Faust, Mephistopheles and a Deal

We begin with the Prologue of Goethe's Faust.  We first hear the angel Raphael hail the the glorious eternal creations of God.  Mephistopholes, however, only sees base human nature as that which is eternal.  God, as a sort of synthesis of these two views, notes that it is the devil's role to goad and prod human beings, whereas the angels are supposed to fix securely those things which are fleeting.  Humanity is between angels and the devil.  We are constantly growing and in a process of becoming something new.  Hence, human failure is what happens when we are stagnant and caught in stasis.  The devil is a source of constant growth and change.  While the devil is a destructive force, it is also true that new creation is preceded by darkness and destruction.  Light can only come from darkness.  So, too, the devil seems to be a precondition for good and positive creation.

At the beginning of the Faust story, Faust laments that although he has much knowledge and wisdom, he still ignorant.  He laments how much is still unknown to him.  After studying books his whole life, he decides to turn towards magic because he thinks it will give him direct experience of the world.  This is somewhat similar to the actual historical person upon whom Faust is based, since he first studied and taught at universities before becoming a wandering charlatan.  Dr. Pan notes that the tension between academic knowledge and real life experience was also present in the overall development of Europe in the 15th-17th centuries, a time when the original Faustbuch  was used as a tale of warning.  In the original version of the story, Faust may have had access to all sorts of worldly goods, but he was unsatisfied by these things and was ultimately damned for his life.  The narrator of this original tale also warns that scientists may appear to know things, but they lack heavenly salvation.  Contrast this with Goethe's story, in which Faust first begins with a commitment to theoretical knowledge and then later decides to seek salvation through action and deeds.

This is the most notable difference between Goethe's story and earlier versions.  In original versions, Faust traded his soul for 24 years of the devil's service.  Specifically, Faust is interested in worldly, physical pleasures.  In Goethe's story, however, in lines 1672-97, Faust makes specific claims that he does not want worldly pleasures and leisure.  Rather, Faust says he wants only that he never be satisfied.  Faust says that if the day ever comes where he is satisfied, he will let the devil take his soul.  If Faust were always to strive, then he would win the bet and continue to have the devil in his service.  However, if he should ever become satisfied with his life, he will lost the bet and his soul.  Faust thinks this is a pretty good deal, since if he were to ever stop trying to become something more than himself, he would be a slave anyway (1710-11).