Select a passage that you find particularly interesting and important from pages 163-327.
Type the passage (and be sure to cite it with page #).
Then tear that sucker apart, thinking about what it does & means as a whole, but also through its phrases and words. In addition to characterization and theme, think about motifs, symbols, parallels with other texts we've studied, and Romantic characteristics.
Please don't repeat passages that others have already analyzed.
I look forward to reading what you have to say!
“My angel, there is really no impediment. / I have a little flask. A mere three drops / from it put it in her glass will gently lull / her nature into heavy sleep” (Pg. 315, lines 3510-3514).
ReplyDeleteThere are a few reasons why I found this passage particularly interesting. The first reason is because this passage changes the knowledge we have of Faust in the entire book. Before this passage, it was not known to me that Faust has his own potions he carries himself. I thought that Mephistopheles was the only one with potions and tricks. Does this mean that Faust has not only gained knowledge from the Devil, but also per say gadgets from him too?
The second reason I found this passage particularly interesting is because this potion could kill someone, and Faust is asking Gretchen to give it to her mother. Though I do not think it will kill her mother, I know Mephistopheles could change that in an instant. He is also giving the potion to Gretchen to give to her mother, who is very religious. Will her mother feel the aurora of the devil and not want to drink it? How long will this keep her asleep? I also love how Gretchen accepts to give the potion to her mother. This shows that she truly loves Heinrich (Faust), and she is willing to do most anything to have him.
The last reason why I chose this passage was because of the wording. Faust tells Gretchen there is no “impediment,” or rather no obstruction to him coming over to hers tonight. All she has to do is give her mom this potion, and they’ll be safe to have sex or whatever they’re going to do. He also uses the word “mere” to describe the size and power of the droplets. If she gives too much to her mother, she could die of this magical potion. The last beautiful word that he uses is “lull.” I like this word because it reveals to us that Faust does have some magical power.
This passage is very Romantic because it is emotional and supernatural/magical. Faust has this potion, which he has never used on anyone before, and it will magically lull his girl’s mom to sleep. He shows that he really loves her and wants to make sure they don’t get caught by her mom tonight.
A motif and work that connects to this passage is the lulling of sleep/ “The Tempest.” In “The Tempest,” Ariel lulls people to sleep, not by using potion, but rather by her words and music. She does it so she can do the work of her master. Though Faust is not trying to do the work of his master, he is using the lulling of sleep to his advantage like Ariel.
You bring up great points and questions about Faust's and Meph's powers and Gretchen's trusting love for Faust. Good point, too, about how despite being a sleeping potion (so Faust can sleep with Gretchen while mom is knocked out. Eww.)Faust hasn't had the best history with drugs- he almost killed himself with one and him & his dad killed a bunch of people when they thought they were curing them of the plague. So I think your ideas about death are pretty spot on. Great analysis & discussion of word choice & good motif connections!
Delete“With all my bliss / which brought me close and closer to the gods, / you gave me the companion which I even now / can no longer do without; though cold and insolent, / he humbles me before myself, and by a single breath / he transforms your gifts to nothingness, / and busily he fans within my bosom / a seething fire for that radiant image” (p. 293, lines 3241-3248)
ReplyDeleteI choose this passage because it takes the reader into Faust’s thinking. When Faust says this passage it is the first time he is alone from everyone since the beginning and he starts to think of what has been happening. Faust is talking to God in this passage because he says, “you gave me the companion”. He is talking about Mephistopheles and saying that God brought him to Faust. But later Faust says, “he transforms your gifts to nothingness”, saying that Mephistopheles destroys God’s gifts. I am I little confused on what Faust thinks Gods gifts are because later in the novel Margaret says to Faust that he has “no proper Christian faith,” (311). It’s also why he accepted the devils deal because he knows God cannot give him the happiness he desires. So I’m confused on what Faust interprets as Gods gifts. Maybe it’s Margaret or something else.
Also in the passage Faust says Mephistopheles “humbles me before myself” and Faust “can no longer do without” Mephistopheles. These two lines conflict each other. This is because Faust says Mephistopheles humbles him or makes Faust feel less about him when in the beginning Faust thought so highly of himself thinking he was even an equal to an earth spirit. I would think Faust would move away from anything that makes him feel less of himself but he says instead that he wouldn’t be able to loose Mephistopheles. This is because Mephistopheles helps to show Faust all the wonderful things that he would never be able to do himself but with Mephistopheles Faust is able to have a glimpse at it. That is why Mephistopheles fans “a seething fire” in Faust of the power he desires. Mephistopheles is the only thing that gives Faust what he wants in life.
