“The theme of love in Goethe’s tragedy “Faust.” "The Master and Margarita" and "Faust". Similarities and differences between the main demons

This story begins in the witch's kitchen, where Faust, with the help of the witch, receives a magic drink, with which youth turns to him. Faust hopes to find happiness in the love of young Gretchen. He tries to live human life, their passions, whims. But together with the beautiful Gretchen, he will also find street gossips, envious girlfriends, a cunning and greedy priest.

Gretchen is the most poetic of female characters in world literature. The daughter of a burgher, simple and unassuming, she is depicted as a child of nature. Gretchen works a lot, like all German women: she cooks, cleans the house, sews, sings songs, tells fortunes on flowers. Naive, simple and trusting, Faust really likes her and responds to his feelings with love. But she is in captivity of religious and everyday customs, she is frightened by the free and incomprehensible Faust.

Love, which should give only joy for Gretchen, soon turns into torment, into non-military crimes. Her brother Valentin dies in a duel with Faust, dies from a drug, given by daughter, Gretchen's mother. She herself was destroyed by human condemnation, since she gave birth to an celibate child. The townspeople drive her out of the city and unfortunate Gretchen becomes the murderer of her own child - she drowns her newborn child in a forest stream. Unhappy Gretchen is losing her mind, she is awaiting death penalty in the city prison.

Faust and Raphael will try to save her and take her out of prison, but the pure and beautiful Gretchen will refuse help. evil spirits, will push Faust away from himself: he is not like everyone else, he is guilty of all her suffering. IN final scene Gretchen's death in response to Raphael's cry of "She's dead!" from above it will sound: “She was saved!” This is the voice of the Lord, who envelops every believing soul with his love.

Faust realizes that he is responsible for the death of Gretchen, this pushes him to new wanderings. But he will always remember her - tender, beautiful, the embodiment of femininity, love, warmth, renewed life.

Image of Gretchen and her tragic love to Faust inspired poets, musicians, and artists to create new books, music, and paintings. Among them are “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov, “Faust-Symphony” by Hectare Berlioz. In Charles Gounod's opera "Faust", from the entire tragedy of Goethe, the composer used only the episode of the love of Faust and Gretchen-Marguerite. Gounod added his brilliant melodies to the brilliant poetic work, giving Faust and Margarita stage life. In Germany the opera is called "Margarita". Goethe's images are eternal, like eternal love.

The tragedy of I. V. Goethe “Faust” was written in 1774 – 1831 and belongs to literary direction romanticism. The work is the main work of the writer, on which he worked throughout almost his entire life. The plot of the tragedy is based on the German Legend of Faust, the famous warlock of the 16th century. The composition of the tragedy attracts special attention. The two parts of Faust are contrasted: the first depicts the doctor's relationship with the spiritual pure girl Margarita, in the second - the activities of Faust at court and marriage with the ancient heroine Helen.

Main characters

Heinrich Faust- doctor, scientist disillusioned with life and science. Made a deal with Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles- the evil spirit, the devil, bet with the Lord that he could get Faust’s soul.

Gretchen (Margarita) – beloved of Faust. An innocent girl who, out of love for Henry, accidentally killed her mother, and then, having gone crazy, drowned her daughter. She died in prison.

Other characters

Wagner – Faust's disciple who created the Homunculus.

Elena- Ancient Greek heroine, beloved of Faust, with whom she had a son, Euphorion. Their marriage is a symbol of the union of the ancient and romantic principles.

Euphorion – the son of Faust and Helen, endowed with the features of a romantic, Byronic hero.

Martha- Margarita's neighbor, a widow.

Valentine- soldier, Gretchen's brother, who was killed by Faust.

Theater director, Poet

Homunculus

Dedication

Theatrical introduction

The director of the theater asks the Poet to create an entertaining work that will be interesting to absolutely everyone and will attract more spectators to their theater. However, the Poet believes that “sprinkling vulgarities is a great evil,” “the craft of mediocre scoundrels.”

The director of the theater advises him to move away from his usual style and get down to business more decisively - to “deal with poetry in his own way,” then his works will be truly interesting to people. The director provides the Poet and Actor with all the possibilities of the theater in order to:

“In this plank booth
You can, as in the universe,
Having gone through all the tiers in a row,
Descend from heaven through earth to hell."

Prologue in the sky

Mephistopheles appears to receive the Lord. The devil argues that people “illuminated by God’s spark” continue to live like animals. The Lord asks if he knows Faust. Mephistopheles recalls that Faust is a scientist who is “eager to fight and loves to take on obstacles” while serving God. The devil offers to bet that he will “take away” Faust from the Lord, exposing him to all sorts of temptations, to which he receives consent. God is sure that the scientist's instincts will lead him out of the dead end.

Part one

Night

Cramped gothic room. Faust sits awake reading a book. The Doctor reflects:

“I have mastered theology,
Poored over philosophy,
Jurisprudence hammered
And he studied medicine.
However, at the same time I
He was and remains a fool."

“And I turned to magic,
So that the spirit appears to me when called
And he discovered the secret of existence."

The doctor’s thoughts are interrupted by his student Wagner unexpectedly entering the room. During a conversation with a student, Faust explains: people actually know nothing about antiquity. The doctor is outraged by Wagner’s arrogant, stupid thoughts that man has already grown to know all the secrets of the universe.

When Wagner left, the doctor reflects on the fact that he considered himself equal to God, but this is not so: “I am a blind worm, I am the stepson of nature.” Faust realizes that his life is “passing in the dust” and is going to commit suicide by drinking poison. However, the moment he brings the glass of poison to his lips, a bell rings and choral singing- the angels sing about the Resurrection of Christ. Faust abandons his intention.

At the gate

Crowds of people walking, including Wagner and Faust. The old peasant thanks the doctor and his late father for helping to “eliminate the plague” in the city. However, Faust is ashamed of his father, who, during his medical practice, gave people poison for the sake of experiments - while treating some, he killed others. A black poodle runs up to the doctor and Wagner. It seems to Faust that behind the dog “a flame is snaking across the land of the glades.”

