More than Heavenly Power Permits

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MORE THAN HEAVENLY POWER PERMITS: THE FAUST MYTH AND MAN'S STRIVING IN MARLOWE'S DOCTOR FAUSTUS GOETHE'S FAUST AND BULGAKOV'S THE MASTER AND MARGARITA BY CARLOS GUZMAN VERDUGO A Thesis Submitted to the Division of Humanities New Colle ge of Florida in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts Under the sponsorship of Nova Myhill Sarasota, Florida December 2 2008

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ii Dedication This Thesis was an arduous process that could not have come together without the people in my life. Some of these people, while not present here at New College, were always there for me: this Thesis is dedicated to my parents Carlos and Su sana, who not only birthed and raised me, but allowed me to become my own person and never wavered in their support of my endeavors; to my brother Alex, who may one day overshadow me in accomplishments, but will always remain my little brother; to my uncle Carlos, a man whose unbridled passion for learning and self definition guided me to become the person I am today; to my grandparents Humberto and Susana, who were always there for me growing up; to Anita, who practically raised us and kept our house in or der; to my friend family back at home: Casta, you lovable cad, you are going places; Rodrigo, my oldest best friend, what you've done for me will never be forgotten; Jorge, you scallywag, you are and will forever be my favorite drinking buddy; Chris, I nev er keep I close enough contact but I love hanging out. Others were always around when I needed them, making my life at college an amazing experience: I dedicate my Thesis to Harrison, a friend without equal without whom my life would have turned out that m uch poorer; to Kate, who gave me a shoulder or a shake, depending on the situation, and never let me settle for less from myself; to Josh and Jesse, who were some of the best friends any guy could hope for; to Austin, Jessica, Suzanne, Ryan T., Ryan R., Aa ron, Molly, Jolene, Justin, Denise, Rio, Michael, Dolan and Crystal: better friends I couldn't have found anywhere and you made my time at New College something to always be glad about; to all the women in my life, from Lucy, to Katie, to Amber, to Anna, t o Morgan: whether things were good or bad, bad or good, you all helped make me the man I am today and I thank you for that; to all my professors, but, particularly, to Ben Lee, David Schatz, Margaret Eginton, Nova Myhill, Robert Zamsky, Glenn Cuomo, Andrei Malaev Babel, and John Moore: without professors like you, a college education would not be worth attending. Finally, I would like to dedicate this to New College of Florida: I came from the other side of the country to attend and I could not imagine a b etter place to have found in which to grow up. I am better for having found this place and having met everyone in it. Thank you, rolling admissions process: you brought me to a place where I could experience life and find happiness. One shouldn't ask for m ore from college. -Carlos Guzman Verdugo

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iii Table of Contents Dedicationii Abstract...iv Introduction: To Strive or Not To Strive .1 Christopher Marlowe's Doc tor Faustus 12 Conflicts: Interpretation, Dates, Texts, Sources 13 Morality Tradition and Ambiguous Worldviews ...16 Doctor Faustus: False Beliefs 20 Faustian Facets Adapted 2 4 Johann Goethe's Faust ...31 Origin and Sources .32 Unity through Dialectics: The Three Frames of Faust ..34 Dedication ..37 Prelude ...39 Prologue .42 Longing and Rejuvenation: Faust ..46 Way of the Wager: Mephistopheles and Gretchen 49 Cessation, Salvation, Elevation: The End of Faust ...53 Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita ...58 Introduction: Allusions and Illusions .59 Pilate's Story: Reflection by Example ...61 Mephistopheles: Devil in the Details? ...68 The Master: Faust as Failure ..74 Margarita: Fe male or Faust? ..77 Conclusions: Peace', not Light .80 Conclusion: "I want to burn until there's nothing left to burn" .84 Works Cited ...87 Works Consulted 91

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iv MORE THAN HEAVENLY POWER PERMITS: THE FAUST MYTH AND MAN'S STRIVING IN MARLOWE'S DOCTOR FAUSTUS GOETHE'S FAUST AND BULGAKOV'S THE MASTER AND MARGARITA Carlos Guzman Verdugo New College of Florida, 2008 ABSTRACT Originally conceived and prop agated in the sixteenth century, the Faust myth endures as an often adapted story about a man's ambitious folly. A morality tale about a foolhardy deal with the devil, the unique quality of the legend relates to the yearning quality of Faust's ambitions, a striving nature meant to represent humanity's own desire for what is beyond its means. Three specific adaptations interpret the core theme in unique, occasionally contradictory, ways: Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus one of the first adaptations of t he Faust myth, brings Faustus' plight onstage and crafts a world of ambiguous fates and doubting despair that reflect the conclusions of the original legend while providing the seeds of change that later works would develop; Johann Goethe's Faust a German masterpiece and the most well known adaptation, inverts the thrust of the Faust story by insisting on the positive nature of striving and subverts the original story's bleak conclusions by providing dialectics instead of oppositions that

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v allow Faust to er r even while he strives; Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita follows Goethe's lead, yet does not adapt the story itself, instead opting to use a Faustian framework and alter its roles and components in order to illustrate the symbolic power of the Faust dynamic, the relation between striver, enabler and lover. These three distinct interpretations of the Faust myth maintain the story's relevance by exploring its most pressing concern, Man's striving, and reconsidering its import and influence on Man' s fate. Nova Myhill Division of Humanities