The image of Faust in the tragedy of Goethe

In the image of the main hero of the Faust tragedy, Goethe sees not only the reflection of himself, but also the man of his time, the period of the Enlightenment, the flowering of German culture and philosophy.

Goethe and Enlightenment

Johann Wolfgang Goethe certainly combined all the signs of genius. He was a poet, a prose writer, an outstanding thinker, an ardent supporter of romanticism. It is on it that one of the greatest eras in Germany ends - the Enlightenment. The man of his country, Goethe was instantly accepted into the ranks of the most outstanding German philosophers. His sharp style immediately began to compare with Voltaire.

Biography

Goethe was born in 1749 in a wealthy family of patricians. He taught the basics of all sciences at home. Later the poet entered the University of Leipzig, but this was not enough for him. He also graduated from the University of Strasbourg. After the treatise "The Sufferings of a Young Werther" was published, world fame came to him.

Goethe for a long time occupied an administrative position under the Saxe-Weimar Duke. There he tried to self-actualize, convey the advanced ideas of the century to all the rest and serve the public good. Becoming prime minister of Weimar, he became disillusioned with politics. His active position did not allow him to engage in creativity.

Italian Period

The writer fell into depression and went to rebuild his forces in Italy, the country of the Renaissance, the masterpieces of da Vinci, Raphael, the philosophical quest for truth. It was there that his style of writing developed. He again begins to write stories and philosophical narratives. On his return, Goethe retains the post of Minister of Culture and the work of the head of the local theater. The Duke of the soul does not like in his friend Schiller and often consults with him in the important affairs of the country's politics.

Goethe and Schiller

One of the turning points in the life and work of Johann Wolfgang was the acquaintance with Schiller. Two first-class authors not only together develop the Weimar classicism, founded by Goethe, but also constantly push one another to new masterpieces. Under the influence of Schiller, Goethe wrote several novels and continues to work on "Faust", which Friedrich wanted so much to see. Nevertheless, "Faust" came out only in 1806, when Schiller was no longer alive. The first part was created under the relentless tracking of Eckermann, Goethe's personal secretary, who insisted on the publication of the tragedy. The second part was issued posthumously at the behest of the author himself.

The tragedy "Faust"

Without exaggeration, it can be stated that "Faust" is the main work of the poet. The tragedy in two parts was written for sixty years. According to "Faust" one can also judge how the evolution of the literary creativity passed. Creating fragments at certain periods of his life, Goethe concluded in this tragedy the whole meaning of life.

Dr. Faustus

The poet did not invent the main line of the plot, he took it from folk tales. Later, many writers will retell the story of Faust through the very thinker, weaving this story into the basis of his books. And Goethe learned about this legend when he was only five years old. He saw a puppet theater as a boy. In it they told a terrible fairy tale.

The legend is partly based on real events. Once lived Johann-Georg Faust, a doctor by profession. He engaged in the fact that he traveled from town to town and offered his services. If traditional medicine did not help, he took up magic, astrology and even alchemy. Doctors more successful and well-known in their midst said that Faust was a simple charlatan that could hold any naive person. The healer's students at the university, where he did not teach for long, spoke with great warmth about the doctor, considering him a truth seeker. The Lutherans called him the devil's servant. Faust's image seemed to them in all dark corners.

The real Faust died in very mysterious circumstances, quite suddenly, in 1540. Then they began to build legends and build conjectures about him.

The image of Faust in the tragedy of Goethe

The work about Faust is a long way of life for a person who is endowed with a special view of the world, an ability to feel, experience, be disappointed and hope. The protagonist concludes a deal with the devil only because he wants to understand all the secrets of the world. He wants to find the elusive truth of being, to find the truth, constantly searching desperately for more and more new knowledge. Soon he realizes that he himself will not be able to find answers to the questions, he will not be able to disclose all the secrets.

For the sake of knowledge, the hero is ready to pay any price. After all, everything that is in Faust's life, everything that moves him, is a quest. Goethe gives the hero a full gamut of all existing emotions. In the work he is in ecstasy from the fact that he discovered a grain of new information, then on the verge of suicide.

The main task of the hero is not just to know the world, but to understand oneself. The image of Faust in the tragedy "Faust" reminds something of a perpetuum mobile. His life does not rotate in a circle, does not return to its origins. He constantly goes only forward, making new discoveries, exploring the unknown. For the acquisition of knowledge, he pays his soul. Faust is perfectly aware of what he wants, and for this is ready to cause the devil.

The main positive features that absorbed the image of Faust in the tragedy "Faust" - is perseverance, curiosity, benevolence. The main character is not just trying to master new knowledge, he wants to help others with the help of them.

