Demon With a "Fainting
Soul": The Advantages of a Mild
Mephostophilis in Doctor Faustus
by Adam Watson
Why would Marlowe create a demon from Hell that is cordial, servile and (at first glance) not very evil? There are two unsatisfactory answers. One is that Marlowe is a sloppy writer, who drops into Doctor Faustus an inconsistent character without thinking of its impact. We must assume this is not the case, and Marlowe made deliberate choices in what the characters said and how they said it. Otherwise, we risk attempting to separate meaningful wheat from meaningless chafe where no wheat exists. The second unsatisfactory answer would be to believe a "true" demon who shouted four letter words, attempted to rape all on stage, and blasphemed Heaven and God would never see the light of day in an Elizabethan play, or at least one that hoped to be performed for the public; therefore, Marlowe created a mild-mannered demon. Certainly Marlowe wrote plays that he felt would be unoffensive (i.e., non-heretical as opposed to just vulgar sex puns) to the commoners and Queen alike. However, a profanity-spewing demon may be less offensive than a likable one. Portraying positive demons may be seen as encouraging good Christians to interact with, or call upon, their hellish lot. The Church of England certainly would not want commoners to have this impression. Again, we assume that Marlowe, since he took a risk whichever way Mephostophilis was portrayed, chose to make his characterization as he did. When Doctor Faustus is seen as a whole, and Mephostophilis is compared to Faustus himself, I believe the true reason for his "mildness" comes to light. If Mephostophilis did not act the way he did, Faustus's place in the play diminishes, and most important, the play could not be a tragedy.
The first and most apparent reason Mephostophilis is less
than horrible is to contrast him with Faustus's evil nature. In the first
meeting of the two in Act I, Faustus interrogates Mephostophilis about Hell.
After answering several questions, Mephostophilis laments:
O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands
Which strikes a terror to my
fainting soul! (34)
A demon that feels terror and has a
"fainting soul"? The lines create sympathy for the devil, and
set up the shock value for Faustus's response:
What, is great Mephostophilis so passionate
For being deprivèd of the joys of heaven?
Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude
And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess....
(34)
Faustus mocks Mephostophilis's pity and weakness
and proceeds to make his demands to the "great" Lucifer, desiring
twenty four years of "voluptuousness" and the power to "slay
mine enemies" before surrendering his soul (35). Clearly, the contrast is
important here. Mephostophilis is no innocent, but he is an angel compared to
Faustus. In the beginning of Act Two, Faustus is alone and says:
To [Belzebub] I'll build an altar and a church
And offer lukewarm blood of newborn babies! (38)
Nothing Mephostophilis ever says in the play is more
horrific or blasphemous than these two lines. By the beginning of Act Two,
Marlowe has made Faustus's true nature apparent and the contrast clear. Faustus
seems to be the head sinner, a theme that carries throughout the play.
Sometimes it is subtle, as when Faustus uses terms of endearment with
Mephostophilis, calling him "sweet" (92) or "gentle" (77) -
not the normal way of a God-fearing man to address a demon. Other times it is
more obvious, as when Faustus, not Mephostophilis, gets great pleasure
out of pranking and ridiculing the Pope in Act III (54-64). For purely dramatic
purposes, the contrast is important. If Marlowe had written a play where the
demon was more evil and hell bound than the "good" doctor, we would
be bored, since these characterizations are what we would expect. Also, if
Mephostophilis was simply more powerful than Faustus, then the Doctor would
become an easily conquered (and therefore unimportant) foil.
We have seen that Faustus is shown as more evil, but again,
Mephostophilis is not an angel. The demon can hold his own in
powers and dubious scruples. His most keen ability, however, is his cunning.
Mephostophilis says in an aside, as Faustus signs his pact in his own blood,
"What will not I do to obtain his soul!" (41). The
route he chooses is an undercover one. This comes to the next explanation of
his "mildness": it is part of Mephostophilis's plan to insure
Faustus's fulfillment of his contract. There are three reasons this plan does
not involve fire and brimstone tactics. The first is to give Faustus an
embellished sense of his own power, therefore making the soul-selling seem
worth it. It is established the first time Mephostophilis appears on stage.
