Even when he bargains for his soul with the promise of Hell, Faustus is repeatedly filled with hesitation, which vividly symbolizes the verbal struggle between good and evil angels. Her body seems to rebel against her choices - her blood clots, for example, prevent her from signing the agreement and a warning appears written on her arm telling her to fly. Sometimes Faust seems to understand the seriousness of what he's doing: when Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephastophilus, for example, appear to him, he suddenly gets frightened and shouts, 'Faust, they've come to fetch your soul!' (5264). Despite this realization, Faust cannot promise a good job. Among all these symptoms, Faustus repeatedly thinks about repentance but makes a decision against it each time. Sometimes it is greed for knowledge and wealth that prevents him from turning back to God, but other times it seems to be his conviction - encouraged by the evil angel and Mephastophilus - that it is already too late for him, a conviction that persists everywhere. He believes that God does not love him, and if he flies to God, as the inscription on his arm seems to suggest, then God will throw him into Hell. When Faustus pleads with Christ to save himself, Lucifer declares that 'Christ cannot save your soul because he is righteous' and orders Faustus to stop thinking of God and only think of Satan (5.260). Faustus' idea that he was actually cursed can be traced back to his earlier false writing of the New Testament, which stated that anyone who sins would be damned forever - ignoring verses that offer hope of repentance. However, at the same time, Faustus' former blindness persists. We see this in his delightful response to the horrific portrayal of the Seven Deadly Sins, which he saw as a source of amusement rather than moral caution. Meanwhile, his desire to reject the torments of Hell persists, as he tells Mephistopheles 'I think hell is a myth. These are the words of rationalism or even atheism - both strange ideologies in support of Faustus because he calls out demons. But Faustus' real mistake is that Mephastophilus misinterprets what he says.' About Hell, Faustus accepts Mephistopheles' statement that Hell is everywhere for him because it is eternally separated from God, which means that Hell is merely a continuation of its earthly existence. He believes that it is eternally far from God and that Hell cannot be worse.
Once Faustus signed his soul, his cosmic reversal appears to have occurred, with Lucifer taking God's place and blaspheming rather than blaspheming. After Faustus signed his covenant, he swore in the name of Lucifer instead of God: 'Ah, take this; and Satan does not give you good' (5.112). His rejection of God is also made clear when he says, ‘Consamatum East’, meaning it is completed, which was the dying word of Christ on the cross (5.74). Refers to a stigma or wound.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Meanwhile, the limits of the demonic gift given to Faustus began to unfold. He was given the gift of knowledge, and Mephastophilus willingly told him the secrets of astronomy, but when Faust asked who created the world, Mephastophilus refused to answer. The symbolism is clear: all the worldly knowledge that Faust was looking forward to incessantly to the increasing points towards God. The essential irony, of course, is that the covenant he made completely alienated him from God. As the access to higher things is cut off, there is nowhere to go below Faustus.
Stuck on your essay?
