Who made a deal with Mephistopheles? Faust and Mephistopheles

A man has always been attracted by the unknown, and he also wanted to always fulfill his desires, even those that do not fit into his head. Here for such purposes he needed the support of higher forces, good or evil - it does not matter. The main thing is to achieve your goal. This was Faust's deal with Mephistopheles.

A little bit about Dr. Faust

If you ask any person who made a deal with Mephistopheles, then in response you can hear one name - Faust, in many ways thanks to Goethe's poem, which was studied by everyone in the school curriculum. But in fact, the work of the German classic wrote on the basis of real facts, that is, his character had a real prototype.

Johannes Faust was a sorcerer and alchemist, physician and theologian, astronomer and all-round scientist. He was born in Swabia, where he studied. In the end, he got to black magic. Somehow, the Seventh Book of Moses fell into his hands. The doctor studied this black Bible for a long time and decided to try to command dark forces. Finally he performed a ritual, Faust and Mephistopheles signed a deal.

Years later, the doctor will repent, but the agreement with the dark forces, signed with blood, can not be canceled. The closer the payment was, the worse Faust became at heart.

The Legend of the Mage in Art

So, who has a deal with Mephistopheles, we already know. The legend was widespread in Europe in the sixteenth century. She was often put in puppet theaters, the Englishman Christopher Marlo created his version of the drama - "The Tragic History of Doctor Faust." After writing the Goethe drama "Faust" the plot got to Russia, where it was borrowed by Pushkin. Charles Gounod in the nineteenth century the opera "Faust" was created. Why did artists address the problem of the famous alchemist? Probably because Faust and Mephistopheles signed an agreement, which many thought. The struggle between good and evil, the relationship between man and nature, confrontation in the soul is always an actual topic. But for any benefits over time will have to pay. Let this time be very far, but it will come sooner or later. And whether the fee for those imaginary pleasures is to be decided by everyone on their own.

Mysterious ritual

How was the deal with Mephistopheles? Legend has it that Faustus performed the ritual described in the book of magic. The doctor drew a large circle in the office, using chalk and a compass. In it, he drew two smaller circles, the space of which was filled with ritual signs. At midnight, Faust stood in the center and uttered a spell. Suddenly a creature appeared, reminiscent of a monkey, who reported that it came to serve him. But the alchemist chased him and uttered another curse. Then came another creature that looked like a ram. But this servant Johannes drove away, and he continued to read the spell. After the third incantation, a lame man entered the room, introduced himself as Mephistopheles.

The devil said that he can give Faust: travel in space and time, money, success, women's love, secret knowledge. The doctor liked this, but first he asked about the payment for this pleasure. Mephistopheles wanted one - the signature on the parchment, which provided that Faust gives him his soul. After a certain period (24 years), during which Mephistopheles will unquestioningly serve a person, the soul of the doctor goes to hell. A little hesitant, Faust agreed and signed the treaty with his blood. The deal was made!

Characteristic of Faust

Today it is known about the death of Dr. Faustus, the one who made a deal with Mephistopheles. A professor at the University of Wittenberg once told his students that his hour of death is approaching. He told them that 24 years ago he gave his soul to the devil and now the hour of reckoning has come. The students found Johann Faust sick, so they hastened to leave the audience. But at night screams "Kill! They forced them to come back here again. They found the lifeless and disfigured body of the teacher in a room spattered with blood. The professor lived around 1480-1540. At first he persevered in theology, and then abandoned her and began to study magic, often prophesied.

Goethe paints Faust as a man of high spiritual aspirations, intelligent, active, erudite. He wants to serve people, help them realize their dreams, achieve harmony. He has a successful medical practice, and he is ready to heal not only the bodies of his patients, but also their souls. And signing the contract with blood, he thinks not only of himself, but of all the people on the planet. Characteristic Faust says that he is a passionate and emotional man: he instantly takes a great interest in the beautiful Margarita.

The image of Mephistopheles

The characteristics of Faust and Mephistopheles help to look deeper into the order of things, to understand the problem that is taking place. The devil is disbelief and denial of all good. But we must give him his due: the companion of Faust is a sensible, very sensible, intelligent, gallant. Outwardly, he looks like an ordinary person. But it is behavior that betrays itself. Mephistopheles considers a person and his life limited, insignificant. He has a cynical explanation just in case. This is the evil in Goethe's understanding, which he wanted to convey to people in his work.

Other characters in the poem Goethe

So, who has concluded the deal with Mephistopheles, we know, we also know what were the main heroes of the work of Goethe "Faust". But besides them there are other heroes: Margarita, Lord God, Marta.

The Lord God is the personification of light and good, infinite love, grace. In the prologue to the poem, he argues with the devil, arguing that the person will shame Satan. God believes that his creation will choose good, truth, and not the deceptive grace promised by the devil.

Margarita is a bright and touching image. Beloved Faust is really good: she is chaste, shy, honest, believes in God. She works hard and can work hard and could become a wonderful wife and mother. But she feels a devilish nature and is afraid of Mephistopheles. Faust, though she understands that she will ruin the girl, can not resist the desire. As a result, the family of the disgraced Margarita is destroyed, the brother dies from the doctor's hand, and she herself goes crazy and drowns the child. But waiting for execution, she refuses help from Faust, whom she loves very much, and asks God for salvation. Her soul will go to heaven.

Clean and kind Margarita is the direct opposite of Martha, who in relations with Mephistopheles is guided by reasonableness and hypocrisy.

Faust and its philosophy

Goethe's poem is written on the motives of the medieval legend of the deal of man and the devil. However, the great poet introduced his vision of the eternal problem - the relationship between good and evil, morality and money, unbridled desires and moderation, light and darkness. This is a complex work, over which he worked more than sixty years.

Despite the fact that Mephistopheles is a negative character, he is exactly what life can not exist without. Without skepticism, deviation from moral customs, from established rules, progress as such is impossible. This is just the case when evil is good in fact. Faust is a man who is dissatisfied with what he has. He craves more and, in the end, receives it. And let the price for it is too high, he realizes that he has ruined himself and many others, but the goal has been achieved: the life of society is developing. Doctor Faust shows how in one person contradictions coexist, asserting the laws of dialectics that Goethe believed.

Instead of an afterword

The image of Faust is really immortal, like Shakespeare's Hamlet. He helps to look at the essence of life, to overestimate their values, after all having achieved everything, the doctor remains dissatisfied. But belated remorse does not change anything: you have to pay for everything.