Great mystics in reality: Dr. Faust. The tragic story of Dr. Faust Dr. Faust author

Look at the death of Faust everyone!
His fate may turn away the wise
From the reserved area of ​​knowledge,
Whose depth brave minds
Will introduce into the temptation - to create deeds of darkness.
Christopher Marlowe "The Tragic History of Doctor Faust"

The story of a scientist who sold his soul to the devil and was destroyed by him is known to us thanks to Goethe. In his interpretation, Faust is a real Renaissance man, a powerful mind obsessed with knowledge and dreaming of serving humanity. In other versions of this story, the famous doctor is just an ordinary charlatan or an unfortunate lost soul. If only the prototype of Faust that existed in reality knew that his fate would become a symbol ...

The story of Faust is one of the most popular urban legends in Europe. And, like all urban legends, it has "confirmation" in reality. On one of the houses of the German city of Wittenberg there is a sign with the inscription: "Johann Faust (c. 1480 - c. 1540), astrologer, alchemist, lived here between 1525 and 1532." His name is on the lists of students of the University of Heidelberg for 1509, as well as in the lists submitted to the bachelor's degree in theology. It was as if nothing superfluous was even attributed to the biography of this medieval scientist.

Except a pact with the devil.

Adventurer and warlock

The real Johann Georg Faust was born around 1480 (modern researchers also call 1466) in the tiny German town of Knitlingen (Principality of Württemberg). Although researchers differ in this version: sometimes the towns of Simmern, Kundling, and Helmstadt near Heidelberg or Roda are considered to be his birthplace. He apparently came from a wealthy family, although it is not known who his parents were. Young Johann obviously had enough money and time to get a good education - mostly on his own. According to another version, he studied magic in Krakow, where in those days it was possible to do it completely freely. In any case, he was always interested in the occult sciences.

A learned monk who studied the works of Arab mathematicians and astronomers in Barcelona, ​​which maintains ties with the Caliphate of Cordoba. One of the first Europeans got acquainted with Arabic numerals and actively promoted them in scientific circles. He restored and improved the abacus (counting board), studied the structure of the celestial sphere, and developed the design of the astrolabe. Teacher of the future Holy Roman Emperor Otto II. Thanks to the patronage of the latter, he made a career that ended with his election as Pope in 999.

There were rumors that Gilbert studied Arabic works not only in mathematics, but also in magic and astrology, and also communicated with the devil himself, who allegedly helped him take the papal chair after the scientist beat him at dice. According to the same information, it was foretold to him that the devil would seize him when he was in Jerusalem - and he tore him apart when the Pope read mass in the church of St. Mary of Jerusalem. However, there was someone to support these rumors, because Gilbert had many enemies: among the clergy, he became famous not only for his scholarship, but also for his active struggle against simony (the sale of church positions) and concubinage (the custom of clerics to keep mistresses, contrary to celibacy).

The young man's craving for knowledge turned out to be pretty spoiled by his vanity. At the age of 25, he awarded himself the title of master, or rather, a whole magnificent title: "Master George Sabellicus Faust Jr., a well of necromancy, an astrologer, a successful magician, a palmist, an aeromancer, a pyromancer and an outstanding hydromancer." In those days, to obtain the title of master, it was required to comprehend university wisdom before the age of twelve, this degree was the equivalent of a doctor of science. Our young warlock wanted everything at once.

Johann Faust traveled extensively in Germany, calling himself a "philosopher of philosophers" and praising his supernatural memory - allegedly all the works of Plato and Aristotle are contained there. He made a pretty good living by compiling horoscopes and demonstrating various tricks at fairs. For the first time, Faust is mentioned in the city records of Gelnhausen, where in 1506 he appears with "magic" tricks. He was engaged in alchemy, and fortune-telling, and treatment according to healer's recipes. Despite the fact that, judging by historical sources, he failed to accomplish anything outstanding, Johann acquired high-ranking patrons - these were the knight Franz von Sickingen and the prince-bishop of Bamberg.

In 1507, on the recommendation of the knight von Sickingen, Faust received a job as a school teacher in the city of Kreuznach (now Bad Kreuznach), but he was soon asked to leave the position. Not because he continued to study the Black Book, but for pedophilia. In the same year, the name of the sorcerer is mentioned in an indignant letter from the abbot of the Sponheim monastery, the very famous scientist Johann Trithemius, to the court astrologer and mathematician of the Elector of the Palatinate, Johann Firdung: , idle talker and swindler".

It is strange that such an obvious adventurer still considered it necessary to get an academic education and enter the University of Heidelberg, where he was not the last student. Unless, of course, Johann Faust mentioned in the lists is the one who interests us.

Evidence of the appearance of Johann Faust in various German cities is quite numerous. In 1513, in one of the taverns of Erfurt, a prominent German humanist scientist Konrad Mutian Rufus met with him. In 1520, Faust draws up a horoscope for the bishop of Bamberg, for which he receives a good amount of 10 guilders. It is known that he tried to teach at several universities, but did not stay anywhere for a long time - either of his own free will, or because of the hostility of his colleagues. However, the thirst for knowledge still played a role, providing Faust with a good reputation as a capable and energetic scientist by the end of his life. In the late 1530s, colleagues already spoke of him with respect, especially noting his knowledge of astrology and medicine. But after 1539 his trail is lost.

According to the version that people in Germany like to tell tourists, Faust died in 1540 in one of the hotels in Württemberg. Allegedly, on that day, a storm broke out in a clear sky: furniture fell in the hotel, invisible steps rumbled, doors and shutters slammed, blue flames burst out of the chimney ... In the morning, when all this Armageddon was over, Faust's disfigured body was found in Faust's room. According to the townspeople, it was the devil himself who came to take the soul of the warlock, with whom he concluded an agreement 24 years ago. Modern researchers prefer to explain the death of a scientist by an explosion during an alchemical experiment.

There is a hypothesis that there were actually two Fausts: one of them, Georg, was active from 1505 to 1515, and the other, Johann, in the 1530s. This could explain the contradictions in the biography of the scientist and the numerous inconsistencies regarding his origin and education. According to other versions, the prototypes of Faust could be Pope Sylvester II, Agrippa, Albert the Great, Roger Bacon and Johann Trithemius.

Life after death

Legends that the famous astrologer and alchemist sold his soul to the devil began to take shape during the lifetime of the historical Johann Faust. Why did they start talking about him? It is very likely that the savvy magician was actually a PR genius: he could not only support legends about himself, but also compose them himself, and also have a good “intelligence network” throughout Germany and adjacent regions. And the fact that among these stories there were absolutely no climbing gates - Goebbels also said that the more monstrous the lie, the easier it is for people to believe in it.

A Dominican monk, he taught at the Dominican school in Cologne (Thomas Aquinas was among his students). Compiled commentaries on all the works of Aristotle known at that time. In addition to theology, he was interested in the natural sciences, created several large-scale works that systematize all the knowledge collected at that time in zoology, botany, mineralogy, and astronomy. He was engaged in alchemical experiments, for the first time he managed to get arsenic in its pure form. Invented logarithms. For the encyclopedic knowledge he received the respectful nickname Doctor Universalis (Comprehensive Doctor). In the twentieth century, he was canonized by the Catholic Church and proclaimed the patron saint of scientists.

Like all alchemists, Albertus Magnus was also considered a magician. He was credited with the authorship of several occult works, which, however, is now considered doubtful. But the authorship of the "Small Alchemical Code" - a kind of Bible of alchemists - is indisputable. According to legend, he managed to create an artificial man - a homunculus.

The degree of veracity of such legends can be judged at least by the most famous ones. So, they said that he was accompanied everywhere by a black poodle who could turn into a man - supposedly it was the demon Mephistopheles himself. It was also believed that the German emperor owed his victories in Italy solely to the magical art of Faust, and not to the tactical skills of his generals. And in Venice and Paris, at the court of King Francis I, Faust allegedly even tried to ascend into the air. True, unsuccessfully.

