Christopher Marlowe ‘s Doctor Faustus is an digesting work that merits enquiry against a modern-day background. Quote The drama has been scrutinized against its Elizabethan background since its first publication in 1604, and while a grade of apprehension of sixteenth century England is required, the drama ‘s relativity is still pertinent. To analyze Faustus as a modern person, Carl Jung ‘s theoretical account of originals can be used to derive a more comprehensive position when compared to conventional methods of analysis. At the drama ‘s construct, Faustus possesses many qualities of a “ wise old adult male, ” the Jungian original characterized by mind and pride ; a character normally depicted as a “ magician, maestro, instructor, [ or ] moralist ” ( Chalquist 1 ) . Faustus, nevertheless, can non genuinely be considered a “ wise old adult male ” because he ne’er integrates his anima. The anima, in Jungian psychological science, is the feminine incarnation within a male. In developing the anima, one must come on through four phases: Eve, Helen, Mary, and Sophie, before finally going in melody with emotionalism and spiritualty ( Jung 1 ) . Throughout the class of the drama, Faustus shows that he has great trouble with anima development and often succumbs to his desires, declarative mood of the Eve phase. Additionally, Faustus gives in to the defects built-in to the “ wise old adult male. ” Faustus falls victim to ego-inflation, a unsafe by-product of great mind in which cognition is valued for authorization. This ego-inflation impairs Faustus ‘ judgement and causes him to want power. Besides, Faustus can non come to footings with his shadow, the pent-up failings within his mind. This manifests as Faustus ‘ otiose potency and his failure to repent and stop the contract between himself and the Satan. Ultimately, Faustus ‘ deficiency of integrating with his anima, inclination to yield to ego-inflation, and inability to pacify with his shadow side lead to his eventual death.

Above all, Faustus ‘ descent begins with his awkwardness in commanding his desires. The first phase of anima development, Eve, trades with the undertaking of commanding an object of desire. Faustus is ab initio drawn “ to arcane magicaˆ¦motivated by anima urges ” ( Golden 207 ) . Faustus believes that by carry throughing his desires and practising sorcery, he can derive power:

These metaphysics of prestidigitators

And necromantic books are heavenlyaˆ¦

Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.

O, what a universe of net income and delectation,

Of power, of honor, of omnipotence,

Is promised to the studious craftsman!

All things that move between the quiet poles

Shall be at my bid. ( Faustus.I.i.79-87 )

Faustus has therefore found a manner to accomplish power, albeit at a awful monetary value. Faustus seems to weigh the benefits of deriving power and facing God ‘s wrath, as indicated by the Good Angel, Evil Angel scene in Act I. However, he shortly succumbs to his desires of “ orient pearlaˆ¦secrets of all foreign kingsaˆ¦and [ reigning ] exclusive male monarch of all [ the ] states, ” bespeaking his childish degree of anima development ( Faustus.I.i.115-126 ) . As Faustus turns to magic and biddings Mephastophilis, he sets the phase for his ultimate death. Faustus has no desire to first analyze his ain strengths and failings, and as Joseph McCullen shrewdly notes, “ without equal self-knowledge, a adult male has deficient ability either to regulate himself, or to construe and utilize other cognition sagely ” ( McCullen 7 ) . Hence, Faustus ‘ non-integrated anima, contributes to his indecision in seting his powers to utilize. Alternatively of deriving political power or geting luxuries, Faustus uses his contract to entertain himself and others by citing liquors or playing practical gags. In add-on, he tries to get a married woman from Mephastophilis, observing that he is “ motiveless and lewd, and can non populate without a married woman ” ( Faustus.II.i.588-589 ) . However, Faustus is easy talked out of desiring a married woman by Mephastophilis and is content on holding a Satan dressed as a adult female. He does non value a married woman for a meaningful relationship. If Faustus had possessed an incorporate anima, he would hold been able to see adult females as insightful, autonomous, and virtuous existences who have both positive and negative features. Conversely, Faustus is merely concerned about the physical nature of adult females and is fixated on the beauty of the Satans dressed as adult females. In peculiar, Faustus is attracted to Helen of Troy. Carl Jung alludes to Helen of Troy in his phases of anima development. Helen is the 2nd phase, stand foring the realisation that adult females have the possible to be successful in life and that adult females can be intelligent and self-sufficing ( Jung 1 ) . Faustus, nevertheless, does non look to come to this realisation. He does non try to introduce himself with Helen nor even keep a meaningful conversation with her. Faustus ‘ sole intent in citing the spirit of Helen was to fulfill his stripling desires. Faustus is so enamored with the physical beauty of Helen that he does non recognize he will lose any opportunity at atoning if he kisses her because she is a Satan. The Elizabethans believed that there were three inexcusable wickednesss: desperation, self-destruction, and physical contact with a devil. Marlowe ‘s Faustus would hold understood this and realized the effects of his actions ( Cruttwell 86 ) . Faustus chooses to snog Helen and seals his destiny:

