Faust Class 9-16-10

This week’s discussion of Goethe’s Faust began with some background on Goethe himself. Faust was a long-term work of literature, but he also dabbled in different classes of literature such as Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress), Classicism, and Romanticism. There were also various versions of Goethe’s Faust, which eventually led to the Faust we have read. Although Goethe wrote Faust in the 1700s, the story took place in the 1500. Many of the questions that Faust faces in Goethe’s play can be examined during not only these time periods, but also present day.

In Ingrid’s Shafer’s article “Faust Reflected in the Multiple Mirrors of the Christian Spectrum: Science as Diabolic or Divine” she examines a lot of the history of Goethe’s Faust, along with background on the entire Faust legend and religious views of the time. A lot of her article focuses on choices and forgiveness. She notes how some people believe that there is nothing a person can do that God will not forgive, mostly because they believe that God gave man free will. This follows Goethe’s Faust well, seeing as God oversees Faust’s predicament. Shafer also lists various examples of legends of people that also supposedly made pacts with the Devil, all arriving in Heaven forgiven in the end.

Another thing focused on in the article is the quest for knowledge. As we discussed, in Goethe’s Faust the Doctor is fed up with the limited knowledge he can learn on Earth without the help of the paranormal. People really had to contemplate whether Faust was making a good choice seeking help from the Devil to achieve higher standards and whether striving was something God would approve of.