The Tragic Ending of Faust:
An Interpretation of Faust II, Act V, Lines 11678-11829
In Part II, Act V, line 11678-11829 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, Faust’s soul is rescued by angels. There have been many scholars that have interpreted this scene as representing the redemption of the protagonist after a life of evil and destruction (Van der Laan, 67). That view has now largely been rejected. An alternative reading of this scene would be to deny Faust any identity at all, and to subsequently attribute no special significance to the episode relating to the development of Faust’s character. I will briefly indicate why that idea is also mistaken, and I will show what the significance of the scene is in relation to the actions …show more content…
Lines 11043 to 11384 from Part II, Act V, show the actions of Faust’s companions and its nefarious consequences. Scene one (II, V, 11385-11510) shows Faust’s struggle with Care (Sorge) by whom he is blinded. Scene two (II, V, 11511-11579) shows the continuation of Faust’s projects and scene three (II, V, 11580-11587) shows that Faust enjoys the moment of his enterprise, after which he dies. Scene four (II, V, 11605-11675) show the burial of Faust by Mephistopheles. Scene five (II, V, 11678-11829) shows the saving of Faust by angels. An important theme throughout these aforementioned scenes is Faust’s desire for action, which becomes apparent through his land winning project and the destruction that his actions cause. A striking image of aforementioned destruction is the burning of the trees in the garden of Philemon and Baucis: “Was sich sonst dem Blick empfohlen mit Jahrhunderten ist hin (II, V, 11336-1137).” When Faust partly realises his mistakes and redirects his ambition for the common good, it is clear that his ambition is deluded and that his utopian plans will end in …show more content…
There is, of course, a fundamental difference in worldview but the similarities are clearly delineated. First of all, Oedipus, like Faust, is responsible for destruction: Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus too is a man of action, and all his actions lead him to go astray. Both Faust and Oedipus are groping in the dark. The supreme example of how Faust erred is the instance where he thinks that labourers are working at his project, while in reality they are digging at his grave: “Wie das Geklirr der Spaten mich ergetzt (11539, II, V)!” Both Faust and Oedipus go from figurative to literal blindness. If we then view the apotheosis of Faust in the light of this typological interpretation, its function becomes more clear. It first of all underlines the tragic characteristics of Faust’s quest. Faust struggled with the powers of the universe and he lost. The fact that the angels save his soul, elevates him to the status of a hero and a divine being. It is his final ascent, just like the apotheosis of Oedipus in Kolonos is his final ascent to the realm of the gods. This pagan ending of Faust might be seen as a rejection of the Christian tradition, namely the inversion of the damnation of Faust as it can be found in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. In this respect, the fact that Faust’s soul is saved by angels indirectly
An Interpretation of Faust II, Act V, Lines 11678-11829
In Part II, Act V, line 11678-11829 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, Faust’s soul is rescued by angels. There have been many scholars that have interpreted this scene as representing the redemption of the protagonist after a life of evil and destruction (Van der Laan, 67). That view has now largely been rejected. An alternative reading of this scene would be to deny Faust any identity at all, and to subsequently attribute no special significance to the episode relating to the development of Faust’s character. I will briefly indicate why that idea is also mistaken, and I will show what the significance of the scene is in relation to the actions …show more content…
Lines 11043 to 11384 from Part II, Act V, show the actions of Faust’s companions and its nefarious consequences. Scene one (II, V, 11385-11510) shows Faust’s struggle with Care (Sorge) by whom he is blinded. Scene two (II, V, 11511-11579) shows the continuation of Faust’s projects and scene three (II, V, 11580-11587) shows that Faust enjoys the moment of his enterprise, after which he dies. Scene four (II, V, 11605-11675) show the burial of Faust by Mephistopheles. Scene five (II, V, 11678-11829) shows the saving of Faust by angels. An important theme throughout these aforementioned scenes is Faust’s desire for action, which becomes apparent through his land winning project and the destruction that his actions cause. A striking image of aforementioned destruction is the burning of the trees in the garden of Philemon and Baucis: “Was sich sonst dem Blick empfohlen mit Jahrhunderten ist hin (II, V, 11336-1137).” When Faust partly realises his mistakes and redirects his ambition for the common good, it is clear that his ambition is deluded and that his utopian plans will end in …show more content…
There is, of course, a fundamental difference in worldview but the similarities are clearly delineated. First of all, Oedipus, like Faust, is responsible for destruction: Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus too is a man of action, and all his actions lead him to go astray. Both Faust and Oedipus are groping in the dark. The supreme example of how Faust erred is the instance where he thinks that labourers are working at his project, while in reality they are digging at his grave: “Wie das Geklirr der Spaten mich ergetzt (11539, II, V)!” Both Faust and Oedipus go from figurative to literal blindness. If we then view the apotheosis of Faust in the light of this typological interpretation, its function becomes more clear. It first of all underlines the tragic characteristics of Faust’s quest. Faust struggled with the powers of the universe and he lost. The fact that the angels save his soul, elevates him to the status of a hero and a divine being. It is his final ascent, just like the apotheosis of Oedipus in Kolonos is his final ascent to the realm of the gods. This pagan ending of Faust might be seen as a rejection of the Christian tradition, namely the inversion of the damnation of Faust as it can be found in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. In this respect, the fact that Faust’s soul is saved by angels indirectly