The stories of the pact with the devil themselves have been known for a long time. One of its first interpretations is the early Christian "The Tale of Eladiy, Who Sold His Soul to the Devil", from which the Russian "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" of the 17th century grew. Our domestic hero chose to make a military career with the help of a demon, rather than a scientific one, and his story has a happy ending: God forgives a repentant sinner.

In less than half a century from the date of the alleged death of Johann Faust, he became a character in the popular "Story of Doctor Faust, the famous magician and warlock" ("People's Book"), published in 1587 in Germany. In it, the hero is credited with legends that told about a variety of famous warlocks: from the legendary Simon Magus, who competed in miracles with the Apostle Paul himself, to Albert the Great and Cornelius Agrippa.

The popularity of the Faust story is connected not only with its fascination, but also with the fact that in it the people of the Renaissance found confirmation of their fear of progress: science in those days developed rapidly, through trial and error, and the inhabitants simply did not have time to realize the changes, preferring to shy away from everything that they could not understand. Have not these strange people scientists become too insolent, trying to penetrate the secrets of nature, is this desire from God or from the devil? The unnamed author of The Story of Doctor Faust is convinced that the hero was killed not by the desire for knowledge as such, but by pride, the desire to become like God, having learned all the secrets of heaven and earth, and promiscuity in means - instead of painstakingly working independently, as ordered Christian morality, the scientist resorted to the help of the enemy of the human race. For this, the hero is severely punished: in the finale, the demons drag him to hell.

"The Story of Doctor Faust" walked with great success throughout Europe, embraced by approximately the same moods. It is possible that the Russian author of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn also read it. In French, it was retold by the historian and theologian Pierre Caille, as befits a theologian, who resolutely condemned Faust for godlessness and sorcery. It was Caye who introduced the ancient beauty Helena into history, whose shadow our doctor invokes as a visual aid for lectures on Homer and falls in love with her.

The legendary warlock also came to court in England, in the homeland of the famous "learned magicians" Roger Bacon and John Dee. Christopher Marlo (the one who is credited with the authorship of all or some of Shakespeare's plays) wrote the play The Tragic History of Doctor Faust (1604) on the same material. He condemns the hero and at the same time admires him: the talented and enthusiastic Faust is a real man of the Renaissance, who paid for the "appropriation of powers" of God. Its history reminds of the fate of the ancient theomachist Prometheus.

By the way, it was Marlo who first called the demon with whom Faust communicated, Mephistopheles.

Most of all, the legend of Faust was popular, of course, in his homeland. German authors, as befits respectable burghers, more often gave the hero the traits of a moral outrageer, punished for the sin of the black book, than a titan of the Renaissance. The exception was the writers of the pre-romantic period of "storm and onslaught" (1767-1785), fascinated by Faust's rebelliousness.

Among the authors of "storm and onslaught" was Johann Wolfgang Goethe, who, in fact, created the canon of the legend - the grandiose tragedy "Faust", which he wrote almost all his life, from 1774 to 1831. The writer built an almost universal text, having managed through Faust's searches to show not only the fate of a man of science, but also - more broadly - a person in general, with his doubts, fears, weaknesses - and true greatness.

Doctor of Philosophy, Naturalist. He was educated at Oxford and Paris Universities. He was engaged in optics, astrology, alchemy, in many ways contributing to the transformation of the latter into chemistry. He anticipated many discoveries of the future (gunpowder, telephone, aircraft, cars), developed a project for a utopian state under the control of an elected parliament. For his scientific merits, he received the nickname Doctor Mirabilis (The Amazing Doctor).

Due to disagreements with the scholastics, Bacon was proclaimed a warlock. This fame greatly spoiled his life: for example, he was excommunicated from teaching at Oxford University and placed under the supervision of the Franciscan monks, whom Bacon was forced to join in order to whitewash himself. However, he did not stop doing science, as well as attacks on the clergy, for which he was accused of heresy and imprisoned for more than 20 years.

In fact, the legend of Faust, in the form in which it was known in folklore, Goethe retells only in the first part of the poem. The second part is Faust's travels in space and time, from ancient Sparta to Mount Brocken in Germany, where the witches' sabbaths took place on Walpurgis Night. The space of the poem grows in breadth and depth, from Heaven to Hell, more and more characters appear on the stage - in a word, Goethe draws an incredibly diverse world that a person has to learn and transform all his life, not stopping for a second. That is why the soul of Faust should go to the devil when the scientist wishes to stop the moment.

But Goethe changes the ending of the legend: at the last moment, Faust is taken to heaven by angels. His soul is saved thanks to the mercy of God, who forgives not such sins, and the prayers of Gretchen, ruined by Faust. This is a demonstration of the author's position: a person's desire to equal God is not a manifestation of pride, but a natural desire, because he was created in his image and likeness.

Faust after Goethe

Dr. Faust in Goethe's interpretation came to the court of writers of the era of romanticism. Their favorite hero was a rebel, a violent fighter for freedom, who does not know sleep and rest, doubting and always dissatisfied with something - himself, those around him, the world, God. The romantic revolutionary differs from Dr. Vibegallo's "model of a person who is completely dissatisfied" with a huge supply of vital energy, gigantic charisma and an unshakable conviction that freedom, including freedom of knowledge, is an inalienable human right. The fact that in this law, as they say, “there are nuances”, it became clear to mankind much later.

However, the romantics knew how to deal with eternal plots outside the box, their "fan fiction" is quite worthy to exist next to the "canon" (if Goethe's poem is considered such). Christian Dietrich Grabbe in the drama "Don Giovanni and Faust" (1829) brings together a scientist and a ladies' man: they are united by love for the same woman, and this is no coincidence - after all, they both spent their whole lives in eternal search, and what exactly to look for - for romantics it doesn't matter, the main thing is the process. Well, Heinrich Heine in his “poem for dancing” “Doctor Faust” (1851) generally turns the pretentious “titan of the Renaissance” into an operetta hero who refuses all high impulses in the name of burgher family values. In fact, this is the first parody of the plot of the legend.

In European culture, Faust, like a devil out of a box, jumps out every time the topic of technological progress and all the phobias associated with it becomes a hot topic. Therefore, a new wave of interest in the history of the unfortunate (or happy, how to look) doctor rose at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, in the "steampunk" era of modernity. Faust and Mephistopheles appear in the mystical novel by Valery Bryusov "The Fiery Angel" (1908) - however, only as episodic characters, the "test of the elements" Dr. Faust and his companion, the monk Mephistopheles. In the play by Anatoly Lunacharsky (who was not only the people's commissar of education, but also a writer) Faust and the City (1908), the hero naturally becomes not only a conqueror of nature, but also a revolutionary who welcomes a coup in his happy country by the sea. Thomas Mann in the novel "Doctor Faustus" (1947) tells the story of a gifted musician Adrian Leverkühn, who suffers from syphilis, who once has a vision of the devil and announces that his illness symbolizes a deal with the forces of evil. It is difficult to understand if this deal is real - or if the hero just sees her in a delirium. However, all the predictions of the Prince of Darkness come true: Leverkün brings misfortune to everyone he dares to love.

It is Charles Gounod's opera "Faust" (the same one from which Mephistopheles' famous aria "People die for metal") is staged at the Paris Opera in Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera". The features of Faust are guessed in the hero of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray": Dorian, like a medieval scientist, is seduced by eternal youth in exchange for a soul. Faust's close relatives are Byron's Manfred, and even Dr. Frankenstein: with the first, our scientist is related by the "spirit of denial, the spirit of doubt", with the second - by the desire to know the laws of life itself and the realization of the danger of this very knowledge. In addition, Goethe's Faust creates a homunculus - an artificial man, just like Victor Frankenstein creates his monster.

