The Life Of Doctor Faustus

The, Play of “Doctor Faustus,” written by Christopher Marlowe follows the life of Doctor Faustus, a well-respected German scholar. Doctor Faustus becomes dissatisfied with the traditional forms of knowledge—logic, medicine, law, and religion, and the limits and restrictions he feels it is placing on his life. Faustus craves more. He decides that in order to gain more knowledge, and even power, he needs to practice magic. Throwing away everything he had learned, Faustus began searching for what he believed was “more” knowledge, when in reality, what he turned to was only corrupting him. After practicing magic, Faustus even takes this new lifestyle one step further, and decides that he wishes to make a deal with the Devil. Faustus eventually is on track to sell his soul. With this agenda, Faustus begins to have his regrets, and considers repenting multiple times. Although the right thing to do, Faustus ignores the urge to repent, and is filled with the obsession to move forward in a life full of sin. The sins of Faustus could in fact be forgiven by God, but he never took the chance to fully repent- it is even made clear that he does attempt to; but he is never sincere. Due to his education and degrees, Fautsus should have very high morals, instead they are pathetic, and he truly believes that it is 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. '

One reason Doctor Faustus does not repent to God is because he has invested all of his time, into obtaining more knowledge and power, that he is willing to go to Hell just to get where he wants to be. Faustus does not believe that he can achieve more knowledge from the conventional way of learning, so he turns to magic, bringing him further from God. Another reason Faustus does not repent is because he is extremely gullible. Throughout the play, Faustus is easily persuaded to do anything that Mephistophilis wants him to. Mephistophilis promises Faustus knowledge and power that no other Man of God could even come close to experiencing or obtaining. Faustus obliviously believes the Devils words, and sells his soul in hopes to achieve this “higher power”. Even in the scenes with the Good Angel and the Bad Angel, Faustus is told that he can still in fact repent and be saved, but the Bad Angel always convinces Faustus that it is too late, and he can no longer be saved. After years of studying Theology, Faustus should understand God's promises very thoroughly- but he chooses to go against everything that he knows. Fautus used the cheap power he had gained from selling his soul to play immature tricks, and hurt people. He never once fully understood that he was in fact liable for his actions, and he never understood how severe his actions were. Furthermore, when Faustus comes to the realization that Hell is not where he wants to spend his eternity, he considers repenting for the final time. Faustus only wishes to repent because he still is self absorbed, and he is now scared. Faustus only wants what is best for himself. He is not sorry that he practiced magic and sold his soul, he is only sorry because he has now learned that he will receive no beneficial gain from his actions. Faustus chose to lay blind to the situation he had encompassed himself into, and he only cares now that he is going to spend a dreadful eternity in Hell.

The sin of Faustus was in fact the sin of overreaching. Moreover, Faustus further possessed one of the Seven Deadly Sins; Lust. Faustus would have been better off if he had not attempted to outreach himself, and understood where he was in relation to the plan that God had for him. Faustus obviously once agreed with the views of Christianity, and has even followed those ideas most of his life. However, lust consumed Faustus and lead him to later constantly wanting more. Doctor Faustus should have learned from his studies of Theology how dangerous overstepping boundaries for earthly desires was. Evil is better in the moment, but goodness is superior and everlasting. One should never lose sight of the bigger picture. Faustus was blinded by the instant pleasures offered to him by Satan, and no longer was interested in the Everlasting Life God could offer through Heaven. Faustus was constantly looking for something more substantial than what God was able to offer, “Philosophy is odious and obscure, Both law and physic are for petty wits, Divinity is the basest of the three” (18). By saying this, it seems almost as though Marlowe is speaking through the character of Faustus. It is made known that Marlowe himself was engaged with looking beyond academics, as well as religious principles. While the actions of Doctor Faustus solely explain the corruption caused by worshipping The Devil, they also speak strongly on behalf of the Human Condition. Doctor Faustus makes mistakes, which is common for all people. However, Doctor Faustus also sought after new knowledge, and he wasn't scared of it. The problem being, he wasn't scared of sin, and he wasn't scared of Satan. Faustus ultimately wasn’t happy with the life that God had provided him, and constantly wanted more. This is saying that God has made a mistake, but God is perfect and He has no flaws. As humans, people are so caught up with the idea that those around them have it better, leaving one to subconsciously want more- even sometimes to expect more. Faustus wanted what he couldn't have, and this is where his morals began to deteriorate. The Human condition suggests that people constantly want what they cant have, But Faustus overreached his power in hopes to get it.

Despite the overall moral message that is put forth by the end of Marlowe’s Play, “Doctor Faustus”, the text further suggests the Atheist agenda Faustus eventually dedicated his life to. Through the character of Doctor Faustus, Marlowe attempts to illustrate the idea that evil can only get one so far, but goodness will remain Everlasting. By the end of the play, Faustus realizes this, and he desperately cries out for Lucifer to come not; but he is once again not sincere in his final repenting. Ultimately, the moral messages of Faustus reject those of Christian Theology- despite previously dedicating his life to that. It can further be concluded from the text that the ideas surrounding Religion are, to Marlowe, meaninglessness. The careless attitude towards religion is shown by Doctor Faustus when prioritizing and practicing magic and believing in superstition, over Divine Right. Doctor Fuastus only relies on what he knows, and what he wants to believe, and this is the death of him. If Faustus simply asked for forgiveness, he would not have been damned to Hell for eternity.