Saturday, December 18, 2010

In German: Pact with the Devil vs. the Faustian


For the first time in my life, I realized that the term "Faustian bargain" is not really idiomatic in German. In German, they talk about the "pact," or the "wager," not the "bargain." So I did a search on google books for the phrases "Pakt mit dem Teufel" [pact with the devil] and "das Faustische" [the Faustian]. Note the spike after the Second World War.

2 comments:

  1. This is VERY interesting! The fact that the other search (for faustian bargain) didn't yield much until after the 1960s could also be a reflection of the progression of German literature into English common discussion.

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  2. Actually, Rachel, it looks like Goethe's Faust used to be a much more important topic of conversation in English, long before the 1960s. See my most recent post ...

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