The Faustian deal and subsequent fall is a common theme throughout literature, and with each new iteration sheds increased light on the character of the individual and of society. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson are all texts which exhibit the Faustian deal and descent, complete with Doctor Faustus and Mephistopheles counterparts. Sir Percival Glyde, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Edward Hyde are all characters who are ultimately lead to their moral downfalls by their respective Mephistopheles counterparts. Specifically, the characters of Sir Percival Glyde, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Henry Jekyll fulfill and contrast the Faustian archetype, who are aided in their moral descent by their Mephistopheles foils, Count Fosco, Lord Henry Wotton, and Mr. Edward Hyde respectively. The characters of the different novels will be compared against one another and a discourse about what their varying motivations reveal about their respective moral compasses will be conducted. Among other vices the characters exhibit, vanity plays a prime part in their individual development. Vanity is a detriment on the individual, and serves as a driving force behind the three character’s motivations, ultimately leading to their respective downfalls.
At its core, the Faustian deal is a contract between an individual who aspires to be or achieve a type of greatness and a devil who enables the individual to do so at a severe cost. There are different versions, including the original German legend, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust and Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Most typically, as in the case of the titular Faust of leg...
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Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. 2nd ed. New York: Signet Classics, 2010. Print.
Puhvel, Martin. "Mephostophilis's Manipulation of Faustus." English Studies 71.1 (1990): 1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 02 May 2014.
Sanyal, Arundhati. "Taboo in The Picture of Dorian Gray." The Taboo. Ed. Harold Bloom and Blake Hobby. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. 147-56. Print.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. New Lanark: Waverley, 2008. Print.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Joseph Bristow. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Yirinec, Jennifer A. "Re-Envisioning the Faust Legend: Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill's Doctor Faustus" Literature Film Quarterly 41.1 (2013): 67-76. Literary Reference Center. Web. 03 May 2014.
A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.
Dorian Gray loses his eternal youth due to his disconnect with the world, but to realize this disconnect the reader must first examine the context for his connections to Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. Nikolai Enders examines these relationships within his article, “Platonic Love and Closet Eros in...
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
The classic novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray inspires beauty, and romance. The main focus of the novel is aesthetics, a philosophical view detailing the nature of creation and appreciation of art and beauty. The tragedy of the young Dorian Gray after becoming misled by his companion, Lord Henry Wotton, is one that causes many to reform ideas on life and purpose. Lord Henry believes in hedonism, a thought stating that pleasure is the only true good; he declares, “The only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfilment of the senses” (Wilde). This outlook is tempting for many persons, including that of the title character, Dorian Gray. In contrast to Lord Henry is an artist named Basil Hallward, whom perceives Dorian to be his muse; serving as inspiration, and purpose. Basil has many moral traits including trust, compassion, and kindness. His infatuation with Dorian causes him to change his art and style, composing an exquisite painting of the young boy. Basil states, “the work I have done, since I met Dorian Gray, is good work, is the best work of my life…his personality has suggested to me an entirely new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style. I see things differently.” (Wilde). Dorian becomes so mesmerized by the beauty of the picture and the words of Lord Henry that he wishes for the picture to depict his sins and age, rather than his physical being. To the surprise of the young Dorian, his wish becomes fulfilled. This theme shares similarity to the Faust story, as the title character exchanges his soul for pleasures
Goethe, Johann W. V. “Faust.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature: 1800-1900. Eds. Sarah Lawall and Maynard Mack. 2nd ed. Vol. E. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. 774. Print.
Like many stories, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has a moral, a greater message. Wilde’s lesson about the relationship between the body, mind, and soul is simple, but important: the body is the vehicle for the mind, which is the vehicle for the soul. This is the “natural order” of things, and Wilde shows that it should not be contested. The soul should remain inside a piece of the mind: invisible to the world, mysterious and sacred to its bearer. If this order is changed or contested, Wilde warns of sin, manipulation, and grief to come, making The Picture of Dorian Gray an essentially philosophical and moral novel.
Upchurch, David A. "The Picture of Dorian Gray: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Gale. NORTHWEST COLLEGIATE ACADEMY. 28 April 2011 .
