Ronald Sebastien Lagare

BSED – English 4
October 26, 2018

RESEARCH ESSAY

Sin, Redemption and Damnation in Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragic History of

Doctor Faustus

OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTION

A. DOCTOR FAUSTUS: FATE OF FREE WILL?

B. DOCTOR FAUSTUS’ DESIRES

II. THE COVENANT BETWIXT FAUSTUS AND THE DEVIL

III. FAUSTUS’ TRANSGRESSIONS

IV. THE CALL TO REPENTANCE

V. FAUSTUS’ HAMARTIA

VI. CONCLUSION

I. Introduction

A. Doctor Faustus: Fate or Free Will?

 The drama Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe, depicts the tragic life of a

scholar, John Faustus, who is destined to damnation by resorting to black magic. By

signing his soul to the devil, Faustus gains power and knowledge through the art of

necromancy. However, at the end of his twenty-four year period, the term he has

agreed upon, he is seized and dragged to hell by the devils, as he realizes his folly too

late. Faustus is damned through his free will because he has constant warnings to

repent to God, and yet ignores them completely; his point of no return occurs once his

good angel or conscience gives up and leaves him. This is contrary to the Calvinism (a

branch of protestant Christianity started by John Calvin), who believes that people are

predestined to be either saved in heaven or damned in hell. In other words, they are

born fated to go to one or the other and there's nothing they can do to change that. – as

stated in https://bit.ly/2RgQdES.

B. Doctor Faustus’ Desires

“No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in,

and make no effort to escape from.” - https://bit.ly/2SyqCZA. A rather straight forward

quote from George Eliot, yet, one in which with its simplicity describes Christopher

Marlowe’s “The Tragic History of Dr. Faustus” well. There are many cases throughout

history that depict characters who are overzealous with regard to their desire for

knowledge or for power. One of the most important of these stories is the first tale of

human’s hunger for unreachable power. It is that of Adam and Eve and the manner in

which they disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge. In the play “The Tragic

History of Dr. Faustus”, the same battle that has consumed humans as exhibited in the
character of Dr. Faustus. He fights a battle that has been fought by all: that for

perfection. And yet he is never able to achieve this because of his inherent human

nature to never feel satisfied. Doctor Faustus, a respected German scholar, is bored

with the traditional types of knowledge available to him. He wants more than logic,

medicine, law, and religion. He wants magic. “No longer satisfied with worldly

knowledge, Faustus turns to Necromancy, or black magic, which offers him new other

worldly knowledge, and thus, power”. https://goo.gl/jsrxhr.

II. The Covenant Betwixt Faustus and the Devil

Using Mephistophilis as a messenger, Faustus strikes a deal with Lucifer; he is

allotted 24 years of life on Earth. During which time, he has Mephistopheles as his

personal servant and is able to use magic; however, at the end, he gives his body and

soul over to Lucifer as payment and spend the rest of time to Hell to be damned. This

deal is sealed in the form of a contract written in Faustus' own blood. After cutting his

arm, the wound is divinely healed and the Latin words “Homo, fuge!” ("Man, flee!") then

appear upon it. “Faustus’s body tells him to fly from Hell; its desires and mortal fragility

also drive him to seek out control over death and his afterlife by making a bargain that

ensures his damnation.” - Emily Atkinson (Academia.com) - https://goo.gl/ivdijr

Despite the dramatic nature of this divine intervention, Faustus disregards the

inscription with the assertion that he is already damned by his actions thus far and

therefore left with no place to flee. Mephistopheles brings embers to break the wound

open again, and thus Faustus is able to take his oath written in his own blood. Even as
he seals the bargain that promises his soul to hell, Faustus is repeatedly filled with

worries, which is a direct symbolism in the verbal duels between the good and evil

angels. His body seems to rebel against the choices that he has made—his blood

congeals preventing him from signing the compact; thus, “Homo, fuge!” that appears on

his arm is a written warning telling him to fly away – an advice from God.

There are three main things that are highlighted following Faustus’ pact with

Lucifer: Faustus’ transgressions (Sin), the call to repentance (Redemption) and his

hamartia (Damnation).

