In the middle of nothingness floats a sphere. This sphere moves constantly, both in a set pattern of orbit and spinning on its axis. The sphere–its characteristics, its inhabitants–is always changing, moving. Their existence cannot be denied but it cannot be defined either. The sphere is the world we live in—a world of wavering figures. In the play Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the namesake character struggles to live in a world that is constantly changing. Faust attempts to assert his agency in the world and is unsuccessful because of the world’s inherent nature of change.
Faust is a man who seeks to assert his agency in the world. The problematic theme for Faust is that the world is not static. The world is rather a series of “schwenkende Gestalten (Faust line 1)” that continually evade Faust’s attempts at giving them definition. Faust seems to be caught in a game of blind man’s bluff in which he is constantly chasing after the shadows of light and sound, one example of this game occurs in Faust’s study when he attempts to translate a passage from the Gospel of John into German and he struggles to define the original Greek word “Logos” in German. Faust’s struggle with defining the word “Logos” gives light into the progression of thoughts and actions that Faust has taken in order to establish his agency. The act of trying to translate a single word shows an interesting paradox for Faust. A word, that is to say a set of typed letters, is in one sense static. It is considered important to have legal documents, written journals, and written research because it gives longevity to an idea, thought or action. Written words are considered a permanent representation of a temporary item and because of this they have a mathematical system to them so that anyone who has knowledge of the written language can read what is written in order to understand. The paradox comes into to play when a person is attempting to understand the meaning behind a word. An illustration of this paradox could be a student of a foreign language. The student may be able to understand the symbols that represent certain sounds of that language but without the understanding of the meaning of the word the student is only able to produce sounds. Faust demonstrates this paradox as he begins his first attempt, “Im Anfang war das Wort (Faust line 1224)” using ‘the word’ as a translation. Faust reconsiders using ‘the word’ as a translation because he does not wish to give to much emphasis to it or treasure it. It is important to note that this could be a glimpse into Faust’s current state of mind. At this point Faust is frustrated that he possesses expansive “book knowledge” and yet he still feels lacking. In earlier passages Faust states that,
”Habe nun, ach! Philosophies,Juristerei und Medizin,
Und Leider auch Theologie
Durchaus Studiert, mit hieβem Bemühn
Da steh’ ich nun, ich armer Tor,
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor! (Faust lines 354-359)”
Philosophy, law, medicine, and theology were the only four subject offered through the university during Faust’s time. In order for Faust to have studied all four subjects he must have been one of the most knowledgeable figures of his time and yet he still feels “as dumb as before” he began his studies. It should be considered that Faust’s professional life as a scholar would have began with words, and would have been dominated by words. In a sense the majority of Faust’s life would have been controlled by words. It is arguable that his refusal to allow “das Wort” to have power in this text may be a reflection of Faust’s wish to longer allow ‘words’ to have power in his own life. This shows that though Faust has attempted to assert his agency into the world by knowing it—the action of his agency is understanding elements whether the elements wish to be understood or not– the world continually changes so that Faust is left unsatisfiedThus Faust’s begins his second attempt to translate ‘Logos’, “Im Anfang war der Sinn (Faust line 1229)” or ‘the reason’. Once again Faust struggles with his translation questioning the role of reason in his life. It is arguable that like ‚the word’ Faust questions reason out of frustration. Faust was a student of philosophy and consequently a student of reason and he currently finds that understanding reason has not benefited his current state of affairs. As he states,
“Auch hab’ ich weder Gut noch Geld,
Noch Ehr’ und Herrlichkeit der Welt;
Es möchte kein Hund so länger leben (Faust line 374-376)!“
These lines are Faust lamenting that his knowledge has not given him wealth, a wife, or any sort of standing in the world. Faust continues his questioning of reason when he states, “Ist es der Sinn, der alles wirkt und schafft (Faust line 1232)? “ This statement, “Is it reason that works and creates?” directly questions current teachings of philosophy, like those of Rene Descartes, that state “I think therefore I am”. It is apparent that Faust thinks that he should have wealth, a wife, and a stronger social position and yet he has none of these things. In this way Faust shows that mere thought cannot produce change in the world, and because Faust has not benefited by his understanding of reason or by his ability to think on such great levels he begins to abandon these concepts. Like Faust’s attempts at asserting his agency through knowing the world, his attempts to assert agency by reasoning with the world leaves Faust unaccomplished.Faust changes his translation to „Im Anfang war die Kraft (Faust line 1233)” or ‘the force’. The use of force that Faust describes is linked to the spirit that he had previously conjured up. Faust asked the question, “Bin ich ein Gott (Faust line 439)?” as he attempts to take part in the creation of a force outside of himself. However, Faust does not have to power to hold the spirit, or ‘force’ in place as later speaks of his encounter with the Spirit,
“Nicht darf ich dir zu gleichen mich vermessen!
Hab’ ich die Kraft dich zu anzuziehen besessen,
So hatt’ ich dich zu halten keine Kraft (Faust line 623-625).“
Faust’s inability to hold onto the spirit that he conjured disillusioned him with the power of magic and frustrates him in much the same way that his learning still leaves him dumb and his reason still leaves him without the things he desires. Like the other subjects of ‘words’, and ‘reasons’ Faust abandons ‘force’, because like Faust’s other subjects his agency remains ambivalent.Faust’s abandonment of other principles leads him to the third translation of ‘Logos’ as he writes, “Im Anfang war die Tat (Faust line 1237)” or ‘the deed’. This progression of ideas shows how Faust’s state of mind has changed. He begins seeking knowledge through words, then reason, force and finally deeds. This transformation of Faust’s state of mind sets the stage for the rest of the play in which Faust will attempt to assert his agency in the world through deeds.The importance of this passage is the illustration of how Faust has attempted to assert his agency into the world—through words, reasons, and force—in a metaphoric conclusion. This passage is also a turning point in the play because it is at the moment when Faust decides that he must use deeds or actions in order to assert his agency in the world when he meets Mephisto who lead him through a series of disastrous actions. The question then presents itself if Faust will be successful in asserting his agency through deeds. Further discussion will reveal that Faust’s actions will not assert his own agency because in a sense they are not his own actions but rather a series of situations that he is guided through by outside influences—in a sense, the world. This progression of Faust’s attempts to define himself, and the world around him, show that objects in the world that should be singular in their nature–such as a single word, a reason, or a force–escape Faust’s ability to give them definition. In this way we see that Faust is unable to exert his agency onto objects outside of himself and instead, Faust is being controlled by objects outside of himself.
Jess Boctor 