Fantasts also no-no yes, and commemorate the famous doctor, who turned into a symbol, to the place and not to the place. In Philip Dick's Galaxy Restorer (also known as The Potter's Wheel of the Sky), Faust is constantly compared with the alien Glimmung, who intends to raise the temple of an ancient civilization from the bottom of the demonic sea of ​​Mare Nostrum. Clive Barker, in his debut novel The Cursed Game, writes the story of modern Faust: the main character, boxer Marty Strauss, released from prison, becomes a bodyguard for the millionaire Mammolian, who once owed something to a powerful being, either a man or a demon... In fact, the story of Barker is that "everyone is his own Mephistopheles", who carries a personal hell in his soul.

Fantasists are very fond of the ancient plot of a deal with the devil - for such a story you can find a lot of witty solutions: how can you outwit the "father of lies", for example? Actually, Faust is not very popular in such plots, except perhaps in the form of a parody. The novel by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley “If you are not lucky with Faust” (aka “If you do not succeed in the role of Faust”), the second part of the “Red Demon Trilogy”, begins, like Goethe’s poem: with the announcement of the competition between the forces of Light and Darkness for the soul of a mortal. True, this mortal turns out to be not a reflective Faust, but a bandit named McDubinka - this is where it all begins. And Terry Pratchett (well, how could it be without him!) In the book “Eric, as well as the Night Watch, Witches and Cohen the Barbarian”, he describes the misadventures of the novice magician Eric, who, instead of a demon, accidentally summoned the poor fellow Rincewind from another world.

Michael Swanwick created a large-scale alternative history "Jack / Faust" based on the plot of Goethe. In his version, Mephistopheles was a powerful alien from a parallel dimension who endowed Faust with all possible technical knowledge in exchange for a promise that he would destroy humanity with the help of this knowledge. As a result, Europe is being bombarded with unprecedented technological progress: electricity, railroads, antibiotics - and more and more new types of weapons.

Filmmakers did not pass by the famous legend either. In particular, Goethe's poem was filmed as a silent film in 1926 by the German director Friedrich Murnau, the creator of Nosferatu - a symphony of horror. Of the films that are not adaptations, it is impossible not to mention the wonderful mystical detective story "Angel Heart", in which the hero of Robert De Niro - Louis Cypher - also responds to the name "Mephistopheles", like the devil in the comic book and the film "Ghost Rider". A variation on the theme of Faust - and the story of the protagonist of Terry Gilliam's painting "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", to whom the devil granted immortality and eternal youth in exchange for the soul of his daughter. Jan Svankmajer's film "Faust's Lesson" is a poetic philosophical parable about our contemporary, who became a famous doctor, getting used to his role with the help of a magical puppet theater. Like the best examples of "devilish" stories, this one is about the fact that hell is very close to us, and the progress of mankind is not good if it leads us into the world of illusory, puppet values. Well, how in such a popular topic without film trash? It was filmed by the famous creator of nightmares Brian Yuzna, under the title "Faust - Prince of Darkness." Here, Faust, who sold his soul to the devil, resurrects after death and becomes a maniac-killer, an avenger like the notorious Raven from the film of the same name.

In the Shaman King anime, there is a character named Faust VII - relatives of the famous alchemist, and a necromancer magician himself. Dr. Faust also acts in the Guilty Gear series of games - however, he did not sell his soul to the devil, but “only” went crazy when a little patient died under his scalpel.

A native of Cologne, he received an excellent education at the University of Paris. After graduating from an educational institution, he traveled all over Europe, lecturing on theology in different places, but never staying anywhere for a long time, also because he regularly pissed off the clergy with his caustic satyrs. Agrippa fought with the church not only in word, but also in deed: once he saved an old woman who was declared a witch from a fire, having entered into a theological dispute with the judges and won. However, he understood not only theology, but also jurisprudence, medicine, as well as alchemy and the occult.

An atheist means that he has sold his soul to the devil; for medieval churchmen, this logic was ironclad. Therefore, it was said that Agrippa mastered the secret of turning any substance into gold, but it was devilish gold: supposedly the coins with which he paid in taverns turned into manure after he left. It was also as if he knew how to be in different places at the same time and communicate with the dead, and the books written by him had a soul and could subjugate the will of their owner.

Who was Faust - the first of the swindlers, a successful hoaxer, a reckless adventurer, a talented armchair scientist? Judging by historical chronicles, the latter is the least likely. What we can say for sure is that Faust has long been a symbol. A symbol of the greedy search for knowledge, a symbol of the desire to put Reason and Progress above all else. A symbol of our civilization, in a word. One can gasp in horror that the man who made a deal with the devil has become the alpha and omega of our world order; you can sigh with admiration: an ordinary person who dared to take a swing at this! Obviously, the era of Faust gave us a lot of good - and a lot of bad. It is equally obvious that someday it will end. But hardly in our lifetime.

The choir enters the stage and tells the story of Faust: he was born in the German city of Roda, studied in Wittenberg, received his doctorate. “Then, full of bold conceit, / He rushed to forbidden heights / On wings of wax; but the wax melts - / And the sky doomed him to death.

Faust in his office reflects on the fact that, no matter how successful he is in earthly sciences, he is only a man and his power is not unlimited. Faust was disillusioned with philosophy. Medicine is also not omnipotent, it cannot give people immortality, it cannot resurrect the dead. Jurisprudence is full of contradictions, laws are absurd. Even theology does not give an answer to Faust's tormenting questions. Only magical books attract him. “A powerful magician is like God. / So, refine your mind, Faust, / Strive to achieve divine power. A kind angel persuades Faust not to read cursed books full of temptations that will bring the wrath of the Lord on Faust. The evil angel, on the contrary, incites Faust to do magic and comprehend all the secrets of nature: “Be on earth, as Jupiter is in heaven - / Lord, master of the elements!” Faust dreams of making the spirits serve him and become omnipotent. His friends Cornelius and Valdes promise to initiate him into the secrets of magical science and teach him to conjure spirits. Mephistopheles comes to his call. Faust wants Mephistopheles to serve him and fulfill all his desires, but Mephistopheles is subordinate to Lucifer alone and can only serve Faust on Lucifer's orders. Faust renounces God and recognizes the supreme ruler of Lucifer - the lord of darkness and the master of spirits. Mephistopheles tells Faust the story of Lucifer: once he was an angel, but he showed pride and rebelled against the Lord, for which God cast him down from heaven, and now he is in hell. Those who rebelled against the Lord with him are also condemned to hellish torments. Faust does not understand how Mephistopheles has now left the sphere of hell, but Mephistopheles explains: “Oh no, this is hell, and I am always in hell. / Or do you think that I, who have matured the face of the Lord, / Tasting eternal joy in paradise, / I am not tormented by a thousand-fold hell, / Having irretrievably lost bliss? But Faust is firm in his decision to reject God. He is ready to sell his soul to Lucifer in order to “live, tasting all the blessings” for twenty-four years and have Mephistopheles as his servant. Mephistopheles goes to Lucifer for an answer, while Faust, meanwhile, dreams of power: he longs to become king and subjugate the whole world.

Faust's servant Wagner meets a jester and wants the jester to serve him for seven years. The jester refuses, but Wagner summons the two devils Baliol and Belcher and threatens that if the jester refuses to serve him, the devils will immediately drag him to hell. He promises to teach the jester to turn into a dog, a cat, a mouse or a rat - anything. But the jester, if he really wants to turn into anyone, then into a small frisky flea to jump where he wants and tickle pretty women under skirts.

Faust hesitates. A kind angel persuades him to quit practicing magic, repent and return to God. An evil angel inspires him with thoughts of wealth and glory. Mephistopheles returns and says that Lucifer ordered him to serve Faust to the grave, if Faust writes a will and a deed of gift for his soul and body with his blood. Faust agrees, he plunges the knife into his hand, but his blood freezes in his veins, and he cannot write. Mephistopheles brings a brazier, Faust's blood warms up, and he writes a will, but then the inscription “Homo, fuge” (“Man, save yourself”) appears on his hand; Faust ignores her. To entertain Faust, Mephistopheles brings the devils, who give Faust crowns, rich clothes and dance in front of him, then leave. Faust asks Mephistopheles about hell. Mephistopheles explains: “Hell is not limited to a single place, / There are no limits to it; where we are, there is hell; / And where hell is, we must be forever. Faust can't believe it: Mephistopheles talks to him, walks the earth - and all this is hell? Faust is not afraid of such hell. He asks Mephistopheles to give him the most beautiful girl in Germany as his wife. Mephistopheles brings to him the devil in a female form. Marriage is not for Faust, Mephistopheles suggests bringing the most beautiful courtesans to him every morning. He hands Faust a book where everything is written: how to get wealth, and how to summon spirits, it describes the location and movement of the planets and lists all the plants and herbs.

