Dr Faustus
I finished reading The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe this week. Actually it’s quite short, so it’s a quick read. I have now completed filled three gaps on my list of literature from the English canon since I started this project.
What is the story of Faustus about? At least in part it is about the temptation of power and the betrayal of our future selves. Reflecting on this has made me think of Boris Johnson and other similar characters. Power is given to all of us but to some people an inordinate and extraordinary amount of power is on offer. It opens up an infinite amount of possibilities for the actualisation of possible futures, futures in which the world can be a little better and people can suffer slightly less and be a bit happier. It also offers up extreme potential for self-gratification and exponential egotism which is the path Faustus goes down. (There are multiple hints in the text that Faustus’ supposed skills with the dark arts are actually easily obtained and not even necessary to conjure evil spirits. There is a scene for example in which another character manages to achieve the latter by babbling some incoherent Latin phrases. This renders his inflated self-perception all the more pathetic.) Faustus also can’t really enjoy his pleasures because he is continually tormented by the thought of going to hell and his need to repent.
Faustus had great skills that he could have used to actualise better futures for himself and the people around him. But instead he chose with a laser-like focus to gratify his present self with the delight of sin to the eternal detriment of his future self. This is the consequence of not acting ethically and wisely in the world with regards to the future.
There is an obvious metaphysical aspect to this but there is an equally obvious lesson about the decisions we make with our own lives and our own bodies. Being mired in sin for decades will result in a living hell in this life. Giving in to every impulse of lust or anger or greed will eventually bring about a hell of pain or frustration or brokenness or ill-health that could have been avoided had one attempted to control that urge.
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