Tragedy, Comedy & Irony

Dr. Pan points out that although the main storyline is a tragedy, there are also elements of comedy and irony.  For example, in lines 2831-40, Goethe seems to be making fun of the Catholic church by saying that it has an iron stomach and is able to consume states and countries through imperialistic means in spite of the fact that the church preaches anti-materialism.  Goethe uses Mephistopheles as a means to criticize this hypocrisy.  In lines 1990-2000, Mephistopheles makes fun of academia, noting that words can often take the place of thoughts and concepts.  In 2985-97, the devil notes that bourgeois marriage is not about eternal love but about self-interest.  A woman may pretend to mourn for her dead husband, but only while looking for a new groom.  Here we have three examples of institutions that Goethe criticizes for being hypocritical.  We can then see that Faust can appear as a hero acting in his own individual interests in the face of these unjust social institutions.

Another point where humor comes into the play is the Walpurgis Night scene.  In lines 3956-61, the witches announce their procession in a way that focuses on fart jokes and bodily humor.  In lines 4056-59, the devil commends them for their freedom.  Dr. Pan wants us to see this as an alternative to the restrictive social setting in which the tragedy happens.  The witches represent a free society from which we can critique an overly repressive social order.  In lines 4123-43, we do have some critical discussion in the midst of debauchery and thinly veiled pornographic language.  Dr. Pan thinks that this is meant to be a shift from operetta to burlesque, where we go from taking this seriously to making fun of it.  Then, the rational proctophantasmist comes in to criticize their debauchery.  In turn, Faust criticizes this man for not experiencing the world.  However, our rational enlightened gentleman believes that such folly and superstition cannot be real anyway.  

We can thus see that the Walpurgis Night can be read as a utopian alternative to the oppressive world of Christian Morals. It is a place of freedom, it is a place where the enlightened individual has no spiritual concerns and it is a place where there is no prejudice against "witches" or against liberated women like Margaret. Alternatively, we can read this scene as quite sinister.  At one point, during lines 4183-4200, Faust thinks he sees his beloved Gretchen, but the devil diverts him from that with the Walpurgis Night.  Hence we can read this scene as supposed to be representative of the devil's intentional distraction of Faust.  Mephistopheles seems to want to distract Faust from caring about Margaret in order to serve destructive and evil forces.  In fact, the scene also distracts the audience from the tragedy of the overall storyline. We can also see how this scene might be read as representative of Faust's own individualistic nature.

Dr. Pan then turns towards the role of the devil in this play.  Does he help Faust to strive or does he impede Faust's striving?  In lines 1851-67, it seems that the devil intends to distract Faust from striving by tempting him with material pleasures.  The devil does a number of harmful things.  First, he provides the sleeping potion which kills Margaret's mother.  Second, he defends Faust from Valentine, who Faust later kills.  He also provides Faust with Margaret, but Margaret is then subjected to tragedy.  He also rescues Faust from jail, but he leaves Gretchen to be executed.  The devil emphasizes (in the Gloomy Day scene) that Faust himself made the choices that led to violence.  In this reading, it seems that the devil is mostly a meddler meant to ruin Faust's life.  We can also read the devil character as being someone who encourages Faust's striving.  In lines 3278-92, Mephistopheles seems to make fun of Faust's feeling of power as being self-indulgent. Another thing to consider is Faust's view on his relationship with Margaret.  In lines 3345-65, Faust seems to acknowledge that it is his individualistic commitment to constant striving that will conflict with her static conventionalism.  In spite of the fact that he realizes that there is this essential tension, he accepts the incompatibility as an unfortunate fact.  He chooses to continue in spite of knowing that his choices will mean tragedy for others.  This is different from a normal tragedy because it is not the hero who suffers but everyone else who suffers as a result of his choices.