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International Journal of English

and Literature (IJEL)


ISSN (P): 2249-6912; ISSN (E): 2249-8028
Vol. 5, Issue 4, Aug 2015, 133-138
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE MADNESS- TRACING THE MENTAL ILLNESS OF THE


CHARACTER OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS
RENJITHA REGHUNATH
Assistant Professor, St. Xaviers College for Women, Aluva, Kerala, India

ABSTRACT
Marlowes Dr. Faustus opens the portal for study of human mind and its various dimensions. The most
significant and the most profound story among the legends of devil contracts is the saga of Doctor Faustus. This study
articulates the psychological struggle of Doctor Faustus. Within the text of Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus, one
can trace the struggle between the superego and Id. As the fall of the devil is attributed to pride and ambition, scientific
progress and spirit of investigation too were denounced as Satans work. Doctor Faustus is presented as a symbol of
renaissance; bold and daring. He seeks truth and power at the risk of forfeiting his soul. Faustus is sandwiched between his
desires and his innate fears.

KEYWORDS: Sigmund Freud, Neurosis, Renaissance, Religion, Hallucinations, Magic, Demons


INTRODUCTION
Christopher Marlowe has been identified as the most important of Shakespeares predecessors. The Tragical
History of Doctor Faustus remains the most celebrated and the most often anthologized of Marlowes plays He made
significant advances in the genre of English tragedy through keen examinations of the Renaissance mortality.
The war between the different religions played an important part in society and how people felt religiously.
The influence of the Roman Catholic Church, dominant in the European politics throughout the Middle Ages deteriorated
under the leadership of Hedonistic, corrupt Popes. Luthers prodigious assaults on the church questioned not only the
authority of the Pope, but also the tenants of the Catholic belief and the unscrupulous Church practices. Calvin introduced
his idea of a frightening vengeful God from whom man had no hope of salvation and to whom man owed utter adoration
and obedience. Mary Elizabethan rule affirmed and consolidated the orthodoxy of the Anglican Church and as a result the
legitimacy of the monarchy.
Marlowe chose the city of Wittenberg for specific reasons. Wittenberg is identified with the reformation and the
protestant movement. By linking Faustus to Wittenberg, Marlowe has succeeded in connecting Faustus with the doctrines
of the Renaissance. Using Wittenberg to denote the religious uncertainty of the time, Marlowe gives his audience the
background of theology that Faustus uses to come up with his ideas that relate to sin, death and religion.
The common man of the sixteenth century believed the devil to be as real, and as powerful as God. They believed
that one could become a conjurer with an alliance with the devil. Wizards and magicians were considered men who had
made contracts with the devil, and in return for their pledge of allegiance, were given aid in performing superhuman acts.
The sixteenth century saw a shift in Christian ideals that added significance to Marlowes play. People no longer believed
in Gods power over Satan. The sixteenth century brought about a high level of paranoia that Satan was everywhere and
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Renjitha Reghunath

that, day-to-day life was an individual duel with the devil, and the individual was left to fend for himself. Doctor Faustus is
faced with moments alone to contemplate his evil actions. It is important to note that the devil does not show up to tempt
Faustus; he makes his own decision to call for Satan. He destroys his own life. Throughout his play, Marlowe has depicted
that the individual is responsible for his own fate.
During the time of the Renaissance there was a vibrant change in the outlook of the people. The study of Nature
bypassed God. Magic changed from medieval times when magicians tried to stop or reverse natural processes and began a
more scientific approach of finding ways to work in harmony with Nature. Many students of traditional school and
theology turned to scientific research during the Renaissance. During this period philosophers became more and more
interested in the workings of the human mind. Epistemology and theology were considered to forerunners of modern
psychology. The men of Renaissance were supposed to have founded modern science. Renaissance gave importance to the
individual. Individual mind and actions were considered significant and relevant, as man was understood to be complex
and inscrutable, and in this, we find a parallel in psychology. Psychologists considered the human mind a treasure chest of
unravelled dimensions and unexplored mysteries; analysis of which would confer complete and conclusive comprehension
of human mind, and in turn provide valuable clues to get around chronic mental illness.
Faustus is affected psychologically and loses focus on reality as a result of his power obsession. His attempts to
overreach his limitations render him a total neurotic. At the very outset, one can spot the innate instability in him.
Destruction is seen to erupt from within.
The history of the devil dates back to the days of creation and the fall of the archangels. As the fall of the devil is
attributed to pride and ambition, all inquiries into the mysteries of Nature was regarded as malevolent and Faustus who is
regarded the representative of scientific endeavours is also considered evil.
The play can be seen as masterful insight into the paradoxical mind of man and its corruptions. From the opening
of the play, we see Faustus, who is driven by ambition. Marlowe clues the audience into Faustus reach for power. Faustus
desires immortality and wishes to be great emperor of the world (1.121). He sees himself as an equal, if not superior, to
other intellectuals of the past.
In the prologue, we are introduced to Faustus through the chorus. Here we have the unfolding of the life of an
ordinary man, born to modest parents. His humble situation in life altered his outlook and filled him with a sense of
inadequacy .According to Freud inferiority complex was a common occurrence during a persons childhood. In some
individuals this feeling of inferiority turns problematic and they try to overcompensate with obsessive behaviour, and quite
often this is converted to a sense of superiority. Faustus exhibits all the symptoms of a troubled mind, from his fixations on
attaining omnipotence, to amassing fortune.
In the beginning Faustus is portrayed as a scholar overpowered by his intellectual pride, greed for wealth, honour
and knowledge. Faustus pride and his ambition are portrayed as dangerous. Intellect and ambition was looked down on as
a negative personality trait during the time. He reveals his inflated sense of pride through his asides. He is drugged by a
sense of pride at what he has been able to do in life have never been attempted before. Faustus tragedy lay not in his
nonconformity to Christian moral codes. His downfall is due to his intra psychic conflict. He is torn between the desire to
exploit freedom and his innate desires and the need to conform to the claims of the old teachings, defying which meant
guilt, and a growing sense of alienation.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

