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

puncture inflated sentiments. Several explanations have been given
for Mephistopheles' name, including that it derives from the Greek,
Me-phaustophiles, meaning "No Friend of Faust" and that it comes
from the Hebrew Mephiztophel, "corrupter and liar."

In Faust, Mephistopheles is the spirit of negation, "the spirit that
always denies." In that respect, he is the exact opposite of God,
who is the spirit of creation. Why did Goethe make Mephistopheles
seem so human? Some readers believe that Goethe wanted to suggest
that this spirit of negation is within man. Others believe that
Goethe didn't think man was simple enough to fall for a stupid devil.
Because man has intellect, they argue, the Devil must have intellect.
Some even see Mephistopheles as the symbol of intellect without
feeling.

Mephistopheles is a servant, both of God and of Faust, and has the
soul of a servant, of a person who must obey but resents it and
takes every opportunity to assert what domination he can. He is a
servant of God because he is a part of Creation; he has to exist in
order for good to exist. He is a servant of Faust because God allows
it. But he isn't always willing to do what his master wants,
especially at critical moments. He messes up orders, often with
disastrous effects on innocents like Baucis and Philemon. He thinks
he knows better than his master how to woo women and takes over the
wooing of Gretchen. At the same time, he exercises his own authority
when he can.

You're never quite confident that Mephistopheles can control his
trickery and magic. For example, it's not clear whether the Mothers
really do exist or are just invented on the spot to cover
Mephistopheles' incompetence. During the battle with the rebellious
emperor, it looks as if the real Emperor, who has trusted
Mephistopheles, is going to lose. He isn't a trustworthy Devil.

But no devil is trustworthy. You'll remember that the Lord has
deliberately "paired" him with mankind to keep man on his toes. The
Devil's job is to "play the deuce, to stir, and to entice." He's
there to keep things off balance, so that man is always reaching for
what the Devil seems to offer.

Above all, Mephistopheles loses his bet. As the Lord foretold at the
beginning, Faust would know the right way and never be satisfied by
anything Mephistopheles could do.


FAUST: PARTS I AND II: MARGARETE (GRETCHEN)

Margarete, or Gretchen (a favorite name in German folk tales), is a
more lifelike character than Mephistopheles and Faust; she is a
person you would recognize if you met her. She is a sweet, simple,