The Many Faces of Faust

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
(Jesus) Mark 8:36

Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.
(Bob Marley)

The famous Faust story has had many an incarnation down the centuries. Each variation of the story involves a man who enters into a pact with the devil to get material success, wealth, fame, power etc. in exchange for his soul and becoming the devil's eternal servant once he dies.

The Real Dr Faust

The stories are based on Dr Johannes Faustus, a German alchemist and teacher who lived in the sixteenth century. Dr Faustus was believed to have been a conman, practical joker and a child molester.

According to Manly P. Hall, Dr Faustus experimented with conjuring up a number of elemental beings to work as his servant.

One morning he was found stabbed in the back. He is believed to have been killed by one of his own elemental creatures.

Faust in Fiction

One of the first versions of the Faust story is the play by Christopher Marlowe called The Tragical History of Dr Faustus.

Unlike succeeding versions of the tale, Marlowe's Faust is ripped apart by demons and dragged off to hell screeching and wailing.

Ironically like the original Dr Faustus, the playwright Christopher Marlowe met his end by being stabbed to death.

The most famous theatrical work on Faust is the play by Goethe which has a more upbeat ending, for, like Mr Punch, Faust eventually triumphs over the devil.

There is also an opera by Gounod called Faust as featured in the novel the Phantom of the Opera.

And there is a second opera composed by Arrigo Borito based on the story called Mefistofele which features in the 2005 film Batman Begins just before Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered.

Mister Mephistopheles

In the Faust legend, the Devil is called Mephistopheles.

This name for the Devil seems to have emerged during the Renaissance Period. In some legends, he is the Devil himself. In other legends, he is one of the Fallen Angels that joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God.

The Faustian pact storyline has continued to be a favourite formula in movies and theatre. Variations of the Faust plot can be found in the musical Damn Yankees and the film The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).

A remake of The Devil and Daniel Webster – with Ghost Whisperer Jennifer Love Hewitt as the Devil (?!) – was made in 2001. The making of the film seemed to have been dogged by the Devil himself.

Directed by Alec Baldwin, its release was delayed until 2007. The director's name was removed from the directorial credit and the film was recut and renamed Shortcut to Happiness.

To end on a musical note, I don’t have any opera clips but I did find this.

[Cue cheesy musical moment]

Related Posts

The Strange Deaths of Christopher Marlowe

Portraits of the Beast

The Phantom of the Opera

John Dee and the Angels