For a story about a man who engages in black magic, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus contains a large amount of Christian theology. This theology is not the simple story of the nativity from The Second Shepherd’s Play nor the moral unambiguity of Everyman but a more in-depth discussion on the nature of reality and hell that feels almost like it came out of a textbook instead of a devil’s mouth. In a sort of reverse-psychology move, Doctor Faustus acts as a way to instruct those watching of the values of Christianity.
The interactions between Faustus and Mephastophilis serve almost as a line-by-line theological definition of various attributes and ideas associated with Christianity. Mephastophilis tells Faustus that he appeared only because Faustus “rack[ed] the name of God” (Marlowe 3.47) and that those who “abjure the Trinity” (3.53) will be “in danger to be damned” (3.51). Already, this section of the discussion comes off as a cautionary tale, warning the audience away from the follies of Faustus and implying that by praising God and the Trinity, they can avoid his foolish mistakes. The conversation then continues with Faustus asking Mephastophilis several questions about Lucifer and the nature of hell that he should already know as a theologian. Mephastophilis answers one question about his relationship with Lucifer, referring to himself as one of the “unhappy spirits that fell.../Conspired against our God.../And are forever damned” (3.70-72). The fact that Mephastophilis describes the spirits as “unhappy” (3.70) and God as if belonging to those spirits as well creates a tone of remorse on his end. He goes further to say that hell is wherever he is, because he is now “deprived of everlasting bliss” (3.80). One implication of that notion is that anywhere that is not within God’s immediate heavenly presence is hell, and therefore, earth and the life that Faustus is currently living is hell. The life that everyone is currently living is hell. Only those who worship God and live as good Christians may look to a future without hell.
In this way, Faustus serves as an example of who not to be, but perhaps in his foolishness, he also serves as an example of the way things are. As a learned man, he should know everything that Mephastophilis tells him; however, he does not. Instead, Faustus asks simple questions and makes even a demon worry for the state of his soul (Marlowe 3.81-82). Perhaps Marlowe made a man out of the institution that had tried to force him in a direction opposite to his beliefs, or perhaps academics in all its pursuit of knowledge falls vastly short of the truth of reality.
Works Cited:
Marlowe, Christopher. “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Stephen Greenblatt and M. H. Abrams, 9th ed., A, W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, pp. 1128–1163.