"Cliff Notes - Faust" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

FAUST: PARTS I AND II: FAUST

While Faust has clearly recognizable human characteristics, he is
larger than life. He embodies the best and the worst in man, and in
many ways he is a symbol of all humanity. Faust is involved in most
of the scenes, but he probably reveals himself most clearly through
his monologues and through his conversations with Mephistopheles.
The monologues show a man without satisfaction or inner peace,
always striving. He is continually reaching for more knowledge, more
power, more experience. He is also changeable, given to despair when
he can't get what he wants. His striving leads inevitably to failure.
Some readers have seen these failures as Faust's tragedy, for
everything he touches turns to dust. But in these failures he
represents humanity, for, as the Lord declares in the Prologue in
Heaven, man must make mistakes while he strives.

On one important score, Faust comes out ahead. He bets
Mephistopheles that he will never find one moment so fulfilling that
he will say to it, "Stay, Thou art so fair!" Faust never does. So he
frustrates the Devil and justifies the Lord's confidence in him. It
is for his striving, his never giving in, that he is finally saved
and his soul carried upward.

In Faust's relations with Mephistopheles you see an arrogant,
impatient man, who uses any means available to get what he wants.
Faust is absolutely clear about his relationship to Mephistopheles--
Mephistopheles is a servant. In his other relations, you see the
brilliance of Faust, why he has the genius to represent humanity. He
is capable of passionate romantic love, of courageous action, of
large-scale organization. He will probably win your sympathy, even
in his ill-fated affair with Gretchen. Try to imagine what it must
be like to pick up the pieces of your life after you have caused the
destruction of a beautiful young girl and three other innocent
people (her mother, brother, and baby). Faust does it.

You may admire Faust more than you like him. It's hard to think of
relating to him, although you may recognize parts of his character
in your own actions and those of people around you. Because he is
all of us, he isn't really any one of us.


FAUST: PARTS I AND II: MEPHISTOPHELES

It may seem strange, but some think that Mephistopheles, the Devil,
is more human than Faust. Mephistopheles is a cynic, and cuts things
down to size with his quick wit. He calls the Lord an "old gent,"
satirizes the university faculty, teases the mythological creatures
he meets on the Peneios River, and ends scenes with comments that