Faust Part Two
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Faust Part Two is the second part of Goethe's Faust. It was published in 1832, the year of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's death. Because of its complexity in form and content Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil is usually not read in school, although the first part commonly is. It can be seen as one of the most difficult german literature works of all time.
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[edit] Act I
The first sees Mephistopheles saving the imperial finances of German emperor Charles V — and so the German empire — by introducing the use of paper money. Amidst the ensuing celebrations, Faust enters the "realm of the mothers" — variously described as the depths of the psyche or the womb — in order to bring back the "ideal form" of beauty for the Emperor's delight. In this case, that ideal form is Helen of Troy. Faust falls in love with Helen.
[edit] Act II
An artificial person made by an alchemical process, the Homunculus, leads Faust and Mephistopheles to the "Classical Walpurgisnacht", where they encounter gods from Greek antiquity.
[edit] Act III
The third act describes Faust's relationship with Helen, with whom he has a son, Euphorion. His son falls to his death at the end of the act, whereupon Helen also disappears.
[edit] Act IV
In the fourth act, Faust returns to the emperor, who is at war with the Gegenkaiser. With the help of Mephistopheles' ordered ranks of Daemons they achieve victory.
[edit] Act V
Faust has nothing left but to tame nature itself. Upon disclosing his plans, Faust recognises the moment of sheer bliss which he would seek to prolong and drops dead. As a result, he loses his wager with Mephistopheles, who tries to claim his soul.
However, as Goethe expresses in the final scene, Mephistopheles' handling of Faust permitted the latter to strive for something essentially positive and thus his soul could be saved. "Whoever strives in ceaseless toil, Him we may grant redemption". Thus as Mephistopheles gloats, angels descend and retrieve the immortal part of Faust's soul, providing redemption and ascension to the higher realm.
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