Why does faust leave gretchen

He weaves a story for Martha, telling her that her husband has died on his long travels. Martha is both heartbroken and angry at the stories of her husband's licentious life. The Devil agrees to bring someone, as long as Gretchen will also be present. That evening in Martha's garden, Gretchen and Faust meet formally for the first time. Faust charms her and courts her. She tells him of her hard life and of how she nursed her sick infant sister until her sister died.

Gretchen has no other family except her brother, who is away at war, and her mother. Mephistopheles and Martha also flirt, with the Devil playing a coy game of seduction with her. Faust follows her to a summer cabin, where they say goodbye. Faust, fearing that he will corrupt the girl with his feelings, runs away to the forest, where he lives for a time in a cave. He thanks the Spirit of Nature for giving him such feelings, for now he has a moment and an understanding of life that he does not want to lose.

Mephistopheles finds Faust and derides his foolish behavior, hiding from the woman that he loves. He tells Faust that Faust must find this girl, for she pines away for him day and night. Faust, his passion overtaking him, agrees that he must go. Faust returns to Gretchen, and one night in her room, they discuss his feelings on religion. Gretchen is a faithful Christian, and she knows that neither she nor her mother could accept a man that does not believe the same.

Faust tries to convince the girl that he also believes and worships God, but she does not quite believe him. Faust convinces her to allow him to give her mother a sleeping potion, and they consummate their relationship. Soon, Gretchen learns that she is pregnant by Faust. The girl was forced to kill her baby and now lives as a beggar and outcast.

Gretchen prays to the Virgin Mary that the Lord will have mercy upon her. Faust comes to Gretchen's house to see her and meets Gretchen's brother, Valentine. Valentine has heard of her sister's licentious behavior and has come to exact revenge on the man who impregnated her.

As he lies dying, Gretchen comes to comfort her brother, but he accosts her as a whore and tells her that she will be damned for her actions. Gretchen runs to the Cathedral to pray, and an Evil Spirit visits her, securing her damnation. Faust leaves Gretchen to attend Walpurgis Night with the Devil. Walpurgis Night is the one night of the year when all the witches, evil beings, and magic creatures of the world gather on Brocken Mountain. Faust witnesses the revelry of the creatures and begins to dance with one of the witches.

Theme Wheel. Everything you need for every book you read. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. Also known as Gretchen , a shortening of her given name, Margarete is a beautiful, innocent, poor young woman with whom Faust falls madly in love and who in turn falls in love with him. The two become involved in a torrid love affair, and one night Faust tells Margarete to administer a sleeping potion to her controlling mother so that the two lovers can consummate their relationship.

After Faust murders her brother Valentine , Gretchen becomes further haunted by her guilt and her yearning for innocence. She murders her newborn infant to free it from this world, and is consequently imprisoned and sentenced to death by beheading. Though Faust attempts to liberate her, Gretchen at last refuses to leave her prison with him. As Faust and Mephistopheles fly from her cell, however, a voice from the heavens announces that Gretchen is saved, to spend eternity in heaven despite her sins.

Mary then instructs her to rise, so that Faust can follow her into eternity. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:. Part 1: A Garden Quotes.

Page Number and Citation : Cite this Quote. Explanation and Analysis:. Part 1: At the Well Quotes. Related Themes: Pleasure and Love. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Part 1: Street. Later, in a street, Faust walks past a lovely young woman, Margarete.

He takes her by the arm and offers to escort her home, but she frees Part 1: Evening. In her small, neatly kept room, Margarete is braiding and tying up her hair. She wishes to know the identity of the Mephistopheles warns that Margarete is returning, so he and Faust must leave. He presents his love-struck master with a Margarete enters, carrying a lamp. She is warm, so she opens a window and finds it Margarete then opens her chest to put away her clothes, and at once she sees the Part 1: Promenade.

When the Renaissance came to northern Europe, Faust was made into a symbol of free thought, anti-clericalism, and opposition to Church dogma.

The first important literary treatment of the legend was that of the English dramatist, Christopher Marlowe. It is still renowned for its exciting theatricality, its beautiful blank verse, and its moving portrayal of a human soul in despair because he cannot accept God and so is condemned to damnation.

Marlowe used the English translation of the Faust-Book as his main source, but transformed the legendary magician into a figure of tragic stature and made his story a powerful expression of the main issues of Elizabethan thought. Up to the moment of his death, however, this Faustus is free to resist his seduction by the forces of evil, despite having signed the pact. After a painful struggle with himself, Faustus is carried off by the devil at the end of the play.

