The songs of the three archangels express Goethe’s belief that the universe is a dynamic continuum where action is the law that dominates Nature and man. In this system the only absolute sin is non-action; man, despite many errors of judgment or wrong turns can find the path of righteousness, but only if he continues striving. He eventually will succeed if he keeps up the struggle because striving is itself a moral act and his intuitive yearnings all point toward a good end.
Mephisto represents the spirit of negativistic cynicism, of endless denial. He can be a force for good or evil inducing a man to surrender to his lowest instincts and give up the quest, or driving him by persistent prodding and frustration to find the fulfilment of his ideals, i.e. salvation. He is unmoved by Mephisto’s threats to Faust because he knows that man has an innate will for good, and that errors or backsliding are natural incidents in the human progression toward righteousness.
The conversation and bargain between god and Mephistopheles are reminiscent of a similar scene at the opening of the Book of Job. This Biblical connection is emphasized by Goethe’s use of an archaic German style in this section. It creates an exalted and sacred background for the worldly tribulations of Faust and invites the reader to compare Goethe’s conception of the universe, where man is free to err and strive, with that of Job, where he must blindly accept his fate.
The setting of the prologue to the poem in Heaven implies that the life and fate of Faust are matters of universal significance, which will clarify the relationship of God and man, good and evil, existence and non-existence. Aside from this important purpose, the prologue, presents another crucial question, which is symbolically expressed in Mephisto’s ager-whether the Lord has been competent as a Creator and whether his creation, the world and its inhabitants, is worthy of survival.
Traditional portrayals of the devil? What philosophical principles does he represent? What is his function in the divine plan an din regard to Faust’s ultimate attainment of salvation?
Mephistopheles
Goethe’s Mephisto is very different from the crude devil of medieval legend and the original Faust story. He is a cultivated, witty, and cynical exponent of materialism and nihilism, and preaches a sophisticated doctrine of philosophical negation. Mephisto’s most outstanding characteristic is scepticism; the inability to believe in anything. Ironically, although Mephisto represents evil, he can also be an unconscious force for good. This is first indicated by his presence at the side of God in the “Prologue in Heaven,” which implies that evil is an accepted and natural part of God’s universal system. This view is emphasized by Mephisto’s relationship with Faust.
Mephisto’s specific observations about humanity and the universe are usually right, because it is easy form him in his role as a “cosmic outsider” to discern real faults in the established system. At the same time, however, his vision is narrow and his total outlook is wrong. As a result he never fully understand Faust, makes inadequate plans for the seduction of his victim, and is finally defeated by Love, a force which he never recognized or comprehended.
On another level Mephisto represents the negative elements in Faust’s own personality. This is why the devil and his intended victim are able to remain so close throughout both parts of the poem, and why, at certain points, like the Walpurgis Night in Part One where Faust’s evil side is dominant, Mephisto is able to come so close to winning him. Mephisto fails, however, because he cannot understand or appreciate the positive sides of Faust’s character (or human nature in general), and does not attribute any powers of resistance or resilience to Faust in the struggle for his soul.
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