left is to sell his soul to Lucifer himself. “Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer” Faustus charges Mephistophilis “...Say he [Faustus] surrenders up to him his soul, so he will spare him for four and twenty years, letting him live in all voluptuousness; having thee [Mephistophilis] ever to attend on me to give me whatsoever I shall ask” (Marlowe 14). Within the next scene, audiences watch as Faustus’ decision results in many unfortunate outcomes. Almost immediately, his conscience relentlessly torments him over his decision, but even worse of a consequence than that, he finds that Mephistophilis is unable to grant him his first desire of having a wife. Already, Faustus is able to see where his selfish desires and discontentment with life have led him, and he must decide whether or not he will choose repentance.
John Faustus’ selfish desire for power and fulfillment cause him to make a very costly decision that he comes to regret. While it is easy for us to look at the story and claim we could never be in a similar position, it is important for us to remember just how cunning and subtle a prideful spirit can be. Faustus was so hungry for power that he was blinded to the consequences, only seeing the potential good that would come with selling his soul. Faustus’s decision serves as a very drastic example of how we can become blind to what we have and sacrifice too much in order to be fulfilled.
We see discontentment all around us in our daily life. We should be looking for the good in what we already have, but many times we long for what we don’t have, obsessing over it so that it damages how we choose to live. In Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus, the main character, John Faustus, is faced with selfish discontentment, pride, and impulsiveness. While readers are able to quickly see that Faustus is an incredibly intelligent man, his pride makes him not only blind to his abilities, but leads to him make incredibly harmful decisions. Because of Faustus’ discontentment with his life and the prideful, drastic measures he takes to attain what he does not have, he is led to give his soul away in exchange for for what he believes is unlimited power.
The first example of Faustus’ discontentment is seen from the beginning of the story. Audiences watch as Faustus begins to wonder if there is anything beyond the study of logic that he has dedicated his life to thus far. He considers many different studies to pursue next such as medicine and law in hopes to “heap up gold and be eternis’d for some wonderful cure” (Marlowe 3). However, Faustus soon finds flaws in those areas when he realizes that being a doctor or a lawyer will never give him the power of a deity. Faustus then decides to turn to the world of necromancy with hopes to find fulfillment.“...these [necromantic books] are those that Faustus most desires” he declares upon his decision. “O what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honor, of omnipotence...Here, Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity” (Marlowe 4-5). It is easy to see how Faustus’ pride poisons the way he views his life. Instead of being grateful for and relishing the fact that he is already well-educated, he wants more, which leads him to turn to dark magic and ultimately want to be on par with deity.
Another example of Faustus’ pride is seen in how he communicates with the Good Angel and the Evil Angel, both whom act as his conscience throughout the play. When Faustus turns to necromancy, the angels immediately intercede, the Good Angel encouraging him to “lay the damned book aside lest it tempt his soul” (Marlowe 5). Faustus, however, chooses to heed the Evil Angel, who tells him to “go forward in the famous art” and “be on earth as Jove is in the sky, lord and commander of the elements” (Marlowe 5). From there, Faustus schemes how he may make spirits obey him with hopes that they may “fly to India for gold...tell all the secrets of foreign kings...and fill the public schools with silk” (Marlowe 6). At this point in the play, audiences see Faustus’ greed for power begin to spin out of control. At just the possibility of becoming like a deity, Faustus desires to glorify himself by becoming a great and powerful name throughout the world.
Perhaps the most extreme example of Faustus’ discontentment with life and his prideful spirit is when he chooses to sell his soul to Lucifer for twenty-four years. After an encounter with Mephistophilis, one of the devils of Lucifer, Faustus charges the devil to serve him and do whatever he commands for as long as he lives. When Mephistophilis explains that he is a servant of Lucifer and that he can only do what Lucifer allows, Faustus decides that the only option left is to sell his soul to Lucifer himself. “Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer” Faustus charges Mephistophilis “...Say he [Faustus] surrenders up to him his soul, so he will spare him for four and twenty years, letting him live in all voluptuousness; having thee [Mephistophilis] ever to attend on me to give me whatsoever I shall ask” (Marlowe 14). Within the next scene, audiences watch as Faustus’ decision results in many unfortunate outcomes. Almost immediately, his conscience relentlessly torments him over his decision, but even worse of a consequence than that, he finds that Mephistophilis is unable to grant him his first desire of having a wife. Already, Faustus is able to see where his selfish desires and discontentment with life have led him, and he must decide whether or not he will choose repentance.