Both characters are torn by conflicts within their own souls, but Faustus is trying to believe in God, while Faust seeks a way to believe in himself. In Faust Goethe tends to use orthodox religion only as a source of imagery. He tells his story in the context of an abstract pantheistic religious system and a fluid moral code that gives precedence to motives and circumstances rather than deeds as such.

The legend was kept alive in the folk tradition of Germany, though, and was the subject of pantomimes and marionette shows for many years. The close of the 18th century in Germany was a time very much like the Renaissance. The German dramatist Lessing wrote a play based on the legend, but the manuscript was lost many generations ago and its contents are hardly known.

Since his time it has stimulated many creative thinkers and has been the central theme of notable works in all fields of expression. In art, for instance, the Faust legend has provided fruitful subjects for such painters as Ferdinand Delacroix But most important, the legend has continued to be the subject of many poems, novels, and dramatic works.

Like all myths, the Faust story has much to teach the reader in all its forms, for the tale has retained its pertinence in the modern world. Students who are interested in a more detailed study of the Faust theme should begin by consulting E. The whole poem is colored by this sense of dissatisfaction and frustrated striving although its character changes as the story progresses. At the beginning Faust is in a state of negative dissatisfaction, in which he contemplates suicide and willingly accepts the terms of a pact that would terminate his life at its highest point of achievement.

The Lord acknowledges to Mephisto that it is natural for man to fall into error, but asserts that despite this he remains able to make moral distinctions. Thus the issue at stake in the wager made by God and the devil is whether Faust, as a representative of all mankind, will continue to be able to perceive the difference between good and evil, regardless of temptation and personal sinfulness. It is because Faust does retain his sense of right and wrong, and because his eyes are constantly focused on a vision of something higher than himself, which is ultimately the cause of his frustrated despair, that he is finally rewarded by entrance into Heaven.

The moral doctrine that Goethe puts forward in Faust teaches that the essential feature of all existence and the law that governs the universe is one of untiring, purposeful, and positive effort, and that man can find his place in life only through striving to participate in this vast cosmic movement, although of necessity in terms appropriate to his human capabilities.

His experience reveals the pitfalls and false turns that are dangers along the road and is meant to encourage readers in finding their own way to harmony with the cosmic order. His tragic love affair with Gretchen ends in her death, but Faust is much chastened by this experience. In Part Two he tries to satisfy his craving through temporal accomplishments and exposure to all that the world can offer in terms of ideas and externalized gratifications.

He attains an important position at the Imperial Court, learns much from the figures of classical antiquity, woos Helen of Troy, wins great victories, and is renowned for his public works, but none of these things gives him lasting peace of mind. Faust dies bitter and disillusioned. Summary In this short poem preceding the main action of the tragedy, Goethe describes the thoughts that run through his mind as he sits in his study, preparing to work on the manuscript of Faust after a lapse of many years.

He seems to see vague forms and shadows floating in the air before his eyes, ghosts that have haunted him all his life, but now they press upon his consciousness with more intensity than ever before.

As these forms become charged with greater emotional significance for him, the world of reality in which Goethe lives seems to fall back into distant recesses of his mind.

A mood of sad but firm resolution comes over him as he determines to give new life to these shadows — ideas he cannot escape, which have a sort of independent existence. Despite the melancholy tone of his words, Goethe communicates a feeling of firmness and strength that will be maintained throughout the poem. Summary A discussion takes place on the stage of a theatre between a director, a poet, and a clown.

They argue about what constitutes a good play. Three points of view are presented. The director is interested in those things which make the play a commercial success: action and novelty. The clown asserts that these views are not contradictory.

He points out that the needs of art and the needs of the moment can be reconciled, for that which attracts the general public need not be worthless. The artist can maintain his integrity and still be successful if he stops feeling superior and develops a proper appreciation for the values of everyday life.

Finally the director ends the discussion, reminding the others that there is still much work to be done if they are to put on any play at all. He describes the techniques of producing a play and promises the audience that the whole universe will be presented on his stage — beginning with Heaven and proceeding through the world to Hell. Analysis At first glance this prelude seems only indirectly connected to the tragedy itself, but Goethe uses it to sketch in commonplace terms some of the essential themes that will be treated in Faust.

