Faust: The Dichotomy Of Gretchen
In the play "Faust" by Johann Goethe, Gretchen's character envelops extreme aspects of Virgin Mary and of Eve. Mary acts as the symbol of the mother of mankind, the pure woman who makes men's salvation possible. She has no evil in her at all. In contrast, Eve is the archetypal figure of the fallen woman, the cause of man's suffering and damnation. She symbolizes death, destruction, and human depravity. Eve is the antithesis of Mary; together the two archetypes correspond to the two sides of Gretchen's character.
When Gretchen is first introduced in the play, she appears to be the ideal of innocence and purity. When Faust tries to talk to her on the street, she refuses. "I'm not a lady, am ...
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religious language to describe the room. "Welcome, sweet light, which weaves through this sanctuary. Seize my heart, you sweet pain of love, you that live languishing on the dew of hope! How the feeling of stillness breathes out order and contentment all around. In this poverty, what fullness! In this prison, what holiness!" (2687-94) Just from being in her room, he feels spiritual sacredness, often associated with shrines of saints. He imagines her bed as a "father's throne"(2696) with "a flock of children clinging swarmed" (2697) around it, thus associating Gretchen with maternity. A large part of Faust's attraction to Gretchen is the image of a virgin mother he sees in her, the ideal of feminine purity.
Gretchen's strong religious background further strengthens her saintly image. The prayer in the Ramparts scene is an example of her religious training. "Oh, bend Thou, Mother of Sorrows; send Thou a look of pity on my pain." (3587-9) Gretchen looks on the world from a ...
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her religious upbringing and starts an affair with Faust. Later she tells him, "Yet I confess I know not why my heart began at once to stir to take your part." (3175-6) The double side of Gretchen's femininity is evident in the Evening scene. Gretchen is made both innocent and erotic as she removes her clothes and sings a romantic song. While she remains a girl getting ready for bed, her undressing is a foreshadowing of her affair with Faust. Later, in the church at the mass for her mother's death, an evil spirit torments Gretchen. She does not feel comfortable in the church anymore because she has sinned. "Would I be away from here! It seems to me as the organ would stifle my ...
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"Faust: The Dichotomy Of Gretchen." Essayworld.com. December 15, 2005. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Faust-The-Dichotomy-Of-Gretchen/38034.
"Faust: The Dichotomy Of Gretchen." Essayworld.com. December 15, 2005. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Faust-The-Dichotomy-Of-Gretchen/38034.
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