Faust curses Mephistopheles for depriving him of heavenly joys. The good angel advises Faust to repent and trust in the mercy of the Lord. The evil angel says that God will not take pity on such a great sinner, however, he is sure that Faust will not repent. Faust really does not have the heart to repent, and he starts an argument with Mephistopheles about astrology, but when he asks who created the world, Mephistopheles does not answer and reminds Faust that he is cursed. “Christ, my redeemer! / Save my suffering soul!” Faust exclaims. Lucifer reproaches Faust for breaking his word and thinking about Christ. Faust swears it won't happen again. Lucifer shows Faust the seven deadly sins in their true form. Pride, Greed, Fury, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Debauchery pass before him. Faust dreams of seeing hell and returning again. Lucifer promises to show him hell, but for now he gives a book for Faust to read it and learn to accept any image.

The chorus tells that Faust, wanting to learn the secrets of astronomy and geography, first goes to Rome to see the pope and take part in the celebrations in honor of St. Peter.

Faust and Mephistopheles in Rome. Mephistopheles makes Faust invisible, and Faust amuses himself by being in the refectory, when the pope treats the Cardinal of Lorraine, snatches dishes of food from his hands and eats them. The holy fathers are at a loss, the pope begins to be baptized, and when he is baptized for the third time, Faust slaps him in the face. The monks curse him.

Robin, the groom of the inn where Faust and Mephistopheles are staying, steals a book from Faust. He and his friend Ralph want to learn how to work miracles on it and first steal the goblet from the innkeeper, but then Mephistopheles intervenes, whose spirit they inadvertently summoned, they return the goblet and promise never to steal magical books again. As punishment for their insolence, Mephistopheles promises to turn one of them into a monkey and the other into a dog.

The chorus tells that, having visited the courts of the monarchs, Faust, after long wanderings through heaven and earth, returned home. The fame of his scholarship reaches the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and he invites him to his palace and surrounds him with honor.

The emperor asks Faust to show his art and summon the spirits of great people. He dreams of seeing Alexander the Great and asks Faust to make Alexander and his wife rise from the grave. Faust explains that the bodies of long-dead persons have turned to dust and he cannot show them to the emperor, but he will summon spirits that will take on the images of Alexander the Great and his wife, and the emperor will be able to see them in their prime. When the spirits appear, the emperor, in order to verify their authenticity, checks whether Alexander's wife has a mole on her neck, and, having discovered it, he is imbued with even greater respect for Faust. One of the knights doubts Faust's art, as punishment, horns grow on his head, which disappear only when the knight promises to continue to be more respectful with scientists. Faust's time is running out. He returns to Wittenberg.

A horse dealer buys a horse from Faust for forty coins, but Faust warns him not to ride it into the water under any circumstances. The horse dealer thinks that Faust wants to hide from him some rare quality of the horse, and first of all he rides it into a deep pond. As soon as he reached the middle of the pond, the horse dealer discovers that the horse has disappeared, and under him, instead of a horse, there is an armful of hay. Miraculously not drowning, he comes to Faust to demand his money back. Mephistopheles tells the horse-dealer that

Faust is fast asleep. The hawker drags Faust by the leg and tears it off. Faust wakes up, screams and sends Mephistopheles for the constable. The horse dealer asks to let him go and promises to pay another forty coins for it. Faust is pleased: the leg is in place, and the extra forty coins will not hurt him. Faust is invited by the Duke of Anhalt. The duchess asks to get her grapes in the middle of winter, and Faust immediately hands her a ripe bunch. Everyone marvels at his art. The duke generously rewards Faust. Faust frolics with students. At the end of the feast, they ask him to show them Helen of Troy. Faust fulfills their request. As the students leave, the Old Man arrives and tries to get Faust back on the path of salvation, but fails. Faust wants the beautiful Helena to become his lover. By order of Mephistopheles, Elena appears before Faust, he kisses her.

Faust says goodbye to the students: he is on the verge of death and condemned to burn in hell forever. The students advise him to remember God and ask him for mercy, but Faust understands that he has no forgiveness and tells the students how he sold his soul to the devil. The hour of reckoning is near. Faust asks the students to pray for him. The students leave. Faust has only one hour left to live. He dreams that midnight will never come, that time will stop, that eternal day will come, or at least midnight would not come a little longer and he would have time to repent and be saved. But the clock strikes, thunder rumbles, lightning flashes, and the devils take Faust away.

The choir urges the audience to learn a lesson from the tragic fate of Faust and not to seek knowledge of the protected areas of science that seduce a person and teach him to do evil.

retold

The tragedy of I. V. Goethe "Faust" was written in 1774 - 1831 and belongs to the literary direction of romanticism. The work is the main work of the writer, on which he worked for almost his entire life. The plot of the tragedy is based on the German Legend of Faust, the famous warlock of the 16th century. Particular attention is drawn to the composition of the tragedy. The two parts of "Faust" are contrasted: the first shows the doctor's relationship with the spiritually pure girl Margarita, the second shows Faust's activities at court and marriage to the ancient heroine Elena.

main characters

Heinrich Faust- a doctor, a scientist disillusioned with life and science. Made a deal with Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles- an evil spirit, the devil, argued with the Lord that he could get the soul of Faust.

Gretchen (Margarita) - beloved Faust. An innocent girl who, out of love for Heinrich, accidentally killed her mother, and then, going crazy, drowned her daughter. Died in prison.

Other characters

Wagner - student of Faust who created the Homunculus.

Helena- an ancient Greek heroine, beloved of Faust, from whom her son Euphorion was born. Their marriage is a symbol of the combination of ancient and romantic beginnings.

Euphorion - the son of Faust and Helen, endowed with the features of a romantic, Byronic hero.

Martha- Margarita's neighbor, a widow.

Valentine- soldier, brother Gretchen, who was killed by Faust.

Theater Director, Poet

Homunculus

dedication

Theatrical introduction

The director of the theater asks the Poet to create an entertaining work that will be interesting to absolutely everyone and will attract more viewers to their theater. However, the Poet believes that "the splattering of vulgarities is a great evil", "talentless crooks are a craft".

The director of the theater advises him to move away from the usual style and more resolutely get down to business - "in his own way" with poetry, then his works will be really interesting to people. The director provides the Poet and the Actor with all the possibilities of the theater in order to:

“In this boardwalk - a booth
You can, as in the universe,
Having passed all the tiers in a row,
Descend from heaven through the earth to hell.

Prologue in the sky

Mephistopheles comes to the Lord for reception. The devil argues that people "illumined by God's spark" continue to live like animals. The Lord asks if he knows Faust. Mephistopheles recalls that Faust is a scientist who "rushes into battle, and loves to take on obstacles," serving God. The devil offers to bet that he will "beat off" the Lord Faust, exposing him to all sorts of temptations, to which he agrees. God is sure that the scientist's instinct will lead him out of the impasse.

Part one

Night

Cramped gothic room. Faust is sitting awake reading a book. The Doctor reflects:

"I mastered theology,
I pored over philosophy,
jurisprudence hollowed
And studied medicine.
However, at the same time, I
I was and still am a fool.

And I turned to magic,
So that the spirit at the call appears to me
And he discovered the secret of being.

The doctor's thoughts are interrupted by his student Wagner, who suddenly enters the room. During a conversation with a student, Faust explains: people really do not know anything about antiquity. The doctor is outraged by Wagner's arrogant, stupid thoughts that man has already grown up to know all the secrets of the universe.