The poet represents the idealist who strives to comprehend eternal values, the clown is the realist who is concerned with the here and now, but both personify important principles of life. The director of the theatre is like the god of a universe, of the mind conscience of a single individual. He must blend these disparate elements to create a harmonious world or well integrated personality.

The problems he faces on his stage foreshadow those which Faust will struggle with. In making this analogy between the universe and the individual soul, Goethe draws upon the medieval philosophical conception of the microcosm and the macrocosm.

This is also the relationship between the two parts of Faust. Summary The Lord and all the hosts of heaven are assembled. The three archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael, individually step forward and recite eloquent praises of the beauty and perfection of the universe and the omnipotence of God.

Then Mephistopheles also called Mephisto, the devil enters. He cannot imitate the songs of the others, he says, for he lacks their skill. Furthermore, he has seen that the possession of reason and intelligence has made mankind unhappy, and this troubles him. The Lord counters this criticism of humanity by citing the example of Faust, a man who is not debased by reason and who will ultimately be guided by it to a knowledge of the truth.

The Lord and Mephisto make a wager to settle this dispute. Still knows the path that is true and fit. The heavens close, and the Lord and the archangels disappear. This doctrine will be illustrated in the story of Faust. In this system the only absolute sin is nonaction; man, despite many errors of judgment or wrong turns can find the path of righteousness, but only if he continues striving. He eventually will succeed if he keeps up the struggle because striving is itself a moral act and his intuitive yearnings all point toward a good end.

Mephisto represents the spirit of negativistic cynicism, of endless denial. He can be a force for good or evil — inducing a man to surrender to his lowest instincts and give up the quest, or driving him by persistent prodding and frustration to find the fulfillment of his ideals, i. The Lord is the paragon of perfection toward which men strive. The conversation and bargain between God and Mephistopheles are reminiscent of a similar scene at the opening of the Book of Job.

The setting of the prologue to the poem in Heaven implies that the life and fate of Faust are matters of universal significance, which will clarify the relationship of God and man, good and evil, existence and nonexistence. In a narrow, vaulted Gothic chamber Dr. Heinrich Faust sits at his desk, surrounded by a clutter of books and scientific instruments. It is Easter Eve.

Now fifty years old, Faust is depressed and frustrated. He has mastered all the important academic disciplines — Philosophy, Medicine, Law and Theology — has fearlessly inquired into everything that interested him, and is not afraid of the devil or Hell, but he is unsatisfied and believes himself trapped by the limitations of human understanding. Moreover, he feels that his achievements have been of no use to mankind and have brought him no earthly rewards.

Now he plans to turn to magic in the hope of at last attaining ultimate knowledge. Faust studies the esoteric symbols in an old magic book and meditates on their meaning, then invokes the Earth-Spirit. Accompanied by various spiritual phenomena, the Spirit of Earthly Reality appears, but it rebukes Faust, denies their kinship, and vanishes again.

Whatever his wishes, a human being cannot separate existence and consciousness. Faust begins to despair of ever satisfying his aspirations when Wagner, his famulus or assistant, enters the room and interrupts him. In the conversation which follows both men speak at cross-purposes. The dull, unimaginative but honest Wagner is a parody of bourgeois pedantry. His characterization emphasizes the differences between the search after knowledge for its own sake or for worldly rewards and the search for true understanding.

After Wagner departs, Faust returns to bitter thoughts about human impotence. The sight of a skull makes him think of suicide as the solution to his problems. He is about to drink a glass of poison when the pealing of church bells and the melodious singing of a choir remind him of the Easter message of resurrection and eternal life. Faust does not literally believe in these concepts, but they bring back memories of his childhood religious faith and their symbolic meaning restores his self-confidence.

It predicts the course that Faust will follow — first sinking lower and lower into the depths of personal degradation, then rising to the highest level of human fulfillment and salvation. Summary It is Easter Sunday afternoon. The townspeople are all strolling into the countryside to welcome the advent of Spring.

Their mood is gay and youthful. They stand watching while a group of youngsters sing and dance. Faust says:. This reminds Faust of his own feelings of futility. He tells Wagner that he is torn between two currents in his soul; one is tied to the pleasures of the world, but the other reaches out to the stars. Faust says he would forego all earthly joys if he could satisfy his lofty, spiritual desires. The men return to town.