Faust's work room

Faust took the poodle to his place. The Doctor sits down to translate the New Testament into German. Reflecting on the first phrase of scripture, Faustus comes to the conclusion that it is translated not as “In the beginning was the Word,” but “In the beginning was the Deed.” The poodle begins to play around and, distracted from work, the doctor sees how the dog turns into Mephistopheles. The Devil appears to Faust dressed as a traveling student. The doctor asks who he is, to which Mephistopheles replies:

"Part of the strength that is without number
He does good, desiring evil for everything."

Mephistopheles chuckles at human weaknesses, as if knowing what thoughts were tormenting Faust. Soon the Devil is about to leave, but the pentagram drawn by Faust does not let him in. The devil, with the help of spirits, puts the doctor to sleep and, while he sleeps, disappears.

The second time Mephistopheles appeared to Faust in rich clothes: in a camisole made of karamzin, with a cape on his shoulders and a rooster feather on his hat. The devil persuades the doctor to leave the walls of the office and go with him:

“You will be comfortable here with me,
I will perform any whim."

Faust agrees and signs the contract in blood. They set off on a journey, flying through the air on the Devil's magic cloak.

Auerbach cellar in Leipzig

Mephistopheles and Faust join the company of merry revelers. The devil treats wine drinkers. One of the revelers spills a drink on the ground and the wine catches fire. The man exclaims that this is hellfire. Those present rush at the Devil with knives, but he puts a “dope” on them - people begin to think that they are in a beautiful land. At this time, Mephistopheles and Faust disappear.

Witch's kitchen

Faust and Mephistopheles are waiting for the witch. Faust complains to Mephistopheles that he is tormented by sad thoughts. The devil replies that he can be distracted from any thoughts by a simple means - running a normal household. However, Faust is not ready to “live on a grand scale.” At the request of the Devil, the witch prepares a potion for Faust, after which the doctor’s body “gets hot” and his lost youth returns to him.

Street

Faust, seeing Margarita (Gretchen) on the street, is amazed by her beauty. The doctor asks Mephistopheles to introduce him to her. The devil replies that he just overheard her confession - she is as innocent as Small child, therefore, evil spirits have no power over her. Faust sets a condition: either Mephistopheles arranges their date today, or he will terminate their contract.

Evening

Margarita reflects that she would give a lot to find out who the man she met was. While the girl leaves her room, Faust and Mephistopheles leave her a gift - a jewelry box.

On a walk

Margarita's mother took the donated jewelry to the priest, as she realized that it was a gift from evil spirits. Faust orders Gretchen to be given something else.

Neighbor's house

Margarita tells her neighbor Martha that she discovered a second jewelry box. The neighbor advises not to say anything about the mother’s find, starting to put on jewelry gradually.

Mephistopheles comes to Martha and reports the fictitious death of her husband, who left nothing for his wife. Martha asks if it is possible to get a paper confirming the death of her husband. Mephistopheles replies that he will soon return with a friend to testify about the death, and asks Margarita to stay too, since his friend is an “excellent fellow.”

Garden

Walking with Faust, Margarita says that she lives with her mother, her father and sister have died, and her brother is serving in the army. The girl tells fortunes using a daisy and receives the answer “Loves”. Faust confesses his love to Margarita.

Forest Cave

Faust is hiding from everyone. Mephistopheles tells the doctor that Margarita misses him very much and is afraid that Henry has lost interest in her. The devil is surprised that Faust so simply decided to abandon the girl.

Martha's Garden

Margarita shares with Faust that she really doesn’t like Mephistopheles. The girl thinks that he might betray them. Faust notes the innocence of Margarita, before whom the Devil is powerless: “Oh, the sensitivity of angelic guesses!” .

Faust gives Margarita a bottle of sleeping pills so that she can put her mother to sleep, and they can be alone longer next time.

Night. Street in front of Gretchen's house

Valentin, Gretchen's brother, decides to deal with the girl's lover. The young man is upset that she has brought shame upon herself by having an affair without marriage. Seeing Faust, Valentin challenges him to a duel. The doctor kills the young man. Before they are noticed, Mephistopheles and Faust hide and leave the city. Before his death, Valentin instructs Margarita, saying that the girl must take care of her honor.

Cathedral

Gretchen attends a church service. Behind the girl, an evil spirit whispers to her thoughts that Gretchen is guilty of the death of her mother (who did not wake up from the sleeping potion) and brother. Besides, everyone knows that a girl carries a child under her heart. Unable to bear the obsessive thoughts, Gretchen faints.

Walpurgis Night

Faust and Mephistopheles watch the Sabbath of witches and sorcerers. Walking along the fires, they meet a general, a minister, a rich businessman, a writer, a ragpicker witch, Lilith, Medusa and others. Suddenly, one of the shadows reminds Faust of Margarita; the doctor dreamed that the girl was beheaded.

It's a nasty day. Field

Mephistopheles tells Faust that Gretchen has been a beggar for a long time and is now in prison. The doctor is in despair, he blames the Devil for what happened and demands that he save the girl. Mephistopheles notices that it was not he, but Faust himself who ruined Margarita. However, after thinking, he agrees to help - the Devil will put the caretaker to sleep, and then take them away. Faust himself will have to take possession of the keys and lead Margarita out of prison.

Jail

Faust enters the dungeon where Margarita is sitting, singing strange songs. She lost her mind. Mistaking the doctor for an executioner, the girl asks to delay the punishment until the morning. Faust explains that her lover is in front of her and they need to hurry. The girl is happy, but hesitates, telling him that he has lost interest in her embrace. Margarita tells how she put her mother to death and drowned her daughter in a pond. The girl is delirious and asks Faust to dig graves for her, her mother and brother. Before her death, Margarita asks God for salvation. Mephistopheles says that she is condemned to torment, but then a voice comes from above: “Saved!” . The girl is dying.

