Before you start working on your “Faust” analysis essay, consider the fact that Goethe has worked on “Faust” almost all his life and this masterpiece is quite personal. It is unknown whether this tragedy would exist if the author had not experienced numerous love affairs. Therefore, the story of Margaret in the tragedy “Faust” is a confession of his youth. Throughout his life Goethe believed that “love and desire are the spirit’s wings to great deeds.”
A “Faust” analysis may seem hard and unmanageable, as not every student can read it to an end and understand it properly. For this reason we asked one of our writers to create a sample paper, which you can read above. We hope that these texts will give you food for reflection and new ideas for your own writing.Also you can check other book analysis samples from our blog to have more information about essay structure. However, we reiterate that copying texts from our samples to your own paper may be considered plagiarism and we recommend you to use our content only for inspiration and ideas. If you still plan to use some parts of our texts, make sure that you have used proper citation format.
What values or ideas does the character of Gretchen represent?
Loving someone is not the easiest thing to do. It includes happiness, but somehow encompasses sorrows, and sacrifices. It can also destroy someone’s mind if it turns into obsession, insanity, and foolishness. Gretchen, also known as Margaret in the Faust was a victim of love. Love that was unfair, unjust, substantial, and a product of evil. She fell in love with Dr. Faust who was irreligious, liar, and weak.
Firstly for me,she was naive, and innocent that she can’t decide on her own. This happened when she got another chest of jewelries which are from Mephistopheles. If she was smart and sophisticated, she must have reported it to the proper authorities to make Mephistopheles’ intentions engrave.
Secondly, she was a traitor, stubborn, and unruly. This happened when she presented a famous question with Faust that said, “What is your way about religion, pray?” (Faust,line 3415) and she accepted the sleeping potion that turns out to be poisonous that have caused the death of her mother. If she really loved her mother, she shouldn’t have made herself blinded by Faust or any evil spirit because true love wins.
Lastly, she was selfish, unkind and maleficent. This happened when she found out that she was pregnant and said: “Now I myself am bared to sin! / Yet all of it that drove me here, / God! Was so innocent, was so dear!” (Faust, lines 3584–6). Gretchen drowns her illegitimate child and was convicted of murder. For me, she was the worst mother ever. She only thought of herself without considering her child’s future and happiness.
Being in love with somebody can change the way we see things as they are. It complicates situations, and most importantly, it can break a heart. It should be very important to trust God In making decisions in life, so that one cannot suffer what Gretchen endured in the story.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Faust.” Translated by Bayard Taylor and Marie Hansen Taylor, Stmarys-Ca.edu, 30 Jan. 1979, www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/Faust.pdf+. line 3415
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Faust, Part One.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust,_Part_One. lines 3584–6