When Wagner left, the doctor reflects that he considered himself equal to God, but this is not so: "I am a blind worm, I am the stepson of nature." Faust realizes that his life is "passing in dust" and is about to commit suicide by drinking poison. However, at the moment when he brings a glass of poison to his lips, a bell ringing and choral singing are heard - the angels sing about the Resurrection of Christ. Faust abandons his intention.

At the gate

Crowds of people walking, including Wagner and Faust. The old farmer thanks the doctor and his late father for helping to "get rid of the plague" in the city. However, Faust is ashamed of his father, who during his medical practice for the sake of experiments gave people poison - while treating some, he killed others. A black poodle runs up to the doctor and Wagner. It seems to Faust that behind the dog "a flame snakes across the land of the glades."

Faust's workroom

Faust took the poodle with him. The doctor sits down to translate the New Testament into German. Reflecting on the first phrase of the scripture, Faust comes to the conclusion that it is translated not as “In the beginning was the Word”, but “In the beginning was the Deed”. The poodle begins to play around and, distracted from work, the doctor sees how the dog turns into Mephistopheles. The devil appears to Faust in the clothes of a wandering student. The doctor asks who he is, to which Mephistopheles replies:

“Part of the strength of that which is without number
He does good, wishing evil to everything.

Mephistopheles chuckles at human weaknesses, as if he knows what thoughts torment Faust. Soon the Devil is about to leave, but the pentagram drawn by Faust does not let him in. The devil, with the help of spirits, puts the doctor to sleep and disappears while he sleeps.

The second time Mephistopheles appeared to Faust in rich clothes: in a karamzin camisole, with a cape on his shoulders and a rooster feather on his hat. The devil persuades the doctor to leave the walls of the office and go with him:

"You will be comfortable here with me,
I will fulfill any whim."

Faust agrees and signs the treaty in blood. They go on a journey, flying straight through the air on the Devil's magical cloak.

Auerbach cellar in Leipzig

Mephistopheles and Faust join the company of merry revelers. The devil treats those who drink wine. One of the revelers spills a drink on the ground and the wine catches fire. The man exclaims that it is hellfire. Those present rush at the Devil with knives, but he induces a "dope" on them - it begins to seem to people that they are in a beautiful land. At this time, Mephistopheles and Faust disappear.

witch's kitchen

Faust and Mephistopheles are waiting for the witch. Faust complains to Mephistopheles that he is tormented by sad thoughts. The devil replies that he can be distracted from any thoughts by a simple means - the conduct of an ordinary household. However, Faust is not ready to "live without scope". At the request of the Devil, the witch prepares a potion for Faust, after which the doctor's body "gains heat", and the lost youth returns to him.

The street

Faust, seeing Marguerite (Gretchen) on the street, is struck by her beauty. The Doctor asks Mephistopheles to set him up with her. The devil replies that he has just overheard her confession - she is innocent, like a small child, so the evil spirits have no power over her. Faust sets a condition: either Mephistopheles arranges their date today, or he will terminate their contract.

Evening

Margarita thinks that she would give a lot to find out who the man she met was. While the girl leaves her room, Faust and Mephistopheles leave her a gift - a jewelry box.

On a walk

Margarita's mother took the donated jewelry to the priest, as she realized that it was a gift from evil spirits. Faust orders to give Gretchen something else.

Neighbor's house

Margarita tells her neighbor Marta that she has found a second jewelry box. The neighbor advises not to say anything about the find of the mother, starting to put on jewelry gradually.

Mephistopheles comes to Martha and informs about the fictitious death of her husband, who left nothing to his wife. Marta asks if it is possible to get a paper confirming her husband's death. Mephistopheles replies that he will soon return with a friend to testify about the death, and asks Margarita to stay too, since his friend is "an excellent fellow."

Garden

Walking with Faust, Margarita tells that she lives with her mother, her father and sister have died, and her brother is in the army. The girl guesses on a camomile and gets the answer "Loves". Faust confesses his love to Marguerite.

forest cave

Faust is hiding from everyone. Mephistopheles tells the doctor that Margarita misses him very much and is afraid that Heinrich has cooled off towards her. The Devil is surprised that Faust so easily decided to give up on the girl.

Martha's Garden

Margarita shares with Faust that she really dislikes Mephistopheles. The girl thinks that he can betray them. Faust, notes the innocence of Margarita, before which the Devil is powerless: “Oh, the sensitivity of angelic guesses!” .

Faust gives Marguerite a sleeping pill so she can put her mother to sleep, and they manage to be alone longer next time.

Night. Street in front of Gretchen's house

Valentine, Gretchen's brother, decides to deal with the girl's lover. The young man is upset that she brought shame upon herself by an affair without marriage. Seeing Faust, Valentine challenges him to a duel. The doctor kills the young man. Until they are noticed, Mephistopheles and Faust hide, leave the city. Before his death, Valentine instructs Margarita, saying that the girl must protect her honor.

Cathedral

Gretchen attends a church service. Behind the girl, an evil spirit whispers to her that Gretchen is responsible for the death of her mother (not woken up from a sleeping pill) and her brother. In addition, everyone knows that a girl carries a child under her heart. Unable to withstand obsessive thoughts, Gretchen faints.

Walpurgis Night

Faust and Mephistopheles watch the coven of witches and sorcerers. Walking along the fires, they meet a general, a minister, a wealthy businessman, a writer, a junk witch, Lilith, Medusa and others. Suddenly, one of the shadows reminds of Faust Margaret, the doctor imagined that the girl was beheaded.

It's a nasty day. Field

Mephistopheles tells Faust that Gretchen has been begging for a long time and is now in prison. The doctor is in despair, he reproaches the Devil for what happened and demands that he save the girl. Mephistopheles notices that it was not he, but Faust himself who ruined Marguerite. However, after thinking, he agrees to help - the Devil will put the caretaker to sleep, and then take them away. Faust himself will have to take possession of the keys and lead Margarita out of the dungeon.

Prison

Faust enters the dungeon where Marguerite is sitting, singing strange songs. She lost her mind. Mistaking the doctor for an executioner, the girl asks to put off punishment until the morning. Faust explains that her lover is in front of her and they need to hurry. The girl is glad, but takes time, telling him that he has grown cold to her arms. Margarita tells how she lulled her mother to death and drowned her daughter in a pond. The girl is delusional and asks Faust to dig graves for her, her mother and brother. Before her death, Margarita asks for salvation from God. Mephistopheles says that she is condemned to torment, but then a voice is heard from above: “Saved!” . The girl is dying.

Part two

Act one

Imperial Palace. Masquerade

Mephistopheles in the form of a jester appears before the emperor. The Council of State begins in the throne room. The chancellor reports that the country is in decline, the state does not have enough money.

Walking garden

The devil helped the state solve the problem of lack of money by turning a scam. Mephistopheles put into circulation securities, the pledge of which was gold located in the bowels of the earth. The treasure will someday be found and will cover all expenses, but so far fooled people are paying with shares.

dark gallery

Faust, who appeared at court as a magician, informs Mephistopheles that he promised the emperor to show the ancient heroes Paris and Helen. The Doctor asks the Devil to help him. Mephistopheles gives Faust a directional key that will help the doctor penetrate the world of pagan gods and heroes.

Knight's Hall

The courtiers await the appearance of Paris and Helen. When an ancient Greek heroine appears, the ladies begin to discuss her shortcomings, but Faust is fascinated by the girl. The scene of the “abduction of Helen” by Paris is played out before the audience. Having lost his composure, Faust tries to save and keep the girl, but the spirits of the heroes suddenly evaporate.

Act two

gothic room

Faust lies in his old room motionless. The student Famulus tells Mephistopheles that the now famous scientist Wagner is still waiting for the return of his teacher Faust, and is now on the verge of a great discovery.

Medieval laboratory

Mephistopheles comes to Wagner, who is at the clumsy instruments. The scientist tells the guest that he wants to create a person, because, in his opinion, "the former children's survival for us is an absurdity, handed over to the archive." Wagner creates Homunculus.