The image of Faust in the tragedy of Goethe also has negative qualities: the desire to get knowledge immediately, with vanity, doubts, carelessness.

The protagonist of this work teaches that you can not look back and regret something, you need to live the present, look for what makes a person happy. Despite the horrendous deal, Faust lived an absolutely happy life, never having regretted it until the last moment.

Image of Marguerite

Margarita - a modest girl, naive in many matters, has become the main temptation for an already middle-aged hero. She turned the whole world of the scientist and made him regret that he does not have power over time. The poet himself was very fond of the image of Marguerite in the tragedy "Faust", probably identifying him with the biblical Eve, who gave the forbidden fruit to Adam.

If all the years of his life Faust relied on his mind, then, meeting on the street this common at first glance girl, he begins to rely on the heart and feelings. Margarita after a meeting with Faust begins to change. She lulls her mother to go on a date. The girl is not as carefree as one might think in her first description. It is a direct proof that appearance can be deceiving. Having met Mephistopheles, the girl subconsciously understands that it is better to avoid them.

The image of Margarita Goethe took from the street of his time. The writer often saw nice and kind girls, whom fate casts to extremes. They can not get out of their midst and are doomed to spend their lives the way women of their family did. Striving for more, these girls are falling down more and more.

Having found her happiness in Faust, Margarita believes in a better outcome. However, a series of tragic events prevents her from enjoying love. Her brother is killed by Faust himself, not wishing that. He curses his sister before his death. On this the misfortunes do not end, and, having suffered more than due, having gone mad, Margarita gets to prison. At the time of complete despair, the higher powers save her.

The image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy "Faust"

Mephistopheles is a fallen angel who leads an eternal dispute with God about good and evil. He believes that man is so spoiled that, yielding to even a small temptation, can easily give him his soul. The angel is confident that humanity is not worth saving. Faust, according to Mephistopheles, will always be on the side of evil.

In one of the lines of the work Mephistopheles is described as a devil, who previously had sharp claws, horns and a tail. He does not like scholasticism, preferring to go away from boring sciences. Being evil, it helps, without knowing it, to find the truth to the hero. The image of Mephistopheles in Faust is complicated from contradictions.

Often in conversations and disputes with Faust, Mephistopheles manifests himself as a true philosopher who watches with interest the deeds of man and progress. Nevertheless, when he communicates with other people or evil spirits, he selects other images for himself. He does not lag behind the interlocutor and supports conversations on any topic. Mephistopheles himself several times says that he does not have absolute power. The main decision always depends on the person, and he can only use the wrong choice.

Many of Goethe's thoughts were invested in the image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy "Faust." They expressed themselves in the sharp criticism of feudalism. At the same time, the devil is profiting from the naive realities of the capitalist stand.

Despite the superficial resemblance between the demon and the protagonist, the image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy "Faust" is absolutely opposite to him in the main. Faustus seeks wisdom. And Mephistopheles believes that there is no wisdom. He believes that the search for truth is an empty occupation, because it does not exist.

Researchers believe that the image of Mephistopheles in Faust is the subconscious of the doctor himself, his fears of the unknown. At the moment when good starts to fight evil, the demon talks to the protagonist. At the end of the work Mephistopheles remains with nothing. Faust voluntarily acknowledges that he has achieved the ideal, has learned the truth. After that, his soul goes to the angels.

Hero of All Time

The eternal image of Faust became the prototype for many heroes of the new literature. Nevertheless, he seems to be completing a whole string of literary "loners", accustomed to fighting life's problems on their own. Certainly, the image of Faust has the notes of the sad thinker Hamlet or the expressive defender of mankind, desperate Don Quixote, and even Don Juan. At Faustus Faustus is most like his desire to come to the truth in the occult sciences, the secrets of the universe. However, at a time when Faust knows no boundaries in his search, Don Juan stops at the needs of the flesh.

Each of these heroes has its own antipodes, which make their images more complete and partially reveal the inner monologue of each. Don Quixote has Sancho Panza, Don Juan has assistant Sganarelle, and Faust fights in philosophical battles with Mephistopheles.

Effect of the work

After the publication of the tragedy about a desperate lover of knowledge, many philosophers, culturologists, and researchers have found the image of Faust Goethe so fascinating that they even identified a similar type of man whom Spengler called "Faustian". These are people who realize infinity and freedom and are eager for it. Even at school, children are asked to write an essay, the image of Faust in which should be fully disclosed.

On the literature this tragedy had a significant impact. Inspired by the novel, poets and prose writers began to reveal the image of Faust in their creations. Hints on him are in the works of Byron, Grabbe, Lenau, Pushkin, Heine, Mann, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Bulgakov.