III. Faustus’ Transgressions

Faustus lists a lot of goals that seem somewhat ridiculous and grandiose but

inspire awe in anyone who witnesses it. He imagines himself becoming a king, all-

powerful. He turns his back on religion, too, purposefully misinterpreting Christian

doctrine to suit his feelings. He notes that the reward of sin is death:

“Why then, belike, we must sin,

And so consequently die.
Ay, we must die, an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this? Che sera, sera.
“What will be, shall be.” Divinity, adieu!” – Christopher Marlowe
Faustus believes that since all men sin, all are condemned to death, so he might

as well sin as much as he wants. He conveniently ignores the Christian belief that God

will forgive anyone who is truly repentant. Dr. Faustus is determined to become a

necromancer, and he employs the aid of Lucifer if that is what it takes. Not only does
Faustus turn his back on God, he profanes God’s name to summon the demon

Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles appears, but not because of Faustus’ summons. He

explains that demons naturally appear when people curse God, in order to take their

souls. Already, Faustus believes he has more power than he actually does. Furthermore

upon the devil’s pact, Faustus commits the seven deadly sins – Envy when he wants to

be powerful like God; Covetousness when he wants to get more and more, Pride when

he feels that he is more superior than others, Wrath when outraged that he is not able to

do anything in his life as he is intelligent, Gluttony when he wants much more power

and position than others, Sloth, and Lust when he visits an island full of beautiful

whores.

IV. The Call to Repentance

Faustus is offered salvation continually throughout the play and yet he turns it

down. As based in Sparknotes – https://bit.ly/2Dbes4f, in scene one, the ‘Good Angel’

continually encourages Faustus to repent and seek salvation. ‘The Evil Angel’ tries to

turn Faustus away from God by keeping him interested in magic. In scene five, Faustus

considers contrition, prayer, and repentance, but eventually rejects them. As he has

turned away from thoughts of heavenly things, he wonders about the kingdom of hell

and why Lucifer wants his soul. Mephistophilis explains that Lucifer wants to enlarge his

kingdom. When Faustus tries to sign the deed in blood, the wound on his arm congeals,

which makes him pause and consider whether to continue. But he decides to go

through with it saying "It is finished," the same words Jesus says on the cross before he

dies (John 19:30). Faustus has essentially killed his spiritual self for the glories of the
earth. An inscription on his arm appears, warning Faustus to flee, but Mephistophilis

distracts Faustus with a promenade of worldly things. In scene six, Faustus comes

close to repentance when he calls on the name of Christ, but Lucifer interferes and

reminds Faustus to keep his promise of not bringing up anything related to God. In

scene 11, As Faustus realizes that he is near death, he begins to think again about

whether he can be forgiven. With the thought that Jesus forgave the thief even on the

cross, Faustus falls asleep. And in scene 13, Faustus takes a step toward repentance,

but still hesitates to fully trust in the mercy of God. Before he can fully repent,

Mephistophilis comes to stop him. Faustus misses another chance and instead, repents

to Lucifer for turning from his vow.

V. Faustus’ Hamartia
From the starting itself, Faustus has been doomed. He does not repent despite

the numerous instances when the good angel exhorted him. Has he repented, he would

not have received this severe punishment of eternal suffering in hell. He has been

tricked by Mephostophiles and Lucifer into believing that he leads to a content life. Even

when he is being torn apart by the devils at the end of the stipulated 24 years, he does

not repent, even though he wants to. He believes he has gone too far into evil ways that

God would not forgive him. He forgets that God is merciful, and would have accepted

him despite all his transgressions. He could have saved himself from eternal damnation,

but being a tragic character, he accepts that he has been wrong and hence has to face

the consequences of his actions.

VI. Conclusion
“Doctor Faustus” is a lesson of morality. The never ending conflict between good

and evil is vividly exposed and until today, every person still sees and experiences such

a conflict. Having read “Doctor Faustus”, one surely makes a deep contemplation of all

the negligence one makes instead of expressing gratitude to God, the Almighty. When

divinity is abandoned, damnation is sure to come, crushing all to a total demolition and

when such a time comes, atonement will be of no use. Even today, the name `Faustus'

has become familiar to anyone engaged in English Literature with an idiomatic

expression of `Faustus Bargain', which means a deal made to quench thirst of earthly

possessions with a high risk of short-lived benefits and a hell of a price -

https://bit.ly/2qjGZfn. Dr. Faustus is not an epitome of achievement but an easily-

obtained damnation. Faustus leaves God and abuses religion without realizing that

religion helps individuals interpret life, and acquire a sense of meaning and purpose.
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https://bit.ly/2RgQdES