A Glimpse into the Madness- Tracing the Mental Illness of the Character of Doctor Faustus

135

According to Sigmund Freud, religion and God existed as mere wish-fulfilling illusions, and it was used to
exorcise the terrors of nature, to reconcile men to the cruelty of fate and also one of the greatest threat facing a person
being, his own demise. Religion however promised the existence of an afterlife. It was Freuds argument that religion was
born as a means of dealing with the trauma of self-conscious existence. In Faustus case religion acts merely as a coping
mechanism, shielding him from the trauma of self-consciousness and keeping hysteria under control. It helped him deal
with his fear of mortality. Here Religion as a form of asceticism functions merely as a defence mechanism, keeping his
baser impulses under control, but offers only temporary solace.
In the opening scene his absurd fantasies are mixed with intellectual and humanitarian impulses. He wishes to
resolve all ambiguities, read strange philosophies, clothe the schoolboys in silk and rid his country of foreign invaders.
His wishes have little or no pattern in the beginning and as his desires grow more fantastic, he relinquishes all hold over
reality. He fantasises about gaining control over all things that move between the poles, over emperors and kings.
In Faustus one can glimpse the classic case of neurosis, which evolves and emerges out of his despair and awareness of his
powerlessness to achieve his desires. Through necromancy Faustus believed he would be able to attain limitless power and
enjoy the delights of heaven and earth. He soon succumbs to his baser impulses and gives vent to his repressed desire for
omnipotence.
Omnipotence of Thought
Freud adopted the term Omnipotence of thought from a person who suffered from obsessional ideas. According
to Freud, the existence of omnipotence of thought is most clearly seen in compulsion neurosis, where the results of this
primitive method of thought are most often found or met in consciousness. This is the case with Faustus, after he decides to
take up black magic. He envisages that he has invoked the devils after his incantation. He believes that he is the source of
untapped force and has the ability to do the impossible. In such cases there is overvaluation of mental process as compared
with reality, which is seen to have unrestricted play in the emotional life of a neurotic. The two magicians Valdes and
Cornelius, who is seen to instruct Faustus in the art of necromancy, are mere manifestations of his mind, which helps him
justify his initiation into necromancy. They are mere vehicles of escape from censure for Faustus. The two magicians act as
a channel, which assists Faustus to shift from theology to black magic.
He says make me blest with your sage conference (AI.scI.1.97). Though he shifts responsibility for his actions
to his manifestations, he is not totally callous in his blame for he admits that his fantasy led him forth, as his mind cannot
ruminate on anything else but magic.
The next hallucination comes in the form of the form of the good and bad angels. The evil angel reiterates
Faustus fantasy and his desires. It seduces him with promises of power and omnipotence. These two angels represent
Faustuss mental conflict. He is torn between his repressed desires and his need to conform to the norms of society. Freud
believed that such conflicts are unavoidable and they arise in a persons conscious mind, when one set of beliefs impact
adversely with opposing set of ideals. This in turn causes emotional suffering felt as anger or frustration. These conflicts
are retained in the unconscious, but from time to time, they escape and re-emerge into the conscious, compromising the
various defence mechanisms. Faustus too feels this conflict. Religion and studies all served as proper defence mechanism.
As a last resort Faustus relies on magic. For Freud, religion is a way to keep from falling into a personal neurosis. It was a
primitive attempt to deal with the frightening realities of the world and the impossibility of satisfying our baser impulses.