This passage illustrates the constant themes of power and the struggle to obtain the unobtainable. Faust sole purpose is to gain even more power than pure knowledge can bestow but in gaining this goal he made a deal with the devil that in this passage it starts to show some doubt about it. Faust talks about Mephistopheles destroying Gods gift and how Faust has grown so attached to Mephistopheles that he wouldn’t be able to live without him. Faust instead of being more powerful has only become more dependent. This reminds me of the dependency of Miranda to Prospero in the Tempest. Miranda was dependent on Prospero to live and was under his control because he is more powerful then Miranda. This reminds me of Faust because like Miranda Faust is weaker then Mephistopheles and if Mephistopheles ever demanded something of Faust he would have to obey because Mephistopheles is the devil and far superior to a human.
You bring up a great point questioning, like Gretchen does, Faust's Christianity. I wonder if he may be talking to the Earth Spirit and not the Lord? Maybe Faust thinks the Earth Spirit brought Meph to him and Meph has the power to bring heat and passion but destroy all? This may speak to Faust's lack of Biblical faith. Also interesting discussion of the seeming contradiction in this passage--Faust is full of contradictions. He's become aware of limitations yet continues to want with a fiery passion, no matter what that fire destroys. Great discussion and questions, and I really like The Tempest parallel.
Delete“Oh, do not tremble. Look into my eyes; / let my hands which press your hands convey to you the inexpressible: / to give oneself completely and to feel an ecstasy / which must be everlasting! / Everlasting!- the end would be despair / No- no end! no end!” (p. 285, lines 3188-3194)
ReplyDeleteThis passage in particular seemed very significant to me. I was enraptured by how much it seems that Faust has changed. It is almost as though he is beginning to feel happiness! Before this girl had come along, Faust was giving up on his life. He felt like there was no chance of happiness for him. What I think is that all he needed was love. In this passage, it is the first real proof we have that Faust is falling in love with Gretchen. After she shares some of her personal life with him, there is an instant deeper connection. When Faust says, “to give oneself completely and to feel an ecstasy which must be everlasting!” I feel like this is a glimpse of the happiness that he is beginning to feel. I also think that it represents the struggle that Faust has because he can’t completely commit to something, which prevents him from happiness. Giving oneself completely is something that Faust cannot seem to do, and I think that is why he is trying to tell Gretchen this. Maybe this quote could be interpreted in different ways, but what I see the most is struggle.
He is finally experiencing the love that he had longed and wished for. With this comes an internal debt that he has to Mephistopheles. Faust knows that Mephistopheles is responsible for this happiness that he feels when he is with Gretchen, and it makes him feel internally enslaved to him. When I think of this, I think of “The Tempest” and how Ariel felt enslaved to Prospero. Prospero continues to pull the strings and make Ariel feel like he has to repay him for once saving him. Mephistopheles does the same to Faust as he reminds him that he was the one who saved Faust from suicide and gave him love, like he asked for. All of this reverts back to Faust’s struggle in life. He is never content and it seems as though he always has some sort of guilt within him. After Gretchen tells him about her family, he feels guilty about his initial feelings of lust, because now he actually respects her.
Faust has plenty of opportunity to be happy, but he never is. I think that Gretchen could represent corruption. When Faust first met her, she was young, innocent, religious and pure. Although he knew his feelings of lust were wrong, he slowly began to corrupt her and make her impure. It is uncertain to me whether Faust was already corrupt before Meph. came along, but it seems to be a train reaction of corruption. Once it seems that Faust has left Gretchen in the dust, she feels her sins beginning to haunt her. He has made her question her values and religious beliefs. She begins to wonder how it is possible that her life has come to this feeling. This leads back the initial passage where Faust is telling her to look into his eyes and trust him, but look where that got her.
Excellent points about his struggle and Faust's inability to completely commit to something (I'd say to someone, too...remember, their entire relationship is based on a massive lie and he's made no indication of a willingness to be honest with her, even though she's questioned him). He's definitely having some passionate feelings here, but I'm not totally convinced it's love. Her wants her to give herself completely to him...physically (the hands reference). Good reference to the enslaved motif & Tempest connection. I think a big difference is that Faust chose to be enslaved. He had a complete choice and is getting something out of the bargain. I think Faust should feel guilty! He lies to Gretchen every single day. Your view of Gretchen and her transformation under Faust's influence is excellent.
