History Myth / Faust

In this or similar form the legend spread to England, where Creator/ChristopherMarlowe would embody it in ''[[Theatre/DoctorFaustus The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus]]'' (first published 1604, probably written ''c''. 1590). Marlowe suggests a more complicated figure than the mere seeker after wealth and pleasure presented in earlier versions; his play establishes Faustus as a great scholar, one who longs for Knowledge as well as Power, who turns to sorcery after he has already reached the limits of human science and philosophy. His Faustus vacillates more between God and the Devil than the simple character of the chapbook (his [[GoodAngelBadAngel Good and Evil Angels]] appearing bodily, though presumably not in miniature form a few inches above his shoulders, given the conditions of the Elizabethan stage); given several opportunities to repent, he nevertheless proves obdurate, and is duly haled off to Hell, leaving the Chorus to point out the {{Aesop}} that there are [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know]].

Not to be confused with animator Creator/LaurenFaust, [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear a certain baldheaded ex-homicidal doctor]], or the German experimental band.

* CorruptChurch: The church in Goethe's Faust. Faust and Mephistopheles try to woo Gretchen together by giving her jewelry. She may like it, but her mother suspects it to be from a devil. So she calls her priest, who tells her that there is only one way to cleanse the house: donating the jewelry to the church, what is finally done.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Deconstructed in Goethe's version. Gretchen may carry her illegitimate child with Faust to term, but drowns it after birth instead out of despair. She ends up convicted and executed for murder, but God's voice nevertheless says that she is saved, showing that God still views her as good. In her afterlife, she is also in heaven, and her pleas to Mary make way for Faust's final salvation.

Most subsequent versions of the Faust story either base themselves on one of these two dramas or react against them. The character has been depicted by artists such as Creator/{{Rembrandt|VanRijn}} and [[Creator/EugeneDelacroix Delacroix]]; and by composers such as Music/HectorBerlioz, Music/FranzLiszt, Charles Gounod, Arrigo Boïto and Music/RichardWagner. Faust has also appeared in cinematic versions, such as Murnau's ''[[Film/{{Faust}} Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage]]'' (1926) and Creator/JanSvankmajer's ''Faust'' (1994); while Goethe's version of the story inspired a musical adaptation in two linked albums from metal band Kamelot, ''Epica'' (2003) and ''The Black Halo'' (2005).

Most subsequent versions of the Faust story either base themselves on one of these two dramas or react against them. The character has been depicted by artists such as Rembrandt and Delacroix; and by composers such as Music/HectorBerlioz, Music/FranzLiszt, Charles Gounod, Arrigo Boïto and Music/RichardWagner. Faust has also appeared in cinematic versions, such as Murnau's ''[[Film/{{Faust}} Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage]]'' (1926) and Creator/JanSvankmajer's ''Faust'' (1994); while Goethe's version of the story inspired a musical adaptation in two linked albums from metal band Kamelot, ''Epica'' (2003) and ''The Black Halo'' (2005).

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The work is never simply mentioned as ''Faust'', but is always ''Goethe's Faust''. In large part, this is to distinguish it from both the loose corpus of popular legend that inspired it and the long list of adaptations and derivative stories that would follow it.

* BlackMagic: As in, derived from devils.
* CastFromLifespan: The price Faust has to pay for his magic.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The work is never simply mentioned as ''Faust'', but is always ''Goethe's Faust''. In large part, this is to distinguish it from both the loose corpus of popular culture that inspired it and the long list of adaptations and derivative stories that would follow it.

The original seems to have been a John or George Sabellicus, born near the end of the 15th century, a ne'er-do-well con-man who passed himself off as a scholar and conjuror. There is some confusion as to whether ''Faust'' was his real surname or a pseudonym, and as to whether it was derived from Latin ''faustus'' (="lucky") or the German ''Faust'' (="fist"); he seems originally to have been described, not as a doctor, but a master of arts; there is even some doubt as to his given names ([[Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe Goethe]] calls him neither ''Johannes'' or ''Georg'', but ''Heinrich'') or whether there might not have been more than one Faustus. Be all that as it may, he seems to have made a living by various snake-oil type schemes (one was for a depilatory that took off not only the client's beard, but "the skin and most of the flesh as well"), until he came to a bad end -- his body is said to have been found mutilated, sometime around the year 1540. Various magical manuals ascribed to Faust circulated the first quarter of the 16th century, at least one of which contains the name of a demon, "Mephostophiles" [''sic''].