Part two

Act one

Imperial Palace. Masquerade

Mephistopheles appears before the emperor in the guise of a jester. The State Council begins in the throne room. The Chancellor reports that the country is in decline, the state does not have enough money.

Party garden

The devil helped the state solve the problem of lack of money by pulling off a scam. Mephistopheles put into circulation securities, the collateral of which was gold located in the bowels of the earth. The treasure will one day be found and cover all expenses, but for now the fooled people are paying in shares.

Dark gallery

Faust, who appeared at court as a magician, tells Mephistopheles that he promised to show the emperor ancient heroes Paris and Helen. The Doctor asks the Devil to help him. Mephistopheles gives Faust a guide key that will help the doctor penetrate the world pagan gods and heroes.

Knight's Hall

The courtiers await the appearance of Paris and Helen. When an ancient Greek heroine appears, the ladies begin to discuss her shortcomings, but Faustus is captivated by the girl. The scene of the “abduction of Helen” by Paris is played out in front of the audience. Having lost his composure, Faust tries to save and hold the girl, but the spirits of the heroes suddenly evaporate.

Act two

Gothic room

Faust lies motionless in his old room. The student Famulus tells Mephistopheles that Wagner, who has now become a famous scientist, is still awaiting the return of his teacher Faust, and is now on the verge of a great discovery.

Laboratory in a medieval spirit

Mephistopheles appears to Wagner, who is at the awkward instruments. The scientist tells the guest that he wants to create a person, since, in his opinion, “for us, the former existence of children is an absurdity, archived.” Wagner creates the Homunculus.

The homunculus advises Mephistopheles to take Faust to the Walpurgis Night celebration, and then flies away with the doctor and the Devil, leaving Wagner.

Classic Walpurgis Night

Mephistopheles lowers Faust to the ground, and he finally comes to his senses. The Doctor goes in search of Elena.

Act three

In front of the Palace of Menelaus in Sparta

Landed on the shores of Sparta, Helen learns from the housekeeper Phorkiades that King Menelaus (Helen's husband) sent her here as a victim for sacrifice. The housekeeper helps the heroine escape death by helping her escape to a nearby castle.

Castle courtyard

Helen is brought to Faust's castle. He reports that the queen now owns everything in his castle. Faust directs his troops against Menelaus, who is coming at him with war and wants revenge, and he and Helen take refuge in the underworld.

Soon a son, Euphorion, is born to Faust and Helen. The boy dreams of jumping so “that he might inadvertently reach the heavens in one swoop.” Faust tries to shield his son from trouble, but he asks to leave him alone. Having climbed a high rock, Euphorion jumps from it and falls dead at the feet of his parents. Grieving Helen says to Faust: “The old saying comes true on me, That happiness does not coexist with beauty,” and, with the words “Take me, O Persephone, with a boy!” hugs Faust. The woman's body disappears, and only her dress and bedspread remain in the man's hands. Helen's clothes turn into clouds and carry Faust away.

Act Four

Mountain landscape

Faust floats on a cloud to the rocky ridge, which was previously the bottom of the underworld. A man reflects on the fact that with memories of love, all his purity and “better essence” goes away. Soon Mephistopheles flies to the rock on seven-league boots. Faust tells Mephistopheles that his greatest desire is to build a dam on the sea and

"At any cost in the abyss
Conquer a piece of land."

Faust asks Mephistopheles for help. Suddenly the sounds of war are heard. The Devil explains that the Emperor, whom they had previously helped, is in dire straits after the discovery of a securities scam. Mephistopheles advises Faust to help the monarch return to the throne, for which he can receive the seashore as a reward. The Doctor and the Devil help the Emperor achieve a brilliant victory.

Act five

Open area

To the elderly, loving married couple A wanderer visits Baucis and Philemon. Once upon a time, the old people already helped him, for which he is very grateful to them. Baucis and Philemon live by the sea, nearby there is a bell tower and a linden grove.

Castle

The aged Faustus is outraged - Baucis and Philemon do not agree to leave the seashore so that he can bring his idea to life. Their house is located exactly on the spot that now belongs to the doctor. Mephistopheles promises to deal with the old people.

Deep night

The house of Baucis and Philemon, and with it the linden grove and bell tower, were burned. Mephistopheles told Faust that they tried to drive the old people out of the house, but they died of fright, and the guest, resisting, was killed by the servants. The house caught fire accidentally from a spark. Faust curses Mephistopheles and the servants for being deaf to his words, since he wanted a fair exchange, and not violence and robbery.

Large courtyard in front of the palace

Mephistopheles orders the lemurs (grave ghosts) to dig a grave for Faust. The blind Faust hears the sound of shovels and decides that these are the workers making his dream come true:

“They put a limit to the frenzy of the surf
And, as if reconciling the earth with itself,
They are erecting, the shaft and embankments are being secured.”

Faust orders Mephistopheles to “recruit countless workers here,” constantly reporting to him on the progress of work. The Doctor reflects that he would like to see the days when a free people worked in a free land, then he could exclaim: “In a moment! Oh, how wonderful you are, wait!” . With the words: “And anticipating this triumph, I am now experiencing the highest moment,” Faust dies.

Coffin position

Mephistopheles waits for Faust's spirit to leave his body so that he can present to him their agreement, backed by blood. However, angels appear and, having pushed the demons away from the doctor’s grave, they carry Faust’s immortal essence into the sky.

Conclusion

Tragedy I. In Goethe “Faust” is philosophical work, in which the author reflects on eternal theme confrontation in the world and man between good and evil, reveals issues of human knowledge of the secrets of the world, self-knowledge, touches on important issues of power, love, honor, justice and many others at any time. Today, Faust is considered one of the pinnacles of German classical poetry. The tragedy is included in the repertoire of the world's leading theaters and has been filmed many times.

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The love story of Faust and Gretchen is the most daring and deepest in German literature.

B. Brecht

In Goethe's tragedy Faust, a man makes a deal with Satan. The hero of the tragedy is a thinker, philosopher, scientist. The transaction is made out of good intentions of a person - he wants to know the world. The Lord gives a person “under the care” of Satan, confident in advance that the person will not allow the devil to humiliate himself:

And let Satan be put to shame!

