Thoughts on Dr. Faustus - Hanna A.

The play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe was a hilarious but deeply disturbing play about a man who sells his soul to Satan to gain knowledge and magical ability. Faustus is a brilliant man who has apparently studied every subject known to man very thoroughly, and feels that his life will be subject to eternal boredom without entering into some kind of pact with the devil in order to gain new knowledge.

Central to this play is the question of whether it is ever too late to repent and be saved by grace from God. It seems that the angels always imply it is never too late, but it ends up being too late in the last scene. However, the question underlying all of the redemption or damnation themes is, if Faustus ever had doubts about giving up his soul, why would he ever choose eternal damnation if he was hoping to eventually be saved? Is it simply hubris that prods Faustus to continually choose damnation? Or is his character fundamentally unrealistic because any real person would—assuming the person had doubts like Faustus—choose heaven over hell, God over Satan.

It seems to me that Faustus’s fear and doubt, though he always suppresses it, would have won over his desire for the knowledge and power that damnation offered. No amount of power for two and half decades is worth eternal torture in hell. Why would Faustus, as a deeply logical person, not see this problem embedded in his choices? One passage where an old man comes and warns Faustus against his sin emphasizes this idea particularly strongly; Faustus responds, “Ah my sweet friend, I feel thy words / To comfort my distressed soul; / Leave me awhile to ponder on my sins” (Scene 12, 48-50). It is clear in this passage that Faustus is seriously struggling with his own sin and doubting the choices he has made. Why is it then that Faustus does not back out of his deal? He has lived into nearly all of his time within the pact he made with Satan, has satisfied his appetite for power, and yet he still chooses hell.

The illogical actions of Faustus are deeply puzzling to me because his choices, for one so learned, are foolish beyond belief. Is this Marlowe’s point? Simply that blind foolishness in relationship to power and wealth are ultimately damning? What really was the point of this play? Though it teaches against seeking such vain and earthly treasures, it also paints Faustus in such an unrealistically caricatured light that it is impossible to see what the lesson to be learned actually is.

If Marlowe simply intended to write a morbid comedy, he undoubtedly succeeded. However, if his hope was to have some kind of moral to the story, Faustus is too unrealistic and illogical to truly provide any sort of moral enlightenment for the audience.