Delete"What the world calls cleverness, my dearest, / is really narrowness and rank conceit" (p. 275, l. 3100-3101)
ReplyDeleteAs you can probably guess, this passage is said by Faust to Margaret. Faust's words reflect the dissatisfaction he holds towards the knowledge he has acquired over the past several decades. Although his education has earned him the title "Doctor" and has put him on a high pedestal in society, Faust denies that he feels worthy of this respect. Instead of helping him to further understand the universe, Faust's education and pursuit of comprehending the complex world has further perplexed him. His failure to truly "know all" forces him to realize that he is no God, and thus no amount of studying can help him understand everything in the world.
Rather, he realizes that education only gives others a false sense of cleverness. The material that a student knows may seem incredible to the uneducated, but it is all superficial material that anybody could acquire if they were handed some books to read. Regardless, the immense respect that education hands the privileged people gives many of them immense pride and "rank conceit" from their high pedestal in society. Faust's term to describe cleverness, "rank conceit", is characteristic of Romantic criticism towards aristocrats. His term implies that those placed high in society's hierarchy were overly narcissistic and falsely believed that society revolved around themselves. Romantic artists worked to disprove this idea and made common people the center of much of their works, in contrast with arts made prior to the Romantic Era. Their heightened sense of pride makes them ignorant, which is captured by Faust's term "narrowness".
Criticism of the narrow views possessed by those who are highly respected in society is a Romantic idea also key to Wordsworth's poem "We Are Seven". The old man's failure to realize that sometimes knowledge comes from the creative, naive mind keeps him incapable from developing a different perspective on life.
Excellent discussion of this passage in the context of Romantic philosophy, and I really like the parallel with "We are Seven." Do you think Faust is calling himself narrow and conceited? Or wold he call only his old self (pre-Meph) such? Do you believe that he is benefiting as a person from the wider view he is gaining of the world or is he still narrow in his desires for power and pleasure?
Delete"Fill your heart to overflowing, / and when you feel profoundest bliss, / then call it what you will: / Good fortune! Heart! Love! Or God! I have no name for it! / Feeling is all; / the name is sound and smoke, / be clouding Heaven's glow. (311).
ReplyDeleteI believe that this quote is significant because it not only is incredibly romantic, but it also shows the evolution of Faust's thoughts throughout the story. Faust went from believing that filling your heart with knowledge was the only necessity to now believing that love and good fortune are most essential. He believes that God and Heart provide "bliss" as opposed to the devil and his pact. Another thing that I find particularly interesting about this quote is the capitalization. Faust now capitalizes God and his feelings whereas in the beginning of the story he refers to himself as level to the spirits and God and does not capitalize his name. This also emphasizes how Faust has changed and has come to realize that he is very little compared to the greatness of God. The idea that humans are tiny in comparison to the glory of God and/or nature is a common romantic theme that appears not only throughout Faust, but also the Tempest, The Rime of The Ancient Mariner, and many of Wordsworth's poems. Emotion that appears in this quote as Faust explains himself to Margret is also a common element in many romantic writings.
-Lindsey Burzumato
Interesting passage choice--I think it's really relevant who he is talking to. He's telling Gretchen that when her heart is full she can call that feeling what she will (good fortune, heart, love, God...). I'm not sure if that means that Faust believes in all these things. It is interesting, as you said, that his thoughts and emotions have evolved. Clearly he doesn't list books, brains, study. Good point about his growing realization of his smallness, but I'm not sure if there's much evidence that he is religious. He does know that Gretchen is incredibly religious, and he's trying to convince her to sleep with him. Yep, he is using emotion to sway her--good Romantic connection!
Delete"Dear God! The many thoughts and weighty matters/ to which this man can put his mind!/ All I can do is stand abashed? and nod my "yes" to everything./ I'm such a silly child and cannot grasp/ whatever he may find in me." (pg 291, L 3211-3216)
ReplyDeleteThis passage is spoken by Margaret at the end of the "A Summer Cabin" act. I found this passage interesting for many reasons.
One was because of its placement. Goethe concludes this weird, seductive, manipulative act with the victim (Margaret) recoiling her thoughts and realizing the trance she was under. We as readers are thinking the whole time how naive and gullible the two girls were for falling so quickly for the Devil! and his follower. And to end with an abrupt exit of Faust and Meph, and then right away Margaret realizing her stupidity shows a lot about Meph's "power" over others. She seems to nod "yes to everything" which seems to reflect the workings of Meph however she is referring to Faust. This leads me to another reason why I find this passage interesting because Margaret is referring to Faust. This whole act involving Meph getting Faust the girl and manipulating her friend Martha shows Meph's pure skills in manipulation and how quickly Faust is following in his footsteps. We know Faust was a lost man seeking more knowledge and more from life so being vulnerable, he follows the devil in his manipulative actions. Also we know Faust is looking younger thanks to the Devil's help. This only leaves me with questions for the future of Faust. Will him and Margaret last? (Probably not in a good way, or it will just consist of him dominating the relationship). Will he soon master Meph's ways and have a spiral downward as he takes advantage of the manipulation or will his future end with an elements romantics love to promote and idealize: Innocence. Maybe Faust will come to reality with himself and realize what adventure he has gained from the devil was short lived and returns to an innocent life. Im interested to see how Faust further develops in the next acts.
