Summary Assisted by Mephistopheles, Faust makes his way to Gretchen’s cell. When he enters, Faust finds that she has been driven insane by her imprisonment and sense of guilt. Gretchen does not remember him and huddles fearfully in the corner of the cell, thinking he is the hangman come to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: PrisonSummary and Analysis Part 1: Night, Open Country
Summary Faust and Mephistopheles, mounted on magic black horses, gallop wildly past the gallows outside the town on their way to rescue Gretchen. The night is dark and threatening. Spirits prowl through the air. Analysis This scene of only five lines is the shortest in the tragedy.
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Night, Open CountrySummary and Analysis Part 1: Desolate Day, in Open Country
Summary Faust knows now that Gretchen is in prison and asks Mephistopheles to help free her. The devil refuses. He says there is no need to be concerned since she is not the first girl to be punished for her sins. Faust becomes infuriated and harangues Mephisto: Dog! Loathsome monster! […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Desolate Day, in Open CountrySummary and Analysis Part 1: Walpurgis Night’s Dream or the Golden Wedding of Oberon and Titania — A Lyrical Intermezzo
Summary The play which Faust and Mephistopheles attend has no connection with the rest of the tragedy. It is made up of a series of satiric four-line verses directed against some of Goethe’s contemporaries, and is of little interest to those who are not specialists in the history of the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Walpurgis Night’s Dream or the Golden Wedding of Oberon and Titania — A Lyrical IntermezzoSummary and Analysis Part 1: Walpurgis Night
Summary It has been nearly a year since Valentine’s death and Faust has again abandoned Gretchen. Now it is Walpurgis Night (April 30th), the time of the annual gathering of witches and spirits at the top of the Brocken in the Harz Mountains (located in central Germany) to celebrate a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Walpurgis NightSummary and Analysis Part 1: Cathedral Nave
Summary The heartbroken Gretchen attends a service at the cathedral to find forgiveness for her sins and solace for her almost unbearable suffering. The church is crowded, but she is alone, except for an Evil Spirit who lurks nearby and reproaches her. Whispering in her ear, the Spirit enumerates her […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Cathedral NaveSummary and Analysis Part 1: Night
Summary Gretchen’s brother Valentine, a soldier, stands in the street outside her house. He relates how his sister’s unsullied reputation was once a source of pride and happiness for him. Now he has heard rumors about her and sadly realizes that her innocence has been lost. Valentine’s love for Gretchen […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: NightSummary and Analysis Part 1: A Shrine in the Ramparts
Summary At a shrine of the Mater Dolorosa located in a niche in the city wall, Gretchen makes an offering of flowers and seeks consolation for her sorrows. Gretchen’s prayer reveals the full extent of her anguish. She pleads for divine mercy, crying: Save me from shame and death in […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: A Shrine in the RampartsSummary and Analysis Part 1: At the Well
Summary An uncertain period of time has gone by since the last scene. Gretchen and Lisbeth, another young woman, are at the town well drawing water. Lisbeth gossips about a maiden of their acquaintance who has been made pregnant by her lover. She makes some bitter comments about the girl’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: At the WellSummary and Analysis Part 1: Martha’s Garden
Summary Faust and Gretchen are together in the garden. She has noticed that he never participates in any religious rites, and she is concerned about the state of his soul. She asks whether he believes in religion. In answer, Faust states his tolerance for the beliefs of other people, despite […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Martha’s Garden