Khaos Theory

Faust or Faustus (Latin for “auspicious” or “lucky”) is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge.

The story concerns the fate of Faust in his quest for the true essence of life. Frustrated with learning and the limits to his knowledge and power, he attracts the attention of the Devil (represented by Mephistopheles), who agrees to serve Faust until the moment he attains the zenith of human happiness, at which point Mephistopheles may take his soul. Faust is pleased with the deal, as he believes the moment will never come.

In the first part, Mephistopheles leads Faust through experiences that culminate in a lustful and destructive relationship with an innocent and nubile woman named Gretchen. Gretchen and her family are destroyed by Mephistopheles’ deceptions and Faust’s desires and actions. The story ends in tragedy as Gretchen is saved and Faust is left in shame.

The second part begins with the spirits of the earth forgiving Faust (and the rest of mankind) and progresses into rich allegorical poetry. Faust and his devil pass through the world of politics and the world of the classical gods, and meet with Helen of Troy (the personification of beauty). Finally, having succeeded in taming the very forces of war and nature Faust experiences a single moment of happiness.

The devil Mephistopheles, trying to grab Faust’s soul when he dies, is frustrated as the Lord intervenes recognizing the value of Faust’s unending striving.

Faust wanted something valuable now and believed he could pay up at the end. Or even better, he believed he could get away with not paying at all. Throughout the story he realizes that for everything he got there was something he lost. The suffering and disappointment were the price to pay very step of the way.

I believe the lesson here is that we always pay the price upfront. Always. There are no shortcuts. There are no gifts. Even when we think we are getting something for cheap we are still paying dearly for it, we just don’t see yet how much.

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Faust.html