Great passage choice, discussion & questions. Yes, it's interesting that Gretchen has realized she's in a sort of trance, which is kind of what love is like, but clearly there are larger forces at hand and her innocence is absolutely under assault.
Delete“Now she must eat and drink for two.” (pg 321 L 3549)
ReplyDeleteThis passage is short but it represents many things.
This passage was spoken by Lieschen, although only said in gossiping context it does portray a blunt point about Margaret and Faust. I found this passage interesting because it is how the reader is reassured that Faust’s and Margaret’s life is about to drastically change. I also wanted to use this passage as a gateway into Faust’s and Margaret’s relationship, they come from two completely different worlds, and had Margaret’s mother seen both jewels I believe that their future would be rewritten. Since Faust is associated with the devil, and Margaret is immensely connected to her catholic religion, they are bound to have something like a pregnancy to have them be forced to be together. With Margaret’s upbringing- her becoming pregnant will completely change her rank in society and even if her mother will still view her the same. As far as the word choice from this passage goes, I believe Goethe chose this modern and straightforward language to contrast a complicated situation. He was very simple, in telling this statement and I think it flows really well. I think it is romantic because of how nature is naturally intertwined into both of the course of their lives. I believe it is almost a parallel of Ferdinand and Miranda because of the two sides falling in love unexpectedly, and quickly.
Good choice, and you're right, the direct language speaks volumes. Yes, Gretchen's life is about to drastically change. It would be great if Faust would step up and do the right thing. I'm glad you're optimistic that he has this in him. However, remember he's looking pure ecstasy. For many people a child could be the answer...for Faust?
Delete"That nothing perfect ever can accure to Man/ I know deeply now. With all my bliss/ which brought me close and closer to the gods,/ you gave me the companion which i even now/ can no longer do without; though cold and insolent,/ he humbles me before myself, and by a single breath/ he transforms your gifts to nothingness,/ and he busily fans within my bosom/ a seething fire for that radiant image./ I stagger from desire to enjoyment,/ and its throes I starve for more desire." (pg.293.1.3240-3250)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Faust is speaking to himself and reflecting on how his desire for knowledge turned into desire for Gretchen by the help of Satan. I found this passage significant because Faust is ironically kind of damning/blaming Satan for this in a bad way instead of praising him like readers would think. In the first four lines, faust acknowledges that man is not perfect. He reveals his newfound happiness has brought him closer to the gods and his christian religion. As well as indirectly speaks to Satan and gives him credit for "giving him the companion which he even now can no longer do without' which satan is very proud of himself for doing so. Yet he goes onto say that Satan turns your gifts to nothingness! Faust means that satan takes who you are and transform you into someone different, he makes you nothing without him which leaves his victims to rely on him. Faust relies on satan for his encounters with Gretchen whom he desires and lust for rather than knowledge and books. Satan goads Faust to love Gretchen to win the bet. Faust staggers between desiring more from Gretchen to being in absolute bliss when he is with her. He is completely happy yet because he believes his love for Gretchen is tainting he has distanced himself from her. One of the things he loves about Gretchen is how pure and innocent she is and he loves her to much to ruin that. He blames Satan for introducing him to Gretchen and pimping him out to her. Faust has now turned against Satan and does not want his help. He has gone to the Forest to escape Gretchen and Satan and I think that is very romantic that he has gone to the forest for comfort and shelter. I also agree with Nicole's theory that Faust and Gretchen could be a parallel of Ferdinand and Miranda and I hope that their story will also be a happy ending yet i Doubt it will with Satan involved. It seems like this story is heading into the direction that the evil corrupts the good and the ending will be tragic.
Theme: Humans are not perfect because we are never truly satisfied and always desire more.
A couple pages later, Faust tells Satan, "Get out, you pimp!". I laughed and thought it was very fitting for Satan.
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DeleteGood ideas & choice. Do you think it's fair of Faust to blame Meph? Or should he (also) be blaming himself? Is he a victim here? Great point about the natural setting of the wild forest being Romantic--I think it's important that it's isolated and free from society's corruptions.
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