Know: a pure soul in his vague quest

Full of consciousness of truth.

Here, in essence, the main meaning of Faust is already expressed.

Mephistopheles, believing that even a little is enough for Faust to fulfill the agreement, brings him to the tavern. But Faust is bored in the tavern. Mephistopheles leads the hero further. This is the witches' kitchen. Faust, however, does not refuse the rejuvenating drink offered to him by the witch and receives a second life given by magic. The hero passed the test of wine. What about love?

The love story of Faust and Gretchen begins. Here is finally that pain and bliss, that frenzy of passion that Faust dreamed of. The acutely dramatic plot develops in a series of lively scenes recreating the life, customs, and characters of the German province of the medieval era.

Street. Gretchen's room. Neighbor's garden. Street gossip. The power of the church is represented by a greedy priest, always ready to take over the property of parishioners. Fear of ordinary people before church prohibitions. Mephistopheles's tricks with the widow Martha. The envy of Gretchen's friend Lisa, eager for slander. The ardor of Gretchen's brother Valentine, a soldier, rushing in his own way to defend his sister's honor. Goethe depicts patriarchal Germany as narrow, limited, but somehow sweet. In the center of the picture is young Gretchen.

Gretchen is the most poetic, brightest of the female images created by Goethe. Ordinary girl from a poor burgher family, she is depicted as an artless child of nature, as a beautiful “ natural man”, how the enlighteners thought of their ideal.

She loves nature, sings folk songs, naively guesses with a chamomile. Her childish spontaneity delights Faust, a reflective man of modern times. “How immaculate, how pure,” he admires. The plot seems to be starting to take shape here. classic comedy on a love theme. Goethe gives Mephistopheles the functions of a servant, both helping his master and parodying his ardent passion. Mephistopheles’ crude flirtation with Martha becomes such a parody. But the comedy quickly turns into tragedy.

The persistence of Faust's courtship overcomes Gretchen's timidity. The girl is walking towards the feeling that had awakened in her artlessly and recklessly. The love of Gretchen and Faust comes into conflict with the bourgeois mores of the city.

Love, which Gretchen thought would bring her happiness, turns into the source of her involuntary crimes. Valentin dies in a duel with Faust, his mother dies from sleeping pills. Condemned by rumor, Gretchen drowns her newborn child in a forest stream. The unfortunate woman goes to prison and awaits the death penalty.

Faust enters the prison, trying to save his beloved. But she refuses, considering herself to be to blame for everything.

Faust's forced separation from Gretchen also has a general meaning associated with the main content of the central image: Gretchen is too connected by all her prejudices with old Germany to become Faust's friend in his bold quest, and Faust - the very movement forward - cannot stay with her. Only love is not enough for him.

The tragic ending of the love between Faust and Gretchen is shocking and at the same time strengthens the symbolic meaning of the images. Gretchen, like Faust, is not only a unique person with a specific destiny, her image is also a symbol of patriarchal Germany; Faust is the embodiment of seeking humanity. At the same time, Gretchen reflects the bright feminine principle - love, warmth, renewal of life, and in this she will forever remain an ideal for Faust. The Lord forgives Margarita's sins. This is Goethe's justification for the heroine.

This is how the first part of the tragedy ends. In her last scenes contains important moral lesson: the self-affirmation of one individual, a “superman”, can turn into a disaster for another person.

The main theme of Goethe's tragedy "Faust" is the spiritual quest of the main character - the freethinker and warlock Doctor Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for gaining eternal life in human form. The purpose of this terrible agreement is to soar above reality not only with the help of spiritual exploits, but also worldly good deeds and valuable discoveries for humanity.

History of creation

The philosophical drama for reading “Faust” was written by the author throughout his creative life. It is based on the most known version legends about Doctor Faustus. The idea of ​​writing is the embodiment of higher spiritual impulses in the image of a doctor human soul. The first part was completed in 1806, the author wrote it for about 20 years, the first edition took place in 1808, after which it underwent several author's modifications during reprints. The second part was written by Goethe in his old age, and published approximately a year after his death.

Description of the work

The work opens with three introductions:

• Dedication. A lyrical text dedicated to the friends of his youth who formed the author’s social circle during his work on the poem.
• Prologue in the theater. A lively debate between a theater director, a comic actor and a poet on the importance of art in society.
• Prologue in Heaven. After discussing the reason given by the Lord to people, Mephistopheles makes a bet with God about whether Doctor Faustus can overcome all the difficulties of using his reason solely for the benefit of knowledge.

Part one

Doctor Faustus, realizing the limitations of the human mind in understanding the secrets of the universe, tries to commit suicide, and only the sudden blows of the Easter gospel prevent him from realizing this plan. Next, Faust and his student Wagner bring a black poodle into the house, which turns into Mephistopheles in the form of a wandering student. Evil spirit amazes the doctor with his strength and sharpness of mind and tempts the pious hermit to again experience the joys of life. Thanks to the concluded agreement with the devil, Faust regains youth, strength and health. Faust's first temptation is his love for Margarita, an innocent girl who later paid with her life for her love. In this tragic story, Margarita is not the only victim - her mother also accidentally dies from an overdose of sleeping pills, and her brother Valentin, who stood up for his sister’s honor, will be killed by Faust in a duel.

Part two

The action of the second part takes the reader to the imperial palace of one of the ancient states. In five acts, permeated with a mass of mystical and symbolic associations, the worlds of Antiquity and the Middle Ages are intertwined in a complex pattern. The red thread runs through love line Faust and beautiful Elena, heroines of the ancient Greek epic. Faust and Mephistopheles, through various tricks, quickly become close to the emperor's court and offer him a rather unconventional way out of the current financial crisis. At the end of his earthly life, the practically blind Faust undertakes the construction of a dam. He perceives the sound of shovels of evil spirits digging his grave on the orders of Mephistopheles as active construction works, while experiencing moments of greatest happiness associated with a great cause implemented for the benefit of his people. It is in this place that he asks to stop a moment of his life, having the right to do so under the terms of his contract with the devil. Now hellish torment is predetermined for him, but the Lord, appreciating the doctor’s services to humanity, makes a different decision and Faust’s soul goes to heaven.