On the way they notice a mysterious black poodle following them. To Wagner it seems only a harmless little dog, but Faust senses something occult about it. Analysis The simple and joyous life of the common people depicted in this scene is the result of their humble, unthinking acceptance of the world. Faust envies them, but is prevented from following their example by the highly developed spiritual side of his character.

Summary Evening finds Faust in his study. The poodle is still with him. He says:. Ah, when in our narrow cell The lamp once more imparts good cheer, Then in our bosom — in the heart That knows itself — then things grow clear. The poodle begins to growl and continues to do so as long as Faust goes on reading the Bible. Faust realizes that some mysterious spiritual presence has taken on the form of the dog.

He uses a magical incantation to force it to appear. In an instant Mephistopheles stands before him in the guise of a travelling scholar. This is a crucial moment. Mephisto has been in pursuit of his intended victim ever since making the wager with God, but it was up to Faust to take the first step in his own seduction by recognizing and invoking the devil. Instead he describes himself by explaining his function in the divine plan, saying he is A part of that Power Which always wills evil, always procures good.

After their talk Faust invites Mephistopheles to visit him again. The devil prepares to leave but cannot go because Faust has not released the spell that invoked him. Faust refuses to free Mephistopheles. The unexpected discovery that even the devil is subject to a form of law makes him wonder about the possibility of making a contract with him. He intends to force Mephistopheles to buy his freedom.

The devil is not as powerless as he has been pretending, however. He calls up a choir of spirits who lull Faust to sleep with an idyllic song about the sensual pleasures of pagan, southern lands. Next Mephistopheles summons the aid of some mice and makes his escape.

When Faust awakens the room is empty. He wonders whether he has been dreaming. Summary The next day Faust is alone in his study again. Mephistopheles enters, dressed as a nobleman. Mephistopheles taunts Faust for his failure to commit suicide on Easter Eve and drives him to voice a rejection of the value of life and the traditional Christian virtues.

The devil urges Faust to begin a new life with his assistance, and to exist no longer as an ordinary human being. If Faust agrees to become his servant after death i. Thou art so fair! The terms of the new pact mean that only when Faust is so satiated with pleasure that he chooses to be in a state of rest or nonaction will he be damned.

In other words, the primal sin is to absolve oneself of the responsibility for motion and activity. Since Faust does not believe in the traditional heaven and hell, he is really offering little in his own terms, and is betting his life rather than selling his soul.

Faust is filled with eagerness to taste all those aspects of life that he has neglected until now. He has found that reason and magic were unable to console him, but hopes to find understanding and knowledge through emotional and physical experience. Faust and Mephistopheles are interrupted when a student knocks at the door.

Faust is in no mood to see him and asks Mephisto to take his place. The young freshman has just arrived in town and wants the advice of the great scholar Faust on his studies, but Mephisto confuses him by a bitter, satirical attack on pedantry and academic learning. The devil as portrayed by Goethe performs a necessary function in the execution of the divine purpose.

Despite his cynical belief in the futility of learning and the grossness of mankind, Mephisto often speaks the truth. Moreover, true knowledge is gotten only from experience. After the student goes, Faust re-enters the room. Mephistopheles cheerfully congratulates him on his new life and they set out on their adventures. Mephistopheles has offered to show Faust the pleasures that can be gotten from convivial company and good cheer.

They enter and join the others. After observing their coarseness and watching Mephistopheles befuddle them with magic tricks, Faust realizes that this is not the answer to his longing. He voices his disgust and urges that they go. Before they leave, Mephisto works another spell, to demonstrate to Faust the inherent bestiality of human beings. The mood of this scene is comic, but there is an undertone of seriousness, for in their drunken revelry the four men are desperately seeking an escape from frustration and boredom.

Summary Now Mephistopheles brings Faust to the mysterious lair of a witch. A brewing cauldron tended by a weird family of monkeys occupies the center of the room, and the place is filled with the occult symbols and paraphernalia of black magic and sorcery.

A strange vapor permeates the air. The mood of the place is grotesque and ugly. At first Faust is repelled by what he observes around him, but then, in a mirror on the wall, he sees the image of a beautiful young woman and all his ardor is aroused.

The restoration of his youth now becomes such an exciting prospect that he soon overcomes his distaste for his surroundings.

Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title. Are you sure you want to remove bookConfirmation and any corresponding bookmarks? My Preferences My Reading List. Faust, Parts 1 and 2 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Character Analysis Gretchen.