The homunculus advises Mephistopheles to take Faust to the Walpurgis Night festival, and then flies away with the doctor and the Devil, leaving Wagner.

Classic Walpurgis Night

Mephistopheles lowers Faust to the ground, and he finally comes to his senses. The Doctor goes in search of Elena.

Act three

In front of the palace of Menelaus in Sparta

Landed on the coast of Sparta, Elena learns from the housekeeper Phorkiada that King Menelaus (Helen's husband) sent her here as a sacrifice for sacrifice. The housekeeper helps the heroine escape death by helping her escape to a nearby castle.

Castle courtyard

Helen is brought to Faust's castle. He reports that the queen now owns everything in his castle. Faust sends his troops against Menelaus, who is coming at him with a war, who wants to take revenge, and he takes refuge with Elena in the underworld.

Soon Faust and Helen have a son, Euphorion. The boy dreams of jumping so that "inadvertently reach the sky with one swoop." Faust tries to shield his son from trouble, but he asks to be left alone. Having climbed a high rock, Euphorion jumps from it and falls dead at the feet of his parents. The grieving Elena tells Faust: "The old saying comes true on me, That happiness does not get along with beauty" and, with the words "take me, O Persephone, with a boy!" hugs Faust. The woman's body disappears, and only her dress and veil remain in the man's hands. Elena's clothes turn into clouds and carry Faust away.

act four

Mountain landscape

To the rocky ridge, which was previously the bottom of the underworld, Faust swims up on a cloud. A man reflects on the fact that with the memories of love, all his purity and “the best essence” are gone. Soon, on seven-league boots, Mephistopheles flies to the rock. Faust tells Mephistopheles that his greatest desire is to build a dam on the sea and

"At any cost at the abyss
Reclaim a piece of land."

Faust asks Mephistopheles for help. Suddenly, the sounds of war are heard. The Devil explains that the emperor they previously helped is in dire straits after exposing the securities scam. Mephistopheles advises Faust to help the monarch return to the throne, for which he will be able to receive a seashore as a reward. The Doctor and the Devil help the Emperor win a resounding victory.

act five

open area

A wanderer visits the old people, the loving married couple Baucis and Philemon. Once the old people have already helped him, for which he is very grateful to them. Baucis and Philemon live by the sea, there is a bell tower and a linden grove nearby.

Castle

The aged Faust is indignant - Baucis and Philemon do not agree to leave the seashore so that he can realize his idea. Their house is exactly on the spot that now belongs to the doctor. Mephistopheles promises to deal with the old people.

Deep night

The house of Baucis and Philemon, and with it the linden grove and the belfry, were burnt down. Mephistopheles told Faust that they tried to drive the old people out of the house, but they died of fright, and the guest, resisting, was killed by the servants. The house caught fire accidentally from a spark. Faust curses Mephistopheles and the servants for deafness to his words, since he wanted a fair exchange, and not violence and robbery.

Large courtyard in front of the palace

Mephistopheles orders the lemurs (grave ghosts) to dig a grave for Faust. Blinded Faust hears the sound of shovels and decides that it is the workers who make his dream come true:

"Put a boundary to the fury of the surf
And, as if reconciling the earth with itself,
They are erecting, the rampart and embankments are being fixed.

Faust orders Mephistopheles to "recruit workers here without counting," constantly reporting to him on the progress of work. The Doctor thinks that he would like to see the days when free people work in free land, then he could exclaim: “A moment! Oh, how beautiful you are, wait a bit!” . With the words: “And anticipating this triumph, I am now experiencing the highest moment,” Faust dies.

Position in the coffin

Mephistopheles is waiting for Faust's spirit to leave his body so that he can present him with their blood-backed pact. However, angels appear and, pushing the demons away from the doctor's grave, carry the immortal essence of Faust into the sky.

Conclusion

Tragedy I. In Goethe's "Faust" is a philosophical work in which the author reflects on the eternal theme of confrontation in the world and man of good and evil, reveals the questions of man's knowledge of the secrets of the world, self-knowledge, touches on issues of power, love, honor, justice that are important at any time and many others. Today, Faust is considered one of the pinnacles of German classical poetry. The tragedy is included in the repertoire of the world's leading theaters and has been filmed many times.

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His trace is lost.

Faust by Goethe

Doctor Faust

The theme of Faust reaches its most powerful artistic expression in Goethe's tragedy. The tragedy reflected with considerable relief the whole versatility of Goethe, the whole depth of his literary, philosophical and scientific searches: his struggle for a realistic worldview, his humanism, etc.

If in Prafaust (1774-1775) the tragedy is still fragmentary, then with the appearance of the prologue In Heaven (written 1797, published in 1808), it acquires the grandiose outlines of a kind of humanistic mystery, all the numerous episodes of which are united by the unity of artistic design. Faust grows into a colossal figure. He is a symbol of the possibilities and destinies of mankind. His victory over quietism, over the spirit of denial and disastrous emptiness (Mephistopheles) marks the triumph of the creative forces of humanity, its indestructible vitality and creative power. But on the way to victory, Faust is destined to go through a series of "educational" steps. From the "small world" of burgher everyday life, he enters the "big world" of aesthetic and civic interests, the boundaries of the sphere of his activity are expanding, they include more and more new areas, until the cosmic expanses of the final scenes are revealed before Faust, where the searching creative spirit of Faust merges with creative forces of the universe. The tragedy is permeated with the pathos of creativity. Here there is nothing frozen, unshakable, everything here is movement, development, incessant "growth", a powerful creative process that reproduces itself at ever higher levels.

In this regard, the very image of Faust is significant - a tireless seeker of the "right path", alien to the desire to plunge into inactive peace; the hallmark of Faust's character is "discontent" (Unzufriedenheit), forever pushing him on the path of relentless action. Faust ruined Gretchen, as he grew eagle wings for himself, and they draw him outside the stuffy burgher chamber; he does not close himself in the world of art and perfect beauty, because the realm of classical Helen turns out to be just an aesthetic appearance in the end. Faust longs for a great cause, tangible and fruitful, and he ends his life as the leader of a free people who builds their well-being on a free land, winning the right to happiness from nature. Hell loses its power over Faust. The indefatigably active Faust, having found the "right path", is honored with a cosmic apotheosis. Thus, under the pen of Goethe, the old legend about Faust takes on a profoundly humanistic character. It should be noted that the closing scenes of Faust were written during the period of the rapid rise of young European capitalism and partly reflected the successes of capitalist progress. However, Goethe's greatness lies in the fact that he already saw the dark sides of the new social relations and in his poem tried to rise above them.

The image of Faust in the era of romanticism

At the beginning of the XIX century. the image of Faust attracted romantics with its gothic outlines. Faust is a wandering charlatan of the 16th century. - Appears in Arnim's novel "Die Kronenwächter", I Bd., 1817 (Guardians of the Crown). The legend of Faust was developed by Grabbe (“Don Juan und Faust”, 1829, Russian translation by I. Kholodkovsky in the journal “Vek”, 1862), Lenau (“Faust”, 1835-1836, Russian translation by A. Anyutin [A. V. Lunacharsky], St. Petersburg, 1904, the same, translated by N. A-nsky, St. Petersburg, 1892), Heine ["Faust" (a poem intended for dancing, "Der Doctor Faust". Ein Tanzpoem ..., 1851) and etc.]. Lenau, the author of the most significant development of the theme of Faust since Goethe, portrays Faust as an ambivalent, wavering, doomed rebel.

In vain dreaming of "connecting the world, God and himself," Faust Lenau falls victim to the machinations of Mephistopheles, who embodies the forces of evil and corrosive skepticism that make him related to Goethe's Mephistopheles. The spirit of denial and doubt triumphs over the rebel, whose impulses turn out to be wingless and useless. Lenau's poem marks the beginning of the collapse of the humanistic concept of the legend. Under the conditions of mature capitalism, the theme of Faust in its Renaissance-humanistic interpretation could no longer receive a full-fledged embodiment. The "Faustian spirit" flew away from bourgeois culture, and it is no coincidence that at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. we do not have artistically significant adaptations of the legend of Faust.