Main characters

Faust

It's not just typical collective image a progressive scientist - he symbolically represents the entire human race. His difficult fate and life path are not just allegorically reflected in all of humanity, they point to the moral aspect of the existence of each individual - life, work and creativity for the benefit of their people.

(The image shows F. Chaliapin in the role of Mephistopheles)

At the same time, the spirit of destruction and the force opposing stagnation. A skeptic who despises human nature, confident in the worthlessness and weakness of people who are unable to cope with their sinful passions. As a person, Mephistopheles opposes Faust with his disbelief in the goodness and humanistic essence of man. He appears in several guises - either as a joker and joker, or as a servant, or as a philosopher-intellectual.

Margarita

A simple girl, the embodiment of innocence and kindness. Modesty, openness and warmth attract Faust's lively mind and restless soul to her. Margarita is the image of a woman capable of comprehensive and sacrificial love. It is thanks to these qualities that she receives forgiveness from the Lord, despite the crimes she has committed.

Analysis of the work

Tragedy has complex compositional structure- it consists of two voluminous parts, the first has 25 scenes, and the second has 5 actions. The work connects into a single whole the cross-cutting motif of the wanderings of Faust and Mephistopheles. Bright and interesting feature is a three-part introduction, which represents the beginning of the future plot of the play.

(Images of Johann Goethe in his work on Faust)

Goethe thoroughly reworked the folk legend underlying the tragedy. He filled the play with spiritual and philosophical issues, in which the ideas of the Enlightenment close to Goethe resonated. Main character transforms from a sorcerer and alchemist into a progressive experimental scientist, rebelling against scholastic thinking, which is very characteristic of the Middle Ages. The range of problems raised in the tragedy is very extensive. It includes reflection on the mysteries of the universe, the categories of good and evil, life and death, knowledge and morality.

Final conclusion

“Faust” is a unique work that touches on eternal philosophical questions along with the scientific and social problems of its time. Criticizing a narrow-minded society that lives by carnal pleasures, Goethe, with the help of Mephistopheles, simultaneously ridicules the system German education, replete with a lot of useless formalities. The unsurpassed play of poetic rhythms and melody makes Faust one of the greatest masterpieces of German poetry.

One of the most striking images of the tragedy “Faust” is the image of Margarita, the beloved of Doctor Faust. Margarita is shy, chaste and believes in God like a child. She lives by honest work, sometimes quite hard. Margarita would probably make a good wife. “You are created for the joys of family,” Mephistopheles tells her at their first meeting. As an almost angelic being, Gretchen senses Mephistopheles' hidden devilish essence and fears him.

However, Margarita is capable of great love, great passion. Having fallen in love with Faust, she is able to sacrifice everything in her life for him. Their love is contrasted with the relationship of Mephistopheles and Martha, reasonable and hypocritical.

Faust is attracted to Margarita by purity and innocence, including spiritual innocence. This sweet girl, almost a child, reminds him of an angel. Faust honestly believes that his love will be eternal. At the same time, he understands that a close relationship with this girl can destroy her quiet and peaceful life. In the town where Margarita lives, extramarital affairs for a girl are a great shame. But Faust gives vent to his passion, pushed by Mephistopheles. The girl's family is destroyed, her brother dies at the hands of Faust in a street skirmish. After the murder, Faust and Mephistopheles flee the city, leaving the girl alone. Disgraced, she finds herself in poverty, goes crazy and drowns her newborn daughter in a pond.

But even after Gretchen’s life and mind are ruined, something sacred remains in her soul, “the bright world of a child.” While awaiting execution in prison, she sees her beloved Faust again. He came to his senses and, with the help of Mephistopheles, tries to help her out. Margarita refuses to escape from prison: “I submit to God’s judgment... Save me, my Father, on high!” Margarita's soul, no matter what, will be saved.

The very image of Faust is not Goethe's original invention. This image arose in the depths folk art and only later entered into book literature.

Hero folk legend, Doctor Johann Faust is a historical figure. He wandered through the cities of Protestant Germany during the turbulent era of the Reformation and peasant wars. Whether he was just a clever charlatan, or really a learned doctor and brave natural scientist, has not yet been established. One thing is certain: the Faust of folk legend became the hero of a number of generations of the German people, their favorite, to whom all kinds of miracles, familiar from more ancient legends, were generously attributed. The people sympathized with the successes and wonderful art of Doctor Faustus, and this sympathy for the “warlock and heretic” naturally inspired fear in Protestant theologians. In the period from 1770 to 1782, references to “Faust” are often found in Goethe’s correspondence with friends and colleagues and in his autobiography. During this period, individual fragments of the tragedy were heard by the author’s immediate circle. Literary circles We were looking forward to the presentation of the work. "Send me Faust" rather volume, as soon as it matures in my head! - wrote Gotter, in response to a copy of Goetz von Berlichingen given to Goethe.

In "Ur-Faust" there is already the backbone of the future first part of the tragedy. The main motives are not fully developed. The tragedy of knowledge has not yet reached its extreme tension. The image of Mephistopheles is also not complete: he is not yet a tempter, but only a mocker mocking the Student. The remaining fantastic figures do not appear.

The love of Faust and Gretchen (by the way, this name of endearment from Margarita was borne by Goethe’s first lover) and the death of the heroine are most fully depicted.

