Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Faust
German
Romanticism
It is in part thanks to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that this world literature anthology exists, since both the name and the concept of Weltliteratur (world literature) come from him. One of the most important and influential figures of European Romanticism, Goethe exemplified the concept of a Renaissance man in ways that few people could ever hope to emulate. His contributions in almost every literary genre would be daunting enough to attempt to equal, but what makes him particularly unusual are his equally-influential contributions to science, philosophy, politics, and the arts. Goethe studied and wrote about botany, anatomy, color theory in optics, and mineralogy; his interest in meteorology led to what is called Goethe’s barometer. He held administrative positions in a variety of fields, studied law, sketched and drew thousands of pictures, wrote essays on art criticism, was the manager and director of a theater company, and wrote guidelines on how to be an actor. His love life was extensive, very dramatic (in true Romantic fashion), and occasionally (perhaps even regularly) scandalous. He became both famous and infamous when his early Romantic novel The Sorrows of Young Werther was published in 1774, in part because the main character commits suicide. Goethe’s Faust (Part One in 1806; final version of Part Two in 1832) is representative of later Romantic works; other authors had tackled the topic of the legendary medieval figure who sells his soul to the devil (including Christopher Marlowe in his play Dr. Faustus), but Goethe’s treatment of the character alters the story in profound ways. In this version, Faust does not sell his soul; he offers a bet to Mephistopheles, with his soul as the prize. It is a bet that Faust is destined to win, as Goethe highlights in the “Prologue in Heaven,” when God makes a similar bet with Mephistopheles that Faust’s search for truth will lead him back to God in the end. As Goethe makes clear, God does not lose bets.
The path from Faust as sinner to Faust redeemed is a long one, encompassing the breadth and depth of Goethe’s learning in science and the arts, in much the same way that Dante had displayed his formidable intellect in his Divine Comedy. In particular, Part Two of Faust is so complicated that it is rarely included in anthologies, which choose to include Part One only (again, as Dante’s Inferno is usually the only section included). Faust is written in the form of a play, although Goethe intended it to be read, rather than performed. Like Shakespeare, Goethe ignores the rules about the unity of time and space in drama, jumping from one location and scene to the next. Goethe directly addresses Shakespeare’s Hamlet several times in the play; Mephistopheles sings one of Ophelia’s mad songs, and readers of Hamlet will notice multiple points of comparison with Ophelia in Margaret’s final scene. Goethe’s mature approach to Romanticism allows Margaret to be saved in a way that Shakespeare denies Ophelia. Faust may not be redeemed at the end of Part One, but readers can see the first signs of how Goethe plans to accomplish this transformation in that powerful final act.
Consider while reading:
- The Sorrows of Young Werther is the epitome of the early Romantic movement called Sturm und Drang (“Storm and Stress”), and Werther’s suicide in the novel supposedly led to copycat suicides. Napoleon Bonaparte claimed to have read The Sorrows of Young Werther multiple times. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature finds a copy of The Sorrows of Young Werther and sympathizes with the protagonist. After reading the story, discuss why these two very different figures might be drawn to this work.
- The Sorrows of Young Werther was so popular that people dressed in Werther-style clothing and sold fan merchandise: common enough in the modern world, but a new phenomenon in Goethe’s time. Why might early Romanticism have inspired such loyal fans of that book?
Written by Laura Getty