Faust in Russia

In Russia, A. S. Pushkin paid tribute to the legend of Faust in his wonderful Scene from Faust. With echoes of Goethe's "Faust" we meet in "Don Giovanni" by A. K. Tolstoy (the prologue, the Faustian features of Don Giovanni, languishing over the solution of life - direct reminiscences from Goethe) and in the story in the letters "Faust" by J.S. Turgenev.

Faust at Lunacharsky

In the XX century. The most interesting development of the theme of Faust was given by A. V. Lunacharsky in his drama for reading Faust and the City (written in 1908, 1916, published by Narkompros, P., in 1918). Based on the final scenes of the second part of Goethe's tragedy, Lunacharsky draws Faust as an enlightened monarch, dominating the country he conquered from the sea. However, the people guarded by Faust is already ripe for liberation from the bonds of autocracy, a revolutionary upheaval is taking place, and Faust welcomes what has happened, seeing in it the realization of his long-standing dreams of a free people in a free land. The play reflects a premonition of a social upheaval, the beginning of a new historical era. The motives of the Faustian legend attracted V. Ya. Bryusov, who left a complete translation of Goethe's Faust (part 1 printed in), the story "The Fiery Angel" (-1908), as well as the poem "Klassische Walpurgisnacht" ().

List of works

• Historia von Dr. Johann Fausten, dem weitbeschreiten Zauberer und Schwartzkünstler etc. (The story of Dr. Faust, the famous wizard and warlock), (1587)
• G. R. Widman, Wahrhaftige Historie etc., (1598)
• Achim von Arnim "Die Kronenwächter" (Guardians of the Crown), (1817)
• Heinrich Heine: Faust (Der Doktor Faust. Ein Tanzpoem), a poem assigned for dancing (1851)
• Theodore Storm: Field-Puppeteer (Pole Poppenspäler), short story (1875)
• Heinrich Mann: Teacher Gnus (Professor Unrat), (1904)
• Thomas Mann: Doctor Faustus (1947)
• Roger Zelazny & Robert Sheckley: "If at Faust you don't succeed" (1993)
• Michael Swanwick: Jack Faust (Jack Faust) (1997)
• Roman Mohlmann: Faust und die Tragodie der Menschheit (2007)

Plays

Rembrandt. "Faust", engraving

• Christopher Marlo: The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus, (1590)
• John Rich: The Necromancer (1723)
• Goethe:
  • Prafaust (Urfaust)
  • Faust, ch. 1 (Faust I)
  • Faust, part 2 (Faust II)
• Friedrich Maximilian Klinger: Faust, his life, deeds and overthrow into hell (Fausts Leben, Thaten und Höllenfahrt) (1791)
• Ernst August Klingemann: Faust (1816)
• Christian Dietrich Grabbe: Don Juan and Faust (1828)
• A. S. Pushkin. Scene from Faust
• Nikolaus Lenau: Faust (1836)
• I. Turgenev. Faust, (1856)
• Friedrich Theodor Fischer: Faust. Tragedy in two parts (Faust. Der Tragödie dritter Teil) (1862)
• A. V. Lunacharsky: Faust and the city, 1908
• Michel de Gelderode. Death of Doctor Faust, 1926
• Dorothy Sayers: (The Devil to Pay) (1939)
• wolfgang bauer: Herr Faust spielt Roulette (Herr Faust plays roulette) (1986)
• Günther Mahal (Hrsg.): Doktor Johannes Faust - Puppenspiel (Dr. Johannes Faust - Puppet Theatre).
• Werner Schwab: Faust: Mein Brustkorb: Mein Helm. (1992)
• Pohl, Gerd-Josef: Faust - Geschichte einer Höllenfahrt, 1995

Faust in the visual arts

Faust in cinema

• Gonzalo Suarez: The Strange Case of Doctor Faust ()
• Brian Yuzna: Faust - prince of darkness ()

Other

The character of the computer game Faust is named after Faust: Seven traps for the soul - playing as Faust must unravel several stories, the character of which was the demon Mephistopheles

Faust also appears in the Guilty Gear anime-style fighting game series. However, unlike the real Faust, this character has nothing to do with Mephistotle, although he was also a doctor. According to the legend of the game, one day a girl died during an operation, and Faust went crazy. Putting a bag on his head and taking his scalpel with him, he began to fight the Gears, trying to protect some of his crazy ideas and principles.

Bibliography

• Faligan Z., Histoire de la légende de Faust, P., 1888;
• Fischer K., Goethes Faust, Bd I. Die Faustdichtung vor Goethe, 3. Aufl., Stuttgart, 1893;
• Kiesewetter C., Faust in der Geschichte und Tradition, Lpz., 1893;
• Frank R., Wie der Faust entstand (Urkunde, Sage und Dichtung), B., 1911;
• Die Faustdichtung vor, neben und nach Goethe, 4 Bde, B., 1913;
• Gestaltungen des Faust (Die bedeutendsten Werke der Faustdichtung, seit 1587), hrsg. v. H. W. Geissler, 3 Bde, Munich, 1927;
• Bauerhorst K., Bibliographie der Stoff- und Motiv-Geschichte der deutschen Literatur, B. - Lpz., 1932;
• Korelin M., Western legend about Dr. Faust, Vestnik Evropy, 1882, book. 11 and 12;
• Frishmut M., Faust type in world literature, Vestnik Evropy, 1887, book. 7-10 (reprinted in the book: Frishmut M., Critical essays and articles, St. Petersburg, 1902);
• Beletsky AI, The legend of Faust in connection with the history of demonology, "Notes of the Neophilological Society at St. Petersburg University", vol. V and VI, 1911-1912;
• Zhirmunsky V., Goethe in Russian Literature, Leningrad, 1937.

See also the articles dedicated to the writers mentioned in this article.

2. Legend of Faust

Even in the early years, Goethe's attention was attracted by the folk legend about Faust, which arose in the 16th century.

In the 16th century, feudalism in Germany suffered its first serious blows. The Reformation destroyed the authority of the Catholic Church; a powerful uprising of the peasants and the urban poor shook the entire feudal-serf system of the medieval empire to its foundations.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that it was precisely in the sixteenth century that the idea of ​​Faust was born and that the image of a thinker boldly daring to penetrate the secrets of nature arose in popular fantasy. He was a rebel, and, like any rebel who undermined the foundations of the old order, the churchmen declared him an apostate who had sold himself to the devil.

For centuries, the Christian Church has inspired ordinary people with ideas of slavish obedience and humility, preaching the renunciation of all earthly goods, educating the people to disbelieve in their own strength. The church zealously guarded the interests of the ruling feudal class, which was afraid of the activity of the exploited people.

The legend of Faust was formed as an expression of passionate protest against this humiliating sermon. This legend reflected faith in man, in the strength and greatness of his mind. She confirmed that neither torture on the rack, nor wheeling, nor bonfires broke this faith among the masses of yesterday's participants in the crushed peasant uprising. In a semi-fantastic form, the image of Faust embodied the forces of progress that could not be strangled among the people, just as it was impossible to stop the course of history.

“How Germany was in love with her Doctor Faust!” Lessing exclaimed. And this love of the people only confirmed the deep folk roots of the legend.

On the squares of German cities, simple structures were erected, stages of a puppet theater, and thousands of citizens followed the adventures of Johann Faust with excitement. Goethe saw such a performance in his youth, and the legend of Faust captured the poet's imagination for life.

By 1773, the first sketches of the tragedy belong. Her last scenes were written in the summer of 1831, six months before Goethe's death.

But the main ideological concept of the great tragedy took shape in the 90s of the 18th century, in the years immediately following the French Revolution.