The little development of the initial part created in the reader the feeling that this was not a philosophical, but a love tragedy. Moreover, 17 out of 21 scenes are devoted to a love story. The tragedy of Margaret is depicted by the young Goethe with great inner feeling. Biographers, not without reason, point out that the consciousness of guilt towards the girls he abandoned prompted Goethe to look into the soul of a suffering woman and create one of the most stunning tragedies in world literature. Goethe created the image of a rebel against the forces of the church, state and traditions that fetter the human mind and feelings in “Ur-Faust”: this Protestant, still very different from the “Faust” of the later adaptation, opposes the church and religion, because with their teaching about good and evil only separate man from knowledge true reasons and sources of reality. The deity for Goethe-Pra-Faust is life itself, reality itself, embodied in the image of the earthly spirit, and his assistant Mephistopheles, the power of the earth, is cursed as such by the church, the ideology of feudalism hostile to the burghers.

But in “Ur-Faust” the duality in the worldview of the young Goethe, arising from the weakness of the burghers of that time, also clearly appears: Goetz dies because he opposes the imperial power. “Ur-Faust” does not have a monolithic, purposeful worldview, this duality destroys him: he cannot separate an action from the consequences arising from it, passionate desire from disappointing pleasure, they torment him with remorse, from which he sees no way out. The hero in "Ur-Faust", who thought to find the highest freedom in the joys of love and instead mercilessly crushed the bourgeois Gretchen, falls into despair, and his path, as far as one can judge from the surviving fragments, is lost in deep darkness.

In the decade from 1776 to 1786, Goethe changed his views not on literature and creativity. He comes to the conclusion that literary protests against the existing order are fruitless, because they are not supported by either the people or the burghers. An attempt to improve the situation of the people by influencing the Weimer Duke also proved futile. But Goethe still remained an ardent enemy of the official religion, he understood the inhumanity of the existing order, but knew that he was not given the opportunity to change the world. Therefore, he returned to his true calling - poetic creativity.

At this stage, Goethe realizes the need to revise and reveal the image of Faust. The restless spirit, the titanism of the hero, his search for an ideal remained. But Goethe understands insufficiency only internal sources strength, which was characteristic of the period of “storm and stress”. Goethe was in no hurry to endow the hero with his wisdom: Faust had to live and develop in a natural way for him.

Faust grows up in literally this word. The hero of "Ur-Faust" is a young man who has not reached 30. In 1788, when Goethe took on the continuation of the tragedy, he was 39. He saw Faust differently - an old man, wise in the sciences, but retaining a lively mind and desire for truth. Thus Goethe introduces a new motive. The hero's despair at the futility of science is aggravated by the fact that there is nothing ahead, so by concluding a contract with the devil, he starts life over again. This is what the fragment with rejuvenation (“The Witch’s Kitchen”) is for.

Returning to work on Faust, Goethe makes a very important note. It defines a kind of ideological core of the tragedy - the first draft of the plan. In it, in addition to other thoughts already put on paper, such thoughts appear as “the dispute between form and the formless,” “the preference for formless content over empty form,” “Wagner’s clear, cold scientific aspiration” - this is the plan for Faust’s future conversation with Wagner.

Goethe's changing aesthetic concepts prevented him from continuing to work on the tragedy. He was no longer attracted to the German Middle Ages, Gothic, or the legend of Faust. A trip to Italy changes his idea of ​​creativity and literature. Now he strives for classical clarity and harmony, for the unity and harmony of its individual parts. But he did not want to enclose Faust in a “poetic hoop.”

Bible story about how Satan killed faith in Job, trying to bring troubles upon him, prompted Goethe to preface the story of Faust with a dispute between Satan and God about Faust. The desire for good or the tendency towards evil? - such a beginning gives the tragedy a pan-human scale. Faust must confirm or refute the high concept of man. Mephistopheles is now seen by Goethe not just as a devil-tempter, but as the driving principle of life. Faust is the bearer of all the best, all noble human feelings, striving for perfection. Mephistopheles denies all ideals, considers them an illusion, a deception, to satisfy the basest needs. Based on this, in the “prologue in heaven” these heroes are given a generalized symbolic meaning- in Faust and Mephistopheles the struggle between good and evil is symbolically expressed.

“Ur-Faust” was a tragedy of the personalities and destinies of the heroes, and “Faust” became a tragedy of man in general. “Walpurgis Night” also appears in the first part. While attending the witches' Sabbath, Faust succumbs to the "temptations" of Mephistopheles. But every time he overcomes Mephistopheles’ desire to kill his humanity. This scene contains some anti-aesthetic moments, which, however, Goethe was not at all embarrassed by. Although many episodes were never included in final version text - apparently to both Schiller and Goethe they seemed to cross all the boundaries of aesthetics. Such, for example, is the scene of Satan teaching his wicked flock.

When Goethe conceived Faust, he did not imagine the volume of the future work. But after he wrote “Ur-Faust,” he became convinced that it was impossible to fit such a large plot into the framework of one play. It became obvious that Faust needed to be divided into two parts. In the plan of the 1790s, it was already clearly delineated what each of the parts would be about. In the first part, the action revolves around the hero's personal experiences; in the second, the author plans to show the hero’s relationship with outside world.

The idea of ​​​​showing the hero’s relationship with the outside world allowed Goethe to strengthen his criticism of the outdated feudal-monarchical system. The author chooses France on the eve of the revolution as an example for his depiction. In the image of the Emperor, he portrays “a monarch who has all the qualities to lose the throne of his country”: he does not care about the welfare of the state and his subjects, he thinks only about new fun, the country does not know wrong or justice, judges find themselves on the side of criminals, treasury penniless, etc. In general, in the first act, Goethe embodied the results of his many years of reflection on the nature of contemporary power and reported historical experience of his era.

The first part of Faust was fragmentary, clearly divided into scenes, each representing a separate whole, but the second part became compositionally a single whole. Goethe writes about his Faust: “It was difficult to achieve success because the goals and motives of the second part were conceived 15 years ago, when I was satisfied with the way this or that episode was turning out. Reason made great demands on the second part, and I had to create reasonable transitions.”

Work on the second part lasted from 1827 to 1830-1831. Goethe seals the finished manuscript in an envelope and asks for the work to be published only after his death.

47. Schiller, his work, development. "Robbers" and "Cunning and Love".

Schiller was born in 1759 in the small town of Marbach in the Duchy of Württemberg. His mother was the daughter of a rural baker, his father was a military paramedic.