Note Faustus's words right before Mephostophilis appears:
How pliant is this Mephostophilis,
Full of obedience and humility,
Such is the force of magic and my spells. (33)
Mephostophilis enters, and makes himself immediately
subservient: "Now Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?" (33). From this point on in the play, Faustus feels in control,
and Mephostophilis lets him.
The second reason for Mephostophilis's mild approach seems
to apply to some unspoken, but inferred, ground rules for soul-taking.
Mephostophilis is not able to storm into Faustus's study, slap him around, and
steal his soul. If it were possible, all it would take is sheer force and
enough demons to take all mortal souls. This seems to indicate why
Mephostophilis works behind the scenes. The demon does not instigate the
actions that Faustus takes, which seems to tighten the noose of damnation
around the Doctor's neck, but becomes at worst his co-conspirator. To use a
modern pop psych term, Mephostophilis is an "enabler."
There are the numerous examples of Faustus's use of black magic
for selfish folly or vengeance, such as the aforementioned escapades with the
Pope, the placing of antlers on Benvolio's head (72), the prank on the
Horse-courser (83), and the resurrection of Helen so that he may sleep with her
(93). In each of the above, Mephostophilis assisted in the magic, but Faustus
made the initial choice to use it. Mephostophilis also shows his
"assistance" at other times. Faustus cuts his own arm so that he may
write his contract in blood, but Mephostophilis fetches the fire "to
dissolve it straight" (40). When the Old Man's pleas to repent drive
Faustus to despair, he contemplates suicide - and Mephostophilis is quick to
give him a dagger to do it (91), since killing oneself is an unforgivable sin.
Note that Mephostophilis does not "make" Faustus use black magic, or
physically cuts Faustus's arm to sign the pact, or just murders Faustus to get
his mortal coil shuffled off and out of the way.
We have seen that Mephostophilis's mild behavior is
important to contrast against Faustus's evil nature, and two reasons why it is
part of Mephostophilis's plan (giving Faustus delusions of grandiose power, and
the confining rules that Mephostophilis must operate under). This leads to the
third reason for Mephostophilis's temperate plan. As a hell-demon,
Mephostophilis is not only unable to touch Faustus's soul, he does not have the
power to do so; he is mild because he is weak.
It is a fine line to walk by saying Mephostophilis is both
not allowed to overpower Faustus, and simultaneously powerless to do it if he
so chose. To illustrate this conundrum, I will briefly use an analogy. Consider
a mafioso thug, part of a large criminal family, who
is in the "collections" business. This thug works within a certain
code of honor, handed down by the head Don; if he does not operate within these
parameters, he will be killed by his bosses or punished by the police. However,
even if the thug wanted to extend his influence, he is only a
low-ability criminal; alone, he does not have the muscle and know-how to take
on the "family" and the police. His personal power and
influence are practically nil.
When one peels away the fireworks, invisibility spells, and
dragon chariot rides, Mephostophilis's limits of power become apparent. In Act
II, Marlowe shows that for all of Mephostophilis's knowledge and ability, he
cannot answer Faustus's inquiry of who made the world, a seemingly simple
question (47). In fact, as Faustus pushes the question and seems to answer it
himself --"Think, Faustus, upon God, that made the world"-- an
angered Mephostophilis is made to disappear as he cryptically says,
"Remember this!" (47). A mere mention of God is enough to chase the
demon away, and indeed, we should remember this. In Act V, after Faustus speaks
to the Old Man and comes close to repentance, Mephostophilis warns Faustus to
"[r]evolt, or I'll in piecemeal tear thy
flesh" (92). Faustus quickly reverses himself, signing an affirmation in
blood of his soul-gift to Lucifer. (Note again that although Mephostophilis
threatens him, Faustus chooses to resign his pact in blood. It is an
empty threat as well, for what could Faustus fear? Spending two eternities in
hell instead of one?) Yet Mephostophilis quickly shows his true powerlessness
when he replies to Faustus's request that he torment the Old Man:
His faith is great. I cannot touch his soul.
