The man was always attracted by the unknown, and he also always wanted to fulfill his desires, even those that do not fit into the head. But for such purposes he needed the support of higher powers, good or evil - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is to achieve your goal. That was Faust's deal with Mephistopheles.
A bit about Dr. Faust
If you ask any person who made a deal with Mephistopheles, then in response you can hear one name - Faust, largely thanks to Goethe's poem, which everyone studied in the school curriculum. But in fact, the German classic wrote the work based on real facts, that is, his character had a real prototype.
Johannes Faust was a sorcerer and an alchemist, a doctor and theologian, an astronomer and a comprehensive 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 nevertheless decided to try to command dark forces. Finally, he performed the ritual, Faust and Mephistopheles signed a deal.
Over the years, the doctor will repent, but the agreement with the dark forces, signed by blood, cannot be terminated. The closer the payback was, the worse Faust felt.
The legend of the magician in art
So, who made a deal with Mephistopheles, we already know. The legend was widespread in Europe in the sixteenth century. It was often staged in puppet theaters, the Englishman Christopher Marlo created his version of the drama - “The Tragic History of Dr. Faust.” After Goethe wrote the drama Faust, the plot came to Russia, where he 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 made an agreement that many thought of. The struggle between good and evil, the relationship between man and nature, confrontation in the soul is always a hot topic. But over time, you will have to pay for any benefits. Let this time be very far, but it will come sooner or later. And whether the board of those imaginary pleasures is worth it, everyone needs to decide.
Mysterious ritual
How was the deal with Mephistopheles? Legend has it that Faust performed the ritual described in the book of magic. The doctor drew a large circle in his office, using chalk and compasses. In it, he drew two smaller circles, the space of which he filled with ritual signs. At midnight, Faust stood in the center and cast a spell. Suddenly a creature appeared, resembling a monkey, who reported that it had arrived to serve him. But the alchemist sent him away and uttered another spell. Then another creature appeared that looked like a ram. But Johannes drove this servant away, and he continued to read the spell. After the third spell, a lame man entered the office, introducing 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 at first he asked about the payment for this pleasure. Mephistopheles wanted one thing - a signature on parchment, which provided that Faust gives him his soul. After a certain period (24 years) during which Mephistopheles will unquestioningly serve the person, the doctor’s soul goes to hell. After hesitating, Faust agreed and signed the contract with his blood. The deal has taken place!
Faust Characteristic
Today it is known about the death of Dr. Faust, the one who made a deal with Mephistopheles. A professor at Wittenberg University once told his students that his death hour was nearing. He told them that 24 years ago he had given his soul to the devil and now the time has come for reckoning. Students considered Johann Faust ill, so they hastened to leave the audience. But at night the cries of “Kill! They are killing! ” made them come running here again. They found the lifeless and disfigured body of the teacher in a room splattered with blood. The professor lived in about 1480-1540. At first he worked hard on theology, and then he abandoned it and began to study magic, often foretelling it.
Goethe portrays Faust as a person of high spiritual aspirations, intelligent, active, erudite. He wants to serve people, help them fulfill 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 about himself, but about all the people on the planet. Characteristic of Faust suggests that he is a passionate and emotional person: he is instantly carried away by the beautiful Margarita.
Mephistopheles image
The characteristic of Faust and Mephistopheles helps to look deeper into the order of things, to understand the problem that is taking place. The devil is disbelief and denial of all that is good. But we must pay tribute to him: the companion of Faust is sane, very reasonable, intelligent, gallant. Outwardly, he looks like an ordinary person. But it is by behavior that he gives himself out. Mephistopheles considers a person and his life limited, insignificant. He has a cynical explanation just in case. This is evil in Goethe's understanding, and that is precisely what he wanted to convey to people in his work.
Other characters in Goethe's poem
So, who made the deal with Mephistopheles, we know, we also know what the main characters of Goethe's work “Faust” were. But besides them there are other heroes: Margarita, the Lord God, Martha.
The Lord God is the personification of light and goodness, infinite love, grace. In the prologue to the poem, he argues with the devil, claiming that man will confound Satan. God believes that his creation will choose the good, the 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 hard and could become a wonderful wife and mother. But she feels a devilish essence and is afraid of Mephistopheles. Faust, although he understands that he will destroy the girl, cannot resist desire. As a result, the family of the disgraced Margarita is destroyed, her brother dies at the hands of the doctor, and she herself goes crazy and drowns the child. But awaiting execution, she refuses help from Faust, whom she loves, and asks God for salvation. Her soul will go to heaven.
Pure and kind Margarita is the exact opposite of Martha, who in her relationship with Mephistopheles is guided by prudence and hypocrisy.
Faust and its philosophy
Goethe's poem is written based on the medieval legend of the deal between man and the devil. However, the great poet introduced his vision of an eternal problem into it - the relationship of good and evil, morality and money, unbridled desire and moderation, light and darkness. This is a complex work on which he worked for more than sixty years.
Despite the fact that Mephistopheles is a negative character, he is exactly what life cannot exist without. Without skepticism, a departure from moral customs, from established rules, progress as such is impossible. This is just the case when evil is actually good. Faust is a person who is unhappy with what he has. Thirsts for more and, in the end, receives it. And even if the price for this is too high, he himself understands that he has destroyed himself and many others, but the goal has been achieved: the life of society is developing. Dr. Faust shows how contradictions coexist in one person, asserting the laws of dialectics that Goethe believed.
Instead of an afterword
The image of Faust is really immortal, like Shakespeare's Hamlet. It helps to look at the essence of life, to overestimate their values, because having achieved everything, the doctor remains unsatisfied. But belated repentance does not change anything: you have to pay for everything.