For the reader, who for the first time joins the artistic world of Faust, many things will seem unusual. Before us is a philosophical drama, a genre characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment. The features of the genre are manifested here in everything: in the nature and motivation of the conflict, in the choice and placement of characters. The severity of the conflict is determined here not just by the clash of human characters, but by the clash of ideas, principles, the struggle of different opinions. The place and time of the action are conditional, that is, they are devoid of precise historical signs.

When do the events in Faust take place? is a difficult question to answer. In Goethe's time? Hardly. In the 16th century, when the legendary warlock Johann Faust lived? But it is quite clear that Goethe did not seek to create a historical drama depicting the people of that time. The displacement of all historical times is especially striking in the second part. Helena, the heroine of an ancient myth (about 1000 BC!) is suddenly transferred to the era of the knightly Middle Ages and meets Faust here. And their son Euphorion was given the features of the 19th century English poet Byron.

Not only the time and place of the action are conditional, but also the images of the tragedy. Therefore, it is impossible to speak of the typicality of the characters depicted by Goethe in the sense that we say, for example, when considering the works of critical realism of the 19th century.

In Margarita you can see the real type of a German girl of the 18th century. But her image in the artistic system of tragedy also plays a special allegorical role: for Faust, she is the embodiment of nature itself. The image of Faust is given universal human features. Mephistopheles is fantastic, and, as we shall see, behind this fantasy there is a whole system of ideas, complex and contradictory.

In this regard, attention should also be paid to the features of the plot in Faust. The plot, as you know, reflects the relationship of the characters. But Faust is not an everyday drama, but a philosophical tragedy. Therefore, the main thing here is not the external course of events, but the movement of Goethe's thought. From this point of view, the unusual prologue that takes place in heaven is also very important. Goethe uses the images of the Christian legend familiar for that time, but, of course, puts into them a completely different content. The hymns of the archangels create a kind of cosmic backdrop. The universe is majestic, everything in nature is in constant motion, in struggle:

Threatening the earth, agitating the waters,

Storms rage and roar

And the formidable chain of forces of nature

The whole world is mysteriously embraced.

There is a deep meaning in the fact that immediately after the end of this hymn to the universe, a dispute begins about man, about the meaning of his existence. The poet, as it were, reveals to us the greatness of the cosmos, and then asks: what is a person in this vast, endless world?

Mephistopheles answers this question with a destructive characteristic of man. A person, even such as Faust, in his opinion, is insignificant, helpless, pathetic. Mephistopheles scoffs at the fact that a person is proud of his mind, considering it empty conceit. This reason, according to Mephistopheles, serves only to the detriment of a person, because it makes him “even more animal than any animal” (in the translation of N. Kholodkovsky: “to be cattle from cattle”).

Goethe puts the humanistic program into the mouth of the Lord, who opposed Mephistopheles with his faith in man. The poet is convinced that Faust will overcome temporary delusions and find the way to the truth:

And let Satan be put to shame!

Know: a pure soul in its vague search

Consciousness of truth is full!

Thus, the prologue not only exposes the main conflict and gives the beginning of the struggle that will unfold around the question of a person's vocation, but also outlines an optimistic resolution of this conflict.

In the first scene we have Faust's office in front of us. The gloomy room with gothic vaults going high up symbolizes that stuffy, tight circle from which Faust seeks to escape "to freedom, to the wide world." The sciences he studied did not bring him closer to knowing the truth. Instead of living nature, it is surrounded by decay and rubbish, "skeletons of animals and bones of the dead."

Desperation drives him to magic. With a magic spell, he summons the Spirit of the Earth, but his secret remains inaccessible to Faust. Nature is immense, the path to its knowledge is difficult. It is not for nothing that Faust recalls the martyrs of thought who were burned at the stake. Before the mind's eye of the poet, probably, the image of Giordano Bruno, condemned to death by the medieval Inquisition, arose.

Faust's thoughts are conveyed in vivid lyrical monologues. The poet finds living colors to convey the complex philosophical reasoning of the hero. In the mouth of Faust, he puts an expressive description of the situation. Faust compares his office with a “deaf stone hole”, into which sunlight barely penetrates through dull colored glass. The books are worm-eaten and covered in dust.

Lush color of living nature, The Creator gave us joy, You exchanged for decay and rubbish, For a symbol of death, for a skeleton! .. - so figuratively Goethe conveys the meaning of the struggle that takes place in the soul of Faust.

But Goethe does not confine himself to this passionate monologue. He reveals the conflict between true science and dead knowledge by confronting Faust with his student Wagner. Wagner is a type of layman in science. Painstakingly rummaging through dusty parchments, shutting himself up in the twilight of a medieval study, Wagner, unlike Faust, is quite satisfied with his lot. He is far from life and is not interested in life:

... Without joyless boredom

Delving into the most boring and empty things;

He seeks treasures with a greedy hand -

And glad when he finds earthworms!

The next scene, "At the City Gates," is one of the most important in Goethe's tragedy.

The action takes place on a green lawn in front of the city gates. You have to really imagine the setting of a medieval German city in order to feel the deep meaning of this scene. The ancient city with narrow streets, surrounded by a fortress wall, a rampart and a moat, appears as a symbol of medieval isolation.

The Easter holiday loses its religious meaning. The people celebrate the resurrection of nature. From musty, cramped houses, from workshops where everyone was chained to his craft, from the darkness of churches,

From the stuffy city to the field, into the light, the people are crowded, lively, dressed up ...

Goethe does not depict this motley crowd of people as one-faced. City burghers, apprentices, servant girls, peasants, soldiers, students - each social group is characterized by a few, but expressive words. With great skill, Goethe uses a variety of poetic rhythms that emphasize social characteristics.

Slowly ponderous is the speech of a burgher who dreams of quiet home comfort and loves to talk on holidays:

Like somewhere in Turkey, in the far side.

The peoples are slaughtered and fighting.

The song of the soldiers sounds like a marching march. They belong to a mercenary army (“Glorious pay for glorious labors!”), And therefore in their song there is not a word about what they are fighting for. Their prowess is aimless, and death in battle is devoid of a halo of glory.

The merry, fervent rhythm of the folk song “The shepherd started to dance” introduces us to the atmosphere of a peasant holiday:

The people swarmed under the lindens, And the frantic dance was in full swing, And the violin was filled.

And here, among the dancing peasants, Faust appears. His whole wonderful monologue permeates the feeling of life, the joy of being, a vivid perception of nature:

Broken ice floes rushed off into the sea;

Spring shines with a lively smile ...

... Everywhere a living aspiration will be born,

Everything wants to grow, in a hurry to blossom,

And if the glade does not bloom yet,

Instead of flowers, the people dressed up.

Faust feels the spring holiday as the resurrection of the people themselves, who leave the narrow confines of the medieval city, as he himself strives to escape from the dead fetters of medieval science.

When the peasants thank Faust for his help during the epidemic, the words of gratitude echo in his soul as a mockery. Faust understands that his science is still powerless to help the people.

In this scene, the contrast between Faust and Wagner is further revealed. Wagner is alienated from the people, afraid and does not understand them. Just as alien to the people is its bookish wisdom. At the end of the scene, Wagner admits that Faust's aspirations are incomprehensible to him. He has only one desire and one joy - to move from book to book, from page to page.

The next scene is decisive for the entire ideological conception of Faust.

Faust dreams of enlightening his people and translating the Gospel into their native language, a book that in those days replaced textbooks. “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was God,” began this book. And the very first line raises a wave of doubts in Faust's soul. “I can’t value a word so highly,” he says.

The word cannot be the engine of progress, the basis for the development of civilization. He changes the text of the translation and confidently writes: "Dejane is the beginning of being."

Not sharing revolutionary views, Goethe at the same time affirmed the idea of ​​progress, continuous movement forward. And he understood that with his activity, creative work, a person would be able to pave his way into the future.

A.M. Gorky wrote about the scene of the translation of the Gospel: "A hundred years before our days, Goethe said:" The beginning of being is in deed. Very clear and rich idea. As if by itself, the same simple conclusion emerges from it: the knowledge of nature, the change of social conditions is possible only through action.

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