Schiller studied at the academy at the medical faculty, graduated in 1780 and was assigned to serve as a regimental doctor with a very meager salary. Some of his lyrical poems were already published then. He also wrote the drama “The Robbers” furtively at night. The drama was completed in 1781, when Schiller had already left school. The play was accepted for production at the Mannheim Theater. The play, staged at the theater, caused a storm of delight throughout Germany. However, Karl Eugene was outraged that his soldier was writing “criminal” works.

Schiller had no choice but to flee from the Duchy of Württemberg, which he did on September 17, 1782. Soon, in 1783, he completed the second drama, “The Fiesco Conspiracy,” and in 1784, “Cunning and Love” (originally called "Louise Miller").

His wanderings continue. During these years, he intensively studied history, writing “The History of the Fall of the United Netherlands”, “The History of the Thirty Years’ War”.

Last years Schiller, like Goethe, spent his life in Weimar. In 1790 he married Charlotte von Lengenfeld.

In Weimar, Schiller studied Kant and wrote a number of articles on aesthetics: “O tragic art"", "On the sublime", "On naive and sentimental poetry", "Letters about aesthetic education man" (1795). Here he becomes close to Goethe.

Competing with Goethe, Schiller wrote his ballads “Polycrates’ Ring”, “Ivikov’s Cranes”, “Cup”, “Bail”, etc. In 1791-1799. he creates the Wallenstein trilogy (Wallenstein's Camp, Piccolomini, The Death of Wallenstein). In 1800-1802. the romantic tragedies “Mary Stuart” and “The Maid of Orleans” were created, in 1803 - “The Bride of Messina”, in which, following the example of an ancient tragedy, a choir was introduced. In 1804, Schiller completed his last drama, William Tell. The play from Russian history “False Dmitry”, on which he worked after “Tell”, remained unfinished. The poet died on May 9, 1805.

"Cunning and Love." The idea of ​​creating a play about modern German reality first arose from Schiller in the guardhouse. After escaping from Stuttgart, Schiller, wandering around Germany, worked on a play.

The little Duchy of Württemberg, the despotic, depraved Karl Eugene, his favorite Countess von Hohenheim, the minister Montmartin, depicted in the play under other names, while maintaining their portrait resemblance, turned into grandiose generalized images, types of feudal Germany. The musty little world of a remote province, the luxury and debauchery of the ducal court and the appalling poverty of the people - such is the situation in which tragic story sublime love two noble creatures - Ferdinand and Louise.

Two social groups are contrasted in the play: on the one hand, the Duke, his minister von Walter, a cold, calculating careerist who killed his predecessor, capable of any crime in the name of a career; the Duke's mistress Lady Milford, a proud social beauty; the sneaky and sneaky Wurm, the president's secretary; the pompous dandy, stupid and cowardly Marshal von Kalb. On the other hand, the honest family of the musician Miller, his simple-minded wife, his sweet, intelligent, sensitive daughter Louise. To this group belongs Lady Milford's old valet, who contemptuously rejects the purse of money offered to him by his mistress.

Before us are two worlds, separated by a deep chasm. Some live in luxury, oppress others, are vicious, greedy, selfish; others are poor, persecuted, oppressed, but honest and noble. To them, to the destitute people, came Ferdinand, the son of the ducal minister, a major at the age of 20, a nobleman with a five-hundred-year-old pedigree.

He came to them not only because he was captivated by Louise's beauty; he understood the depravity of the moral principles of his class. Ferdinand in the Miller family found that moral harmony, that spiritual clarity that he could not find in his own environment. There are two women in front of Ferdinand. They both love him. One is a brilliant social beauty, the second is an unassuming city dweller, beautiful in her simplicity and spontaneity. And Ferdinand can only love this girl from the people, only with her is he able to find moral satisfaction and peace of mind.

Schiller's play was staged for the first time on May 9, 1784. Its success was extraordinary. The audience saw modern Germany in front of them. Those glaring injustices that were happening before everyone's eyes, but which they were afraid to talk about, now appeared in living and convincing stage images. The revolutionary, rebellious thought of the poet sounded from the stage of the theater in the exciting speeches of his heroes.

Schiller's "The Robbers" is the first drama written under the impression of the oppressive tyranny of Prince Charles Eugene. The epigraph ("Against Tyrants") already speaks of a social purpose. Public meaning of the play Schiller was enormous. The drama hero’s protest against all injustices has an anarchic character. Young Karl Moor reads the ardent pages of Rousseau, admiring the heroes of Plutarch. He is disgusted by his age, in which there is nothing heroic, in which boring everyday prose , like swamp mud, flooded everything. This is a hero who rejects petty-bourgeois orderliness, protests against tyranny in the name of personal freedom, but understands freedom as complete uninhibition, independent of any social norms. Schiller’s hero rejects all laws in general. He arrogantly believes in the power of a few, capable of making the most ambitious changes in society. At first, Karl’s protest against the moral norms of his century boiled down to the fact that he led the free life of a reckless reveler, emphasizing his contempt for the morality of “well-meaning” people. One day, having come to his senses, he writes a letter of repentance father, but his brother Franz, a personality outlined in the darkest colors, prevents their reconciliation. Karl goes into the Bohemian forests, gathers a gang and becomes a robber. Karl is noble and pure in his motives, he dreams of rebuilding society. He takes revenge on the tyrants. Karl sharply condemns the corruption and selfishness of the ruling classes. He is a rebel, a political rebel. However, his comrades do not want to reckon with humane and noble ideals. They rob, kill children and women, Karl nevertheless recoiled from them. And having become convinced of his powerlessness, renounces rebellion. The play ends with a grandiose and terrible picture - the castle of Moor burns and collapses, old Moor dies, Franz commits suicide, the frantic Karl kills Amalia. Two evils collide - tyranny (Franz) and violence (Karl). Karl personifies the element of popular anger, the energy of rebellion, but a blind, anarchic rebellion. Schiller was critical of the French class. He sought to show his hero without restraining himself within the framework of the classicist canon. He does not adhere to the unity of time (stage history lasts two years), the unity of the place. The most dramatic events take place on stage. And dynamic events unimaginable on the stage of a classical theater (Karl hangs himself in front of the audience, the castle burns, stones fly, glass breaks). The passionate speech of his characters is full of the most irrespectable words and expressions, far from decency.

