CHAPTER 1
Not Another Faustian Age!
"Wake Me Up," Avicci
"I Want It All," Queen
Ah, Goethe's Faust. This is, no doubt, one of the greatest literary pieces ever written. Goethe took sixty years to write Faust, starting in 1770, and he died one year after it was published in 1831. It has been the centrepiece of many philosophical studies, movies, musical scores, and novels. The work is fantastic, as it not only shows the development of a man but also the development of a society. It parallels Goethe's reaction to the changes in society that were going on around him as he slowly developed Faust's character. Ultimately, Goethe's Faust is a study of man from youth to death. There have been many different analytical interpretations, which have merit. But the beauty of the book is that it is a living masterpiece, that is open to interpretations that change as society changes.
The novel is set from the turn of the eighteenth to the nineteenth century. It deals with the powerful upheaval of the world during the time of the Industrial Revolution. Boring! "What's this got to do with eighteen-year-old males today?" I hear you ask. Well, the parallels between the Industrial Revolution and today's Technological Revolution are uncanny. They are full of sex and power, a real lust for life, a no-holds-barred "YOLO" ("you only live once," for those not up on all acronyms) mentality. Today I can see a generation of Faustian young men, and who would blame them? Certainly not I.
Marshall Berman examines Goethe's Faust in his book All That Is Solid Melts into Air. He explains that the novel is separated into three stages in the development of man: the dreamer, the lover, and the developer.
The Dreamer. Picture this: you are in your bedroom, dreaming about the future, including what you want to be. (Yes, I said what rather than who for a reason, but I'll get to that much later.) Your dreams are big—really big. When I ask teenage boys what they want to be when they are older, after their initial response of "a porn star," they inevitably say they want to be rich and famous and make so much money they can get everything they want. Even though Faust is middle-aged and extremely learned—a doctor, a philosopher, etc.—he is a very successful man; somehow, all this study has made him feel isolated from the outside world. He feels ... well, he doesn't feel. That's the problem. He wants to experience everything that "common" people feel and go through. I like to compare it to boys doing their final exams. They struggle to stay on task during their study, they're over school and the study routine, and they want to get out there and feel. They want to experience life.
Berman goes on to say that Faust's dreams are big. He wants to experience everything: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. "I feel the courage to plunge into the world, to bear all earthly grief, all earthly joy" (Berman 1982).
Faust feels he has so much not only to experience but also (thanks to years and years of self-sacrifice and study) to give to the world to make it a better place. His dreams are colossal—more than most men dare to dream. But how can they be achieved? He needs help in order to achieve his desires.
So he evokes the powers of the underworld. He calls out to Mephistopheles, and Mephistopheles answers. Thus begins Faust's relationship with the Devil. It is the beginning of negotiations for his soul. Not that Faust realizes this, although I think, being such a learned man, he must have known, but maybe he thought he was too intelligent to get trapped. Goethe shows us later in the story that he was in denial, as his narcissistic greed had taken over. This begs the question: Just how desperately bored or lonely was he that he was willing to tread such treacherous waters?
Berman writes, "In a typically Goethean irony, he [Mephistopheles] materializes just when Faust feels closest to God" (Berman 1982, 46).
Faust is reading Genesis and pondering the creation stories when the Devil testifies that he has all the power. He claims that as God created the world to be destroyed, in an ironic twist, the destructive force of evil (sin) is the creative. Therefore, the Devil lies to him and persuades him to believe that he is
"the spirit that negates all!
For all that comes to be
deserves to perish wretchedly" (Berman 1982, 47)
Goethe nails the characteristics of Mephistopheles with pure brilliance. You see throughout the book that Mephistopheles repeatedly asks Faust, "Are you sure you want to do this? Okay, I can help, but are you really sure you want to do this? Yes, but are you really, really sure?" After all, the only person who can send oneself to hell is that person. It is a personal choice that no one can make for another; only the person himself or herself can do it.
Faust feels in control. Every step of the way, everything is done by his own choice; he is still in control. He believes he hasn't sold out his soul yet. What he doesn't realize is the Devil is making things happen behind the scenes to sweeten the deal.
Faust's desire for erotic pleasure, for all experiences of the flesh from pure to depraved, is insatiable. I think one of the best ways to demonstrate this to young men is through movies. This is clearly seen in Oscar Wilde's literary piece adapted for the screen The Picture of Dorian Gray. This is another interpretation of Goethe's Faust, where Dorian sells his soul to the Devil to be the most handsome, charismatic, and intelligent man so he can live a hedonistic life indulging in beauty and the senses.
Dorian's request is answered, but in the attic of his house is a self-portrait of Dorian. This portrait ages while Dorian stays young and beautiful. Not only does the portrait age, but the further into depravity Dorian goes, the uglier the portrait gets.
In the end, Dorian dies and his face and body end up as hideously repulsive as the painting, and his soul is lost forever.
Faust is portrayed as a vain, selfish man who, although he learned to love and became a great lover—which is all too familiar to many women—is ultimately interested in his own satisfaction. We see a man who lives for fulfilling his desires. I will expand on this later.
There are so very many examples over the last century of Faustian development where the obsession to create one's own kingdom are all too devastatingly real. Faust's dreams for a utopian modern world are taking shape. He has created a beautiful city with modern developments as far as the eye can see. He has power and control. But he is in denial. As Berman puts it, "Faust has been pretending not only to others but to...
