THE CHARACTER OF MEPHISTOPHILIS AND THE CONCEPT OF HELL
Mephistophilis is the second most important dramatic personage in the drama. He appears in most of the scenes with Faustus. When he is first seen by Faustus, he is horrendously ugly. Faustus immediately sends him away and has him reappear in the form of a Franciscan friar. The mere physical appearance of Mephistophilis suggests the ugliness of hell itself. Throughout the play, Faustus seems to have forgotten how ugly the devils are in their natural shape. Only at the very end of the drama when devils come to carry Faustus off to his eternal damnation does he once again understand the terrible significance of their ugly physical appearance. As Faustus exclaims when he sees the devils at the end of the drama: "Adders and serpents, let me breathe awhile!/ Ugly hell, gape not …"
In his first appearance, we discover that Mephistophilis is bound to Lucifer in a manner similar to Faustus later servitude. Mephistophilis is not free to serve Faustus unless he has Lucifer s permission. Then after the pact, he will be Faustus servant for twenty-four years. Consequently, the concept of freedom and bondage is an important idea connected with Mephistophilis and Faustus. In other words, no person in the entire order of the universe is entirely free, and what Faustus is hoping for in his contract is a complete and total physical, not moral, freedom. It is paradoxical that the brilliant Dr. Faustus does not see this contradiction in his views about freedom and bondage.
In most of the scenes, Mephistophilis functions as the representative of hell and Lucifer. Only in a few fleeting moments do we see that Mephistophilis is also experiencing both suffering and damnation because of his status as a fallen angel. In the third scene, he admits that he is also tormented by ten thousand hells because he had once tasted the bliss of heaven and now is in hell with Lucifer and the other fallen angels.
Upon Faustus insistence to know about the nature of hell, Mephistophilis reveals that it is not a place, but a condition or state of being. Any place where God is not, is hell. Being deprived of everlasting bliss is also hell. In other words, heaven is being admitted into the presence of God, and hell, therefore, is deprivation of the presence of God. This definition of hell corresponds to the newly founded doctrine of the Anglican church, which had just recently broken with the Roman Catholic church. But Marlowe also uses a medieval concept of hell for dramatic purposes. As the devils appear in the final scene and as Faustus contemplates his eternal damnation, there are strong suggestions and images of a hell consisting of severe punishment and torment, where ugly devils swarm about and punish the unrepentant sinner.
There are two sides to Mephistophilis. One of these spirits is an evil, malevolent tempter. He wants Faustus soul and stops at nothing to get it. This Mephistophilis lies to Faustus, manipulates him with threats of torture. The second spirit has a sweeter nature. He s a reluctant demon who would spare Faustus if he could. This Mephistophilis offers no enticements. He watches, in quiet distress, while Faustus damns himself. When summoned during the night by Faustus blasphemous conjurings, the spirit does not seize the soul that is offered to him. Instead, he urges Faustus away from his contemplated deal with hell:
O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul.
Which is the real Mephistophilis? It isn t easy to say. You can put your trust in Mephistophilis better nature and see him as a kind of guardian spirit. You ll find evidence in the play that Mephistophilis cares for Faustus and feels a strong attraction to the man. He calls his charge "My Faustus, and flies to his side with eagerness. He is a companion in Faustus adventures and is also Faustus comforter. The spirit sympathizes when Faustus is sick with longing for heaven. And he goes out of his way to console the scholar with the thought that heaven isn t such a great loss after all.
Mephistophilis understands Faustus in ways that suggest they are two of a kind. He s been called Faustus alter ego. And you get the feeling that he sees himself in Faustus as he was eons before—a proud young angel who marched with Lucifer against God, only to see his hopes of glory dashed when Lucifer s rebellion failed.
It s possible that, when Mephistophilis threat- ens Faustus, he is merely doing his job. The spirit isn t free to do what he likes. He is Lucifer s man. Mephistophilis has counseled Faustus against making a deal with hell. But once that deal is made, the spirit has no choice but to hold Faustus to it.
On the other hand, you may feel that Mephistophilis shows more enthusiasm than the job re- quires. In that case, you can see the spirit as Faustus evil genius. And Mephistophilis understanding of Faustus becomes a potent weapon in his hands.
The spirit, for instance, knows just what cleverly worded promises to make to get Faustus signature on the dotted line. He tells Faustus, "I will . . . wait on thee, and give thee more than thou has wit to ask." That promise turns out to be true, but not in the way that Faustus has reason to expect. What Mephistophilis gives Faustus is an eternity of torment, not the limitless power that Faustus imagines.
المادة المعروضة اعلاه هي مدخل الى المحاضرة المرفوعة بواسطة استاذ(ة) المادة . وقد تبدو لك غير متكاملة . حيث يضع استاذ المادة في بعض الاحيان فقط الجزء الاول من المحاضرة من اجل الاطلاع على ما ستقوم بتحميله لاحقا . في نظام التعليم الالكتروني نوفر هذه الخدمة لكي نبقيك على اطلاع حول محتوى الملف الذي ستقوم بتحميله .
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