Faust By Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Romanticism was an artistic movement that began after the 18th century in Europe and reached its peak from 1800 to 1850 as people began rejecting social and political norms and rationale of the Enlightenment era and embraced nature as a means of healing themselves spiritually or emotionally. In Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the theme of striving is used to emphasize how people began relying on their own mindset and actions to gain self-fulfillment. This was a common topic in romanticism as it shifted from logical objectivity to a reliance on one’s own abstract thoughts or emotions; this transition meant a gravitation towards the importance of independence to achieve goals and also the cathartic elements of nature. When the Enlightenment …show more content…
However, all logic disappears as he develops an unhealthy lust for Gretchen, stooping as far as to offer her “a flask...mixed with her [mother’s] drink” in order to satisfy his sensual desires. This not only highlights the fallacy in Faust’s logic as in his journey to find “ultimate knowledge,” a majority of his concentration has been intent on winning Gretchen’s heart, but also his blatant hypocrisy as he calls Mephistopheles a monster who had ruined “this poor faithful dear, bred to implicit trust” (3529-3530) after committing the heinous act based on his own desire. Near the end, his jealousy overrides his morale and rationale with Baucis and Philemon, “their age in smoke be ended, snuffed in …show more content…
Faust admits that nature showed “[his] own self to [him]” and how it joined him to “that companion, whom already [he] cannot miss, though, chill and insolent” (3243-3244). This is one of the significant moments where not only does he embrace the experience of loving Gretchen, but he is conflicted between love and lust as he reels “from desire to fulfillment, and in fulfillment languish for desire” (3249-3250); he is fully aware that he has developed an unhealthy dependency upon the Devil to make the decision and act upon this dilemma. Eventually, a change of mood occurs after Gretchen’s death as Faust said it “revived, life’s pulse is throbbing fresh and heady” (4679-4680). Nature, specifically the season of spring, seems to be a catharsis or method of spiritual healing as it brought about the idea of resurrection and forgiveness brought upon by “the Lord [who], for you, is here!” (806-807). A painting called The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich from 1813 holds a similar message as it depicts a man contemplating as he stands above the mountains in isolation; the mood is quite peaceful and soft and the imagery conveys a sense of concentration and the rejuvenation of the mind and