* DealWithTheDevil: Pretty much the story's entire plot.

* DraggedOffToHell: The standard finale until Goethe came along.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The work is never simply mentioned as ''Faust''. It is always ''Goethe's Faust''! Justified with so many adaptions though.

* KidWithTheLeash: Devils are at his beck and call...for a while.

* NobleDemon: Mephistopheles, in some versions.

* WholePlotReference: The essential story of ''Faust'', in particular the Marlowe and Goethe versions, has been lifted for dozens, if not hundreds, of works over the centuries. Modern examples include ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', ''Anime/BlackButler'' and ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' (though the last isn't obvious at first). Even done in an important episode of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', a Disney XD cartoon of all things, and quite intentionally too. Also seen in the ''Manga/BlueExorcist'' anime- notice the name Mephistopheles.

* FaustianRebellion: Trope namer.

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus, and others going back as far as ancient Sumer), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]].

* {{Defictionalization}}: Up to the 18th century, shady booksellers made a buck with weird "[[{{Spellbook}} grimoires]]" that supposedly were written by Faust, or contained his "real" magic spells.

* MundaneUtility: The all-powerful magician uses his magic to do things like draw wine from a table and play pranks on detractors.
* PopculturalOsmosis: C'mon, how many versions of the Faustian Bargain have ''you'' seen actually featuring a guy named Faust?

Most subsequent versions of the Faust story either base themselves on one of these two dramas or react against them. The character has been depicted by artists such as Rembrandt and Delacroix; and by composers such as Music/HectorBerlioz, Music/FranzLiszt, Charles Gounod, Boïto and Music/RichardWagner. Faust has also appeared in cinematic versions, such as Murnau's ''[[Film/{{Faust}} Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage]]'' (1926) and Creator/JanSvankmajer's ''Faust'' (1994); while Goethe's version of the story inspired a musical adaptation in two linked albums from metal band Kamelot, ''Epica'' (2003) and ''The Black Halo'' (2005).

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]].

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]]. While ''Faust'' has become the TropeNamer and TropeCodifier, similar tales of bargaining with devils or demons for superlative skill or riches have been found [[OlderThanDirt as far back, and as widely scattered as Sumeria, pre-dynastic China, and the Indus Valley.]]

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]].

Most subsequent versions of the Faust story either base themselves on one of these two dramas or react against them. The character has been depicted by artists such as Rembrandt and Delacroix; and by composers such as Music/HectorBerlioz, Music/FranzLiszt, Music/CharlesGounod, Boïto and Music/RichardWagner. Faust has also appeared in cinematic versions, such as Murnau's ''[[Film/{{Faust}} Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage]]'' (1926) and Creator/JanSvankmajer's ''Faust'' (1994); while Goethe's version of the story inspired a musical adaptation in two linked albums from metal band Kamelot, ''Epica'' (2003) and ''The Black Halo'' (2005).

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus, and others from many other cultures around teh world. It may be one of the most universal stories in world mythology), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]].

''Faust'' is the central character of the archetypal story of a DealWithTheDevil. Though there were earlier stories of individuals bargaining with demons for magical power (such as Simon Magus, Cyprian, and Theophilus), it is the legend of an [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance early 16th century]] [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] scholar that has been [[TropeCodifier the most frequent and profoundest inspiration for works of art on this theme]].

* AltumVidetur: Various versions use Latin for Faust's spells.

* {{Defictionalization}}: Up to the 18th century shady booksellers made a buck with weird [[{{Spellbook}} 'grimoires']] that supposedly were written by Faust, or contained his 'real' magic spells.

* AdaptationDeathChange: While many, if not most, versions of the legend end with Faust's demise, the method in which he goes often differs. Originally, Faust is allowed until he finds a moment of satisfaction. Eventually, that moment comes and he dies on the spot. Others simply end with Faust being taken to Hell by the demons he trafficked with. The 1994 movie ends with Faust being struck by a car.

* EvilIsNotAToy: Faust's bargain generally involves a great deal of trouble, even if he eventually manages to wriggle out of it.
** In some adaptations, Faust is part of a wager between God and the Devil in which Faust's fate will determine the fate of countless others.

[[quoteright:237:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RembrandtFaust.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:237:Faust, by Rembrandt]]