Is Faust a villain or a hero - Essay Example

 Faust Part 1 and Part 2 – Faust as a villain or a hero? Faust, a famous play written by Goethe, is divided into two parts. It is written on the theme of a modern man’s need to find a greater purpose and come to terms with his surroundings. Faust is a well-educated scholar and a man of science but feels that the rational world can only contribute so much to his inner satisfaction and he desires for a taste of the spiritual. The debate on whether Faust should be taken as a hero or as a villain is an intense one, and rather comes down to each person’s own spiritual beliefs, what they perceive to be right or wrong.

Putting those aside, we can find reasons to consider Faust as both a hero and a villain. In my opinion, there are reasons to believe Faust to be a hero but the reasons making him out to be a villain are far stronger. The purpose of human life is far more than most people realize. There are very few people who question it, ponder over it, and try to search for it. Faust realized this and actually tried to work towards getting the answers for his questions. “I HAVE, alas! Philosophy,/ Medicine, Jurisprudence too.

/And to my cost Theology,/ With ardent labour, studied through.” (Faust (Part 1) 21). This line shows how he in humble enough to realize that all his worldly knowledge does not necessarily make him a wise man, rather a fool. He actually confronts his nihilism, and possesses the courage to believe that there exists something higher than this world, than himself, which not many people do. He strives for knowledge and truth, and this effort on his part finally admits him to heaven. Furthermore, in part two, we see how he has many worldly accomplishments which may make him out to be heroic, such as his victories, his position at Imperial Court, Helen of Troy, and many more.

However, this is the only part of the poem where I believe his actions are heroic. The acts he undertakes to actually achieve a sense of inner satisfaction were rather immoral. There are far better, ethically correct ways to connect with the spiritual world, rather than making deals with the devil to sell one’s soul in exchange for a spiritual enlightenment. “I'll pledge myself to be thy servant here, /Still at thy back alert and prompt to be; / But when together yonder we appear, Then shalt thou do the same for me.

” (Faust (Part 1) 64) Moreover, his quest is quite self-centered. His temptations show that he has little regard for the feelings of others, and drags them along just for his own satisfaction. An example of this is of Gretchen. He hopes that emotional involvement would help him find what he is looking for. In the process, he also drags Gretchen along with him and sets her on a path to damnation. “Good heavens ! how all things far and near / Must fill his mind, — a man like this ! / Abash'd before him I appear.

/ And say to all things only, yes. / Poor simple child, I cannot see, / What 'tis that he can find in me.” (Faust (Part 1) 136) Gretchen was initially shown as an innocent, romantic girl who gets easily lured by Mephistopheles’ and Faust’s false pretences, and submits to sinful ways. He feels lust towards her, but in his quest for inner peace, he should have been trying to put aside his worldly desires and focus on the spirituality of his love; rather, he gives in to those desires by a little coaxing by Mephistopheles.

“Fiend, help me to cut short the hours of dread ! / Let what must happen, happen speedily ! / Her direful doom fall crushing on my head, / And into ruin let her plunge with me.” (Faust (Part 1) 141) His selfishness reached to the point where he willed for her to have the same fate as him, to burn in hell, just so that he can satisfy his lust. He does not pay any heed to the possible consequences of his actions, of her welfare, or for his own ethical values. His bitter death, his inability to find peace despite searching so long for it, but still being admitted to heaven as a reward for his efforts, may all seem to give him a heroic status but the ways he went about looking for truth painted him in a bad light, and made him out to be a villain.

Therefore, yes, Faust is both a hero and a villain in the play, but his status as a villain is far more impressionable than that of a hero. Works Cited: Goethe, Johann W. Tragedy of Faust. Hoboken, N.J: BiblioBytes, 1990. Internet resource. Goethe, Johann W, and George M. Priest. Faust. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1955. Print. Simpson, James. Goethe and Patriarchy: Faust and the Fates of Desire. Oxford: Legenda, 1998. Print.