John Faustus’ selfish desire for power and fulfillment cause him to make a very costly decision that he comes to regret. While it is easy for us to look at the story and claim we could never be in a similar position, it is important for us to remember just how cunning and subtle a prideful spirit can be. Faustus was so hungry for power that he was blinded to the consequences, only seeing the potential good that would come with selling his soul. Faustus’s decision serves as a very drastic example of how we can become blind to what we have and sacrifice too much in order to be fulfilled.
You wrote such an awesome essay, Abigail! I always enjoy reading your writing.
ReplyDeleteThe first paragraph in your essay had me repeatedly nodding my head. Not only do I know people who are discontent, but I often find myself unsatisfied with what I’m given, especially in regards to your pizza example.
While reading your essay, I was reminded of how nothing was ever good enough for Dr. Faustus. He jumped from the study of one thing, like philosophy, to another, such as theology.
Instead of finding contentment in God, Faustus searched for it in knowledge, magic, power, and in himself.
As you said in your essay, Faustus was tormented by his conscience after he gave his soul to Lucifer. Because he was so focused on himself and his desire for supreme power—which he thought would finally satisfy his craving for something greater—he continued on his path of self-destruction even though he knew it was wrong.
I know people who want fulfillment and look for it in all the wrong places, such as in money, recognition, or a prestigious career. If they stopped and humbled themselves, they would see that they are able to find both contentment and fulfillment in God.
Great job, A!
Hey Abigail! Thank you for your essay! It was very intriguing and I enjoyed reading it! Dr. Faustus is one of my favorite GB books and I appreciated reading your perspective on the lessons we can learn from it. However, the purpose of this comment is not so you can hear my interpretation from me, but so you can hear my interpretation from a GB III author. So, allow me to introduce my interpretation in the manner I imagine Burke would deliver it.
ReplyDelete“Greetings Abby. I found your interpretation of the story of dear Dr. Faustus to be quite fascinating. You made some excellent points about the folly of his pursuits and how the turning of his passions transitioned to a dark focus that resulted ultimately in his demise. I appreciate your focus on the finer qualities of contentment and gratitude and their contrast with his pride and longing for more. I find your conclusion that we should be cautious of what we sacrifice in our search for fulfillment to be quite wise and pleasing. However, I wonder exactly what force it is behind this longing for more that he experienced that caused it to be so compelling. In his initial reasonings to necromancy, he proceeds through an examination of several fields of knowledge, and in each one, ends by proclaiming what they lack. It appears that the push driving him from field to field is a fear that he is missing out on some grand prospect contained in a knowledge he has not yet obtained. As we all know, fear is “an apprehension of pain or death,” and therefore, “operates in a manner that resembles actual pain” (Burke 47). To reference my Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful, passions that turn on pain are an indication of the sublime, that is, they operate “in a manner analogous to terror” and are “productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling” (Burke 33). So therefore, perhaps the reason that Dr. Faustus’ longing was so intense is because it was rooted in the sublime. This would also be the reason why his road led him to such a dark path; because Dr. Faustus’ pursuits were rooted in the passions and emotions of the sublime, they led him to further pain and resulted in his life taking the ultimate downward spiral that it did.”
~Edmund Burke
~Peyton Osborn
Abigail, I really enjoyed this essay! This somewhat reminds me of Underground Man from Notes from Underground. Here's how I imagine Dostoevsky would respond to your post. "Abigail, very nice essay. I found your interpretation of Dr. Faustus' pride to be well-done and convincing. Dr. Faustus is not unlike my character, Underground Man. Both characters exhibit a sense of pride that ends up prohibiting from doing any good to others or themselves. Unlike Dr. Faustus, Underground Man does not sell his soul to the devil for fulfillment, but rather he sells his soul to his inner demons and becomes a cynic and disillusioned with the world around him. He says, "“I am a sick man… I am a wicked man” (Dostoevsky 3), and this is applicable to both characters; both men are wicked and prideful individuals in search of happiness and fulfillment. However, Dr. Faustus finds his fulfillment because he is not scared of being happy like Underground Man is, but his fulfillment comes at a costly price. Underground Man does not find his fulfillment because he fears feeling any sort of emotion, especially happiness, and lets fulfillment pass him by. he exhibits pride because he refuses to release the grip he has on his sense of preservation and be happy.
ReplyDeleteDostoyevsky, Fyodor et al. Notes From Underground. Vintage Books, 1994.