Goethe's Walpurgis Night

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The first recurrent theme in Goethe’s Walpurgis Night episode is explored by two quotes from the Lord in Prologue in Heaven. First, the Lord says, “though now he serves he confusedly, I shall soon lead him to where the vapor clears” (87.308-9). Second, he says, “a good man in his darkling aspiration remembers the right road” (87.828-9). At no point in the play does Faust come to terms with his darkling aspirations like he does in this episode. The Walpurgis Night episode shows how Faust still intuitively reaches out for God even during his symbolic descent into hell.
The second theme is revealed by Faust. In the following scene, Faust realizes that Mephisto has used Walpurgis Night to distract Faust from Gretchen’s suffering: “Imprisoned! …show more content…

The steady crescendo of devilry has finally reached its peak. Faust takes a particular interest in a stone “where many riddles can be solved” (373.4040). Up until now, Faust has been in the middle of struggle between finding God by way of transcending human knowledge and satisfaction through worldly pleasures. His interest in solving riddles indicates that he still has some hope left of finding the “right road.” Mephisto seems to be aware of his, though, and prepares another distraction: “I see young witches there, completely nude… it’s little effort and great fun (373.4046-9). Faust dances with a young witch soon after. He tells her about his quest for knowledge, referencing the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: “A pretty dream once came to me in which I saw an apple tree...they lured me and I climbed a bit” (379.4128-31). The witch’s response: “They grow in my garden too” (381.4134). The witches use of the phrase my garden indicates possession, which leads the reader to believe that she is referring to her breasts instead of the Garden of Eden. The reader is lead to feel that there is still hope for Faust because of how he remains focused on attaining knowledge rather than satisfying his lust. Mephisto, on the other hand, dances with an older witch where he uses suggestive words such as “tremendous hole” and “grafting-twig” to represent

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