Faust by Goethe

Faust is the German author Goethe’s most famous work. It’s thought by many to be one of the greatest works of German literature. It was fully completed in 1829 and is is a tragic two-act play.

The famous tale centers on Faust, a successful scholar who is dissatisfied with his life. He makes a pact with the Devil, represented by Mephistopheles, in which he exchanges his soul in return for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

The deal is that once Faust experiences ‘true happiness’ for just a moment then he will die in that moment and the Devil will take his soul to hell. Mephistopheles and Faust proceed to ruin the life of Gretchen, a woman he is attracted to, and also destroys her family. Gretchen dies, and goes to Heaven and Faust is left to grieve in shame. Eventually Faust experiences ‘his moment’ and dies, but as Mephistopheles tries to take his soul, but is thwarted when the Angels intervene due to the grace of God and the intervention of both the forgiving Gretchen and the ‘Virgin, Mother, Queen – Eternal Womanhood’. Faustus is saved and Mephistopheles is defeated by the Goddess.

The tale has been used as the basis for many artistic, literary and musical works, Goethe’s being the most famous.