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Renjitha Reghunath

Magic and Religion


For centuries, magicians have accumulated a whole series of psychological insights, touching on areas such as
memory, perception and deception. Magic was widely practiced in primitive societies, and it was often associated with
religion. However religion is generally accepted as the public acknowledgment of spirituality, while magic tends to be
private and oriented towards display of power rather than worship. Magic that Faustus employs is of a different nature.
He is seen to practice sorcery, which is quite different from stage magic. Faustus in Act I scene iii, is seen making use of
magic incantations to invoke infernal spirits who would be bound in servitude to Faustus for eternity. He commands
Mephistopheles and makes him execute tricks. Though Faustus has exaggerated dreams of becoming the supreme force on
earth through the device of black magic, he is unable to carry out any great deeds he had earlier dreamt of accomplishing.
The chorus in Act IV scene iii describes all that Faustus has achieved and plans to attain through necromancy. In reality
however, all he accomplishes are inane and insignificant tricks. They are just false shows and masquerades. Faustus admits
to the emperor his inability to produce the royal personages in flesh or spirit. All he manages to produce are mere shadows
of their true self, which fail to impress the present audience. Faustuss other tricks include acquiring grapes for the duchess
and giving a pair of horns to the unimpressed knight. His final trick of summoning the spirit of Helen of Troy pushes him
over the edge and completes his transformation into his neurotic self.
The Helen passage describes Faustus desire for a woman, not any woman but the most idealized among women.
This passage does not offer any physical description of Helen, but expounds only on her impact Faustus state of being.
The fact that Helen remains mute on appearance is evidence enough to suggest that this is yet another hallucination that
Faustus suffers.
According to Freud, the triggering experiential core of neurotic behaviour gives rise to intolerable destructive or
hostile impulses which are subsequently repressed, although continually pressing back up into consciousness through the
repressive defences. The neurotic behaviour represents the continued energy vested in the strengthening and maintenance
of the repressive defences, so protecting the person concerned from the irruption of unconscious material. The behaviour is
"designed to ward off the expectations of disaster with which the neurosis usually starts. (Taboo and Totem)
The moment Faustus decides to sign a deal with the devil, his blood begins to coagulate. He suffers from pangs of
moral anxiety, which develop soon after he rejects God and theology. This in turn confuses him. He is completely unaware
of the unrealistic nature of the voices and visions he has. His first step away from God and religion takes him a step closer
to neurosis. His first visual hallucination occurs moments after he make the deal with the devil. He notices inscriptions on
his arm which said homo fuge. Later on he begins to see demons and angels and hear voices. In his essay Animism,
Magic and the Omnipotence of Thought published as part of Totem and Taboo (Freud 1995) claims that the neurotics
guilty conscience is just as incomprehensible if traced to real misdeeds. A compulsion neurotic may be oppressed by a
sense of guilt which is fitting to a wholesale murderer. Historically, demons have served as scapegoats for all sorts of
unacceptable, threatening human impulses and emotions. Faustus madness drives him to suicide. Throughout the play
there are several references to his near suicide attempts. His attempts to end his life are interrupted by his hallucinations.
According to Freud this death instinct is an attempt of man to return to the inanimate.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

A Glimpse into the Madness- Tracing the Mental Illness of the Character of Doctor Faustus

137

CONCLUSIONS
Doctor Faustus can essentially be read as a portrayal of the conflict of mind and faith. Faustus constant reference
to self in the second and third person alludes to a kind of duality in character, which causes one to see Faustus as both the
victim and the villain. Faustus uncanny affinity towards the demons ensues from a sense of identification with Lucifers
fall from grace and Faustus rejection of God and religion.

REFERENCES
1.

Bakeless, John. Christopher Marlowe. The Man and His Times. New York: Washington Square Press, 1937

2.

Breuer, J. and Freud, S. (1893-95). Studies on Hysteria. Standard Edition, 2:3-305.London: Hogarth Press,
1955.

3.

Freud, S. (1970) An Outline of Psychoanalysis. New York: Norton. (Original work published 1940).

4.

Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion. Translated and edited by James Strachey. New York: W.W. Norton
& Co. (1989).

5.

Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. Trans. by A. A. Brill. New York: Moffat, Yard & Co., 1918; Bartleby.com,
2010. www.bartleby.com/281/.

6.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sideways-view/201507/the-psychology-repression

7.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/omnipotence+of+thought

8.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/hallucinations/Pages/Introduction.aspx

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