Faust, Part One

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1829

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Summary

Play Summaries & Analyses

Scenes 1-7

Scenes 8-14

Scenes 15-21

Scenes 22-28

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Words and Their Value (Or Lack Thereof)

A recurring motif in Faust Part I is the discussion of words and their value, particularly their limits in fully depicting the world and conveying true feeling and meaning. This starts from even before the action begins, as the Director in the prologue says, “Come, that’s enough of words! What I/ Want now is deeds” (I.3.214-15). Once the action begins, Faust frequently refers to his disdain for words to suggest his struggle with intellectualism and scholarly pursuits, instead pursuing passion and feelings that go beyond words in his spiritual quest for transcendence and meaning. Faust says that he is “seeking magic’s assistance” to “stop peddling in words that mean nothing to me” (I.4.377-85), and subsequently tells Wagner to “drop the pursuit of words” (I.4.553). Noting that the only thing that’s effective is the “language of the soul,” Faust says: “Give up pursuing eloquence, unless/ You can speak as you feel!” (I.4.535-45).

Wagner, on the other hand, represents the other side of the debate over words; he emphasizes the value that words have to him by speaking of the “powerful persuasion” of Greek tragedy (I.4.524), suggesting that he needs to learn how to “deliver a tirade” (546), and talking of the pleasure of learning about other eras and “reading what they say” (573).

Faust later keeps up his disdain of words in his discussion with Gretchen about God and religion, as he tells her that he prefers to think of God as a feeling rather than something named, because “the name’s mere noise and smoke” (I.19.3456). Mephistopheles also appears to share Faust’s disdain for words. When he disguises himself as Faust and talks to a student, he facetiously tells the student to “hold fast to words” and says that they’re often nonsensical and don’t actually carry any meaning themselves, but are rather “matters of faith” (I.7.1990-99).

Alchemy and Magic

Alchemy and magic are recurring motifs throughout Faust Part I, from the potion that Faust intends to use to kill himself with (and later poisons Gretchen’s mother with) and the potion that the Witch has Faust drink, to the repeated magical acts that Mephistopheles performs at the tavern and throughout their travels.

Faust positions magic and alchemy from the start of the play as a way for him to break free from the scholarly life he’s so tired of, saying he’s “calling on magic’s assistance” to show him what he wants to know about the world, so that he can “stop peddling in words that mean nothing to me” (I.4.377-85). He then again tries to accomplish this by trying to use the poisonous potion to kill himself and escape his misery. As the play goes on, magic and alchemy are still used to help Faust in his quest and personally benefit him, but magic and alchemy also come to represent the sins and trickery that Mephistopheles and Faust commit. Mephistopheles uses magic to trick and mess with the men at the tavern, and then later to help Faust kill Valentine. The potion, which was initially developed by Faust’s father to help those infected by the plague (though it failed and was actually poisonous instead), is used later in the play for much more overtly sinful means, as Faust gives it to Gretchen to poison her mother with so that he and Gretchen can have sex.

Religion and the Bible

Religion and the Bible are frequent motifs throughout Faust Part I. This ranges from the premise of the play as a bet between God and the Devil and Gretchen’s downfall as she commits the un-Christian sin of premarital relations, to specific Biblical allusions. (For instance, the appearance of Lilith at Walpurgis Night, whom Mephistopheles points out as “Adam’s first wife,” and the subsequent singing that refers to the apple and the Tree of Knowledge) (I.24.4119).

The frequent presence of religion and the Bible in Faust Part I helps to emphasize its status as a morality play, in which the pervading issue is whether Faust’s soul will go to heaven or hell. Goethe’s emphasis on religion emphasizes the sinful nature of Faust and Gretchen’s actions and their consequences, and imposes a moral and religious code that all the characters, including Gretchen, are judged by.

Nature

A recurring motif throughout Faust Part I is nature, as Faust frequently speaks of the beauty of nature and the awe it inspires in him. This is also suggested by the way that the Earth Spirit captivates him and he connects to it at the start of the play. Faust’s obsession with nature emphasizes the break that he wants to make from his scholarly life and intellectual pursuits, as he seeks something more natural, spiritual, and passionate for his life. His love of nature distinguishes him from Wagner, who represents traditional Enlightenment-era ideals, and says that he “soon grows tired” of nature, while “the pursuit of intellectual things” instead yields joy (I.5.1102-05). Faust’s love of nature also differentiates him from the essential evilness of Mephistopheles, who specifically speaks of his disdain for the natural world and wish to destroy it.