The. Marlowe, Christopher. The. Dr. Faustus. New York: Dover, 1994. Print.
Bevington, David M; Rasmussen, Eric. “Doctor Faustus A- and B- texts (1604, 1616): Christopher Marlowe and his collaborator and revisers.” Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. (1962). Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2013 (Bevington)
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde readers are presented with a vast depiction of the art of immorality in the face of ignorant innocence portrayed by the character Dorian Gray. In the beginning it seems to be a quaint novel on artistry and the paradoxical relationship between two lifelong friends by the name of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. The plot takes a surprising twist when introduced to the real center of attention, the character of the seemingly innocent Dorian Gray. Upon this introduction Wilde then begins to tell the tale of what a life of secrecy and deception will lead to without the consciousness of a moral threshold and the inescapable burden of Dorians horrid accumulation of sins. The deception begins with a simple shout out to the heavens for the impossible to be granted. This then flourishes into unspeakable acts caused by an Egyptian statue, bringing misfortune to Dorian Gray by giving him exactly what he so desperately desires, thus teaching the world a lesson. Not everything we so strongly desire the world to provide is good for the soul.
Stevenson is not only revealing human nature’s deeply intertwined double nature; he is also castigating Victorian hypocrisy. The doctor could not unite his role as a respectable and famous doctor with his passions and secret instincts, so he did not accept the multiple sides of his personality and tried to separate them, without success. The clash becomes the image of the contrast between oppression and pure pleasure, between firm control and too much freedom. Robert Louis Stevenson strives to portray and explore man’s inner dual between the need for evil satisfaction and the rigid moral contract of society. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one fictional cause of the detrimental effects of subduing one’s innate desires and conforming to the social norm.
1. Faust is a play written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . He published part I of the tradgedy in 1808, and Part II was published in 1832. The play was originally written in the German language. In summary, an old scholar, Faust is dissatisfied and yearns to comprehend not just all knowledge, but all experience. In such a quest, Faust makes a bargain with a spirit named Mephistopheles. The pact provides for the loss of Faust's soul in the event that Mephistopheles should provide him with any sensuous experience to his liking. Among the temptations offered by Mephistopheles is a young girl by the name of Margaret (Gretchen), whom Faust seduces and abandons, indirectly causing her death and that of the child they conceived together. In Part II, Faust continues his association with Mephistopheles and, among other adventures, has a love affair with Helen of Troy and fathers a son with her. Later, still with the aid of Mephistopheles, Faust reclaims lands from the sea which he intends to turn into a paradise on earth -- his legacy to humankind. Happy with his efforts and a vision of the future, Faust is caught in a moment of satisfaction which Mephistopheles claims as his victory. At the last moment, however, God's angels save Faust and bear his soul to heaven where he is reunited with Gretchen and appointed as teacher of the blessed.
In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray it is unequivocal that a large part of Dorian’s corruption is attributed to Lord Henry Wotton and his cynical, paradoxical teachings. However, it is evident, upon closer inspection, that Dorian’s own nature and the portrait of Dorian himself – although inanimate – plays a much larger part in the deterioration and ultimate demise of Dorian Gray. Throughout the novel it is easy to get caught up in Dorian’s ever-prominent obsession with Lord Henry and his book and forget that Dorian’s own disposition and actions play the most dominant role in his demise.
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) follows the story of Dorian Gray; a man gifted with exquisite natural beauty, whose vanity and obsession with his own youth leads him astray in a life of sin. As Dorian slowly loses his innocence, with the obsession of living hedonistically, his portrait suffers the punishment for his sins and growing age. Dorian himself remains untouched in age; however, the portrait reflects the loss of innocence in his pursuit of atheistic and hedonistic lifestyle. The thematic overtones explored in Wilde’s book discuss many issues of value, ethics, and vice. Although Wilde writes about the downfall of Dorian Gray due to obsession of beauty, it is important to note that Dorian himself only dies when his human
Austen, Glyn. “The Strange Ambiguity of Christopher Marlowe and Dr Faustus: Glyn Austen examines the powerful paradoxes of Dr Faustus in the light of its literary and intellectual context.” The English Review 14.1 (2003): 2