"Faust" and Romanticism

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the Romantic period in English literature. The paper specifically examines the aspects of Romanticism that are found in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's work, "Faust." The paper shows how in this work the Romantic vision of woman is typically idealized in a way that might show that no women can ever attain the ideal set for her.

From the Paper:

"Faust first sees Helen as an image in a mirror and seeks her for himself. It is her beauty alone that draws him. This first meeting is at the house of the witch, where Mephistopheles tries to use the witches to seduce Faust. Faust is not attracted to that sort of debauchery, and Mephisopheles tries to use first Gretchen and then Helen for the same purpose. He does not control Gretchen, though, for she has not been corrupted. His use of Helen is more subtle and also more complex, and if Helen fails to be what Mephisopheles wants, it is because of how Faust views her. After all, he is the one who has conjured her as a vision and who pursues her, but he does so not simply as an object of lust but also as an ideal of beauty, which in the Romantic view means a great deal more than physical beauty. For Faust, though, neither feminine purity as seen in Gretchen nor feminine beauty as seen in Helen can suffice. Helen is an ethereal being and not as real as Faust wants. Her beauty does not satisfy in the Romantic conception because she lacks the necessary moral center. It would seem that the ideal woman would be a union of Gretchen and Helen, while either alone is insufficient."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abrams, M.H., E. Talbot Donaldson, Hallet Smith, Robert M. Adams, Samuel Holt Monk, George H. Ford, and David Daiches. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 1962.
• Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1991.
• Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust: Parts I & II (tr. Howard Brenton). London: Hern Books, 1995.

More papers on "Faust" and Romanticism:

• Analytical Essay # 28430 : "Realism and Romanticism"
• Analytical Essay # 67534 : "Wordsworth and Romanticism"
• Analytical Essay # 3832 : "Love and Romanticism"

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