But what I may afflict his body with
I will attempt, which is but little worth. (92)
Compare this to the exchange earlier in the play between
the Good and Bad Angel, speaking to Faustus:
Bad Angel. If thou repent, devils will tear thee in pieces.
Good Angel. Repent,
and they shall never raze thy skin. (48)
Marlowe is being subtle, but the implication is
significant. The Bad Angel and Mephostophilis's threats are directly toward
Faustus's body and flesh. In fact, their wording -- "tear thee in
pieces," "tear thy flesh" -- are almost
identical, suggesting the importance of the phrase. Faustus's body may be in
danger, but if he is truly repentant, his soul cannot be touched, as
Mephostophilis himself says. The Good Angel even
promises God's protection of Faustus's body itself, but this is almost
inconsequential. Faustus's body is temporal, with limited time on the earth;
his soul, warns the Good Angel and others, is eternal. Faustus's soul can spend
eternity in Heaven so long that he accepts God and His grace. And yet, the
brilliant Doctor chooses to turn from Him, time and time again, until it is too
late.
This choice is the linchpin of the play, and the reason that
Doctor Faustus is a tragedy. Faustus's soul cannot be taken from him
unwillingly. He must instead choose to give it to Lucifer. If
Mephostophilis overpowered Faustus and pulled him kicking and screaming into
hell when he still had the chance to repent, it would be sad perhaps, but not
tragic. Tragedy, in not only the dramatic definition of it but the catharsis it
brings, is the step beyond the "gee, what a shame." The sinking of
the Titanic is sad because 1500 people died; it is tragic, because there
are so many ways it could have been avoided. If the designers of the boat had
chosen to put more lifeboats on board; if the captain had chosen to heed
iceberg warnings; if the crew had chosen to use the boat's speed and inertia to
turn forward and away from the iceberg instead of reversing, slowing, and
therefore plowing into it; if even one of these actions had been taken, lives
may have been saved, or the boat may have not sunk at all. The same holds for
Faustus. Throughout the play, his conscience, represented by the Good and Bad
Angels, debates and dithers about the fate of his soul and what action to take.
Ultimately, Faustus chooses damnation, despite the several chances he had for
salvation.
The last dialogue exchange between Mephostophilis and
Faustus sums up their relationship, and Mephostophilis's true
"power." It is the second to last scene of the last act of the play,
and Faustus has only a few hours left on earth. One can almost hear the
pathetic whining in his voice as he says:
O thou bewitching fiend, 'twas thy temptation
Hath robbed me of eternal
happiness. (97)
Faustus tries to shift the blame to his "sweet"
and "gentle" Mephostophilis. He is the very opposite of the proud
Doctor who "made" Mephostophilis obedient and humble with the force
of his magic and spells. Mephostophilis replies:
I do confess it Faustus, and rejoice.
'Twas I, that when thou wert i' the way to heaven
Damned up thy passage. When thou took'st the book
To view the Scriptures, then I turned the leaves
And led thine eye.
What, weep'st thou! 'Tis too late, despair, farewell!
Fools that will laugh on earth,
must weep in hell. (97)
These lines seem at first to be a refutation of Faustus's
responsibility for his damnation, but they are actually a reaffirmation of it.
Mephostophilis is being sarcastic. He never had the power or ability to
"rob" Faustus's soul. As Mephostophilis bitterly reminds him, Faustus
chose to turn away from the Scriptures, and his foolishness and self-deception
became his undoing. Too late to repent, Faustus goes to hell.
In the end, the mild disposition of Marlowe's Mephostophilis
proves itself dramatically and thematically essential. Doctor Faustus is
a warning to all those who choose to sin. The snake may tempt in a friendly,
seductive way, but ultimately, you alone must choose to bite into the forbidden
fruit.
Quotes from
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Signet Classic,
(First published 1969.)