32. “Cunning and Love.” - The Little Duchy of Württemberg, the despotic, depraved Karl Eugene, his favorite Countess von Hohenheim, Minister Montmartin, depicted in the play under other names, retaining all their portrait resemblance, turned into grandiose generalized images, types of feuds .Germany. The musty world of a remote province, intrigue and crime, the luxury and debauchery of the ducal court and the appalling poverty of the people - such is the situation in which the tragic story of the sublime love of two noble creatures - Louise and Ferdinand unfolds. Two social groups are opposed in play: on the one hand, the Duke (invisible to the viewer, but constantly present on stage, connecting the tragic chain of events with his name), his minister von Walter, a cold, calculating careerist, who killed his predecessor, capable of any crime in the name of a career; the Duke's mistress Lady Milford, a proud social beauty; the vile and sneaky Wurm, the president's secretary; the pompous dandy, the stupid and cowardly Marshal von Kalb. On the other hand, the honest family of the musician Miller, his simple-minded wife, his sweet, intelligent, sensitive daughter Louise .To this group also belongs that old valet Lady Milford, who with contempt rejects the purse of money offered to him by his mistress. Before us are two worlds, separated by a deep abyss. Some live in luxury, oppress others, are vicious, greedy, selfish; others are poor, persecuted, oppressed, but honest and noble. To them, to these destitute people, came Ferdinand, the son of the ducal minister, a major at 20 years old, a nobleman with a distant pedigree. He came not only because he was carried away by the beauty of Louise, he understood the depravity of the moral foundations of his class. The university with its new enlightening ideas inspired in him faith in the strength of the people, communication with the Crimea enlightens and, as it were, elevates the black man. In the Miller family he found that moral harmony, that spiritual clarity, which he could not find in his environment. There are two women in front of F. Both love him. One is a brilliant social beauty, the second is an unassuming city woman, beautiful in her simplicity and spontaneity. And F can only love this girl from the people, only with her he is able to gain moral satisfaction and peace of mind. The success of the play was extraordinary. The audience saw modern Germany in front of them. Those blatant injustices that were happening before everyone’s eyes, but which they were afraid to talk about, now appeared in stage images

48. The problem of Weimar classicism in the works of Goethe and Schiller.

Weimar classicism (WK) is a new aesthetic program, formed by Goethe and Schiller under the influence of the crisis of the Sturm und Drang movement in the 80s.

Causes of the crisis:

The impossibility of practical implementation of ideals in modern society: the contradiction between the real man of the era and the ideal, which was thought on the basis of the “kingdom of reason” or “natural nature”

The impossibility of establishing a rebel hero: Germany is not ready for a large-scale political revolt > a rebellion of individuals.

Turaev: if the sentimentalism of Sturm and Drang was a kind of reaction to the rationalism of the early stage of the Enlightenment, then the cult of feeling also quickly revealed its one-sidedness and pushed people to search for some kind of synthesis of reason and feeling. The tendency towards depicting the ordinary and everyday, proseization, the decline of the hero, the rapprochement with bourgeois drama (in Lenz, Wagner and even in Schiller) to some extent meant a rejection of the great problematics of the Enlightenment, a step back in comparison with the tasks posed by Lessing and Winckelmann and even the Sturmers themselves (Herder, Goethe and Lenz), when, for example, they pointed to the great example of Shakespeare.

This crisis of divergence between ideology and practice is reflected in The Sufferings young Werther"Goethe".

VC - final stage in the development of German education.

Pinsky: For Goethe and Schiller, the period of Weimar classicism was a period of reconciliation after a period of protest. The French Revolution only intensified their turn towards reaction.

These two periods can be contrasted by their poles:

Sturmers

Weimarians

1. Literary movement:

2. Socio-political mood

3. Attitude to the world

sentimentalism

revolutionism

subjectivity criticism of the misunderstanding of existing

classicism

conservatism. objectivity the desire to find reason in him

Pinsky identifies the movement of “neoclassicism” as an international phenomenon (there was something like that in France too), which is characterized by reconciliation with reality, rejection of the image of a rebel - overcoming the personal principle in the name of the public. For this tendency, the most adequate form is the strict, balanced classicist form, which expresses the predominance of the general over the particular.

At the same time, VK is the last stage in the development of German education. In general, they will retain educational pathos in the struggle for the freedom of the human person, faith in the victory of reason over unreason and barbarism; This is precisely where he will be opposed by the romantics who doubt the cult of reason with their tragic worldview.

The problem of barbarity and squalor remains unresolved modern life, it arises even more acutely after realizing the impossibility of rebellion. But the path to its resolution is changing >

General idea VC: program of educational humanism. Personality education through artistic means.

Philosophical basis: Goethe - spontaneous materialism, distantly related to Spinoza, mastered through Herder, Winckelmann (Enlightenment theorist); Schiller - Kant's "critical method".

Reliance on antiquity among the Weimar people it was not a source of idealized images and examples of civic valor, like among the Stürmers, antiquity was perceived as the embodiment of a humanistic ideal. > it is necessary to draw material and form from it in order to instill in compatriots the desire to rise above barbarism and everyday life. Antiquity is an unattainable ideal. > she served as a source of inspiration, not a subject to be imitated. Noun works on ancient subjects: “Iphigenia in Tauris” by Goethe and poems by both of them. But the theme of antiquity is not central to this period of their work.

In a late (1805) but programmatic article on Winckelmann, Goethe writes about the idea of ​​a perfect man as the highest product of a constantly improving nature. But: the dilemma between the private individual and the idea man. The Path of Resolution: Art by Making ideal images should instill in a person a desire for beauty.