Sweet Helen, do me immortal with a buss.

Her lips suctions forth my psyche: see where it flies!

Come, Helen, come give me my psyche once more.

Here will I brood, for heaven be in these lips,

And all is dross that is non Helena. ( Faustus.V.i.1359-1363 )

Faustus ‘ deficiency of an integrated anima causes him to overlook the consequences of snoging Helen as he still acts on unprompted desires. Faustus can non “ come to footings with what Jung calls the anima or ‘soul-image. ‘ Indeed, he can non keep on to his psyche, has non made it his ; it is at the clemency of idealistic phantasy ” ( Golden 207 ) . As Marlowe ironically noted, Faustus ‘ psyche is sucked by Helen because he has merely lost his last opportunity to atone and salvage his psyche.

Correspondingly, Faustus is corrupted by his leaning to overlook effects and crave power due to his ego-inflation. At the beginning of the drama, Faustus is analyzing possible careers yet dismisses many due to his self-importance. Faustus examines the countries of doctrine, medical specialty, jurisprudence, and faith but finds that they are beneath him. Faustus casually rejects doctrine, stating that he has reached its extents, and it can offer him no more. He acknowledges that medical specialty can offer him power to salvage persons, but it can non let him to “ do work forces to populate everlastingly, Or being dead, raise them to life once more ” ( Faustus.I.i.54-55 ) . Faustus rejects a profession that would give him some power because it does non suit his construct of adequate power ( Sachs 632 ) . Further still, Faustus rejects the survey of jurisprudence, and even diss the topic as a “ survey that fits a materialistic hack, Who aims at nil but external trash-Too servile and illiberal for me ” ( Faustus.I.i.64-66 ) . Faustus has inordinate pride and strives to derive more power. As with a modern-day adult male, Faustus ‘ “ desire and outlook run rampantly, doing him to lose the ability to see wholes yet doing it easy for him to analyse out of being whatever does non hold with his hubris ” ( Golden 203 ) . This impression is clearly demonstrated in Faustus ‘ rating of divinity. Faustus reads the line “ Stipendium peccati Morss est. ” and comes to the undermentioned decision:

The wages of wickedness is decease: that ‘s difficult.

“ Si peccasse negamus, fallimur,

Et nulla Eastern Time in nobis veritas. ”

If we say that we have no wickedness,

We deceive ourselves, and there ‘s no truth in us.

Why so, belike we must transgress,

And so accordingly die. ( Faustus.I.i.70-75 )

Faustus inaccurately surmises that everyone wickednesss and must be rewarded with decease. However, he takes the extract out of context of the original transition. The transition goes on to observe that if one repents and trusts in God, ageless life will be granted. As Kenneth Golden noted, Faustus has taken one line out of context and is now unable to see the large image. This manifests as a repeating issue throughout the drama. Faustus is giving multiple warnings to atone in the signifier of miracles, people, and events, yet he chooses to ignore each of them because he does non recognize the true power of God. Faustus rejects the power of God because he believes that it will hinder his quest for more power. Faustus does non desire to be limited by wickedness or facets of Christianity. “ The aboriginal wickedness of Faustus is in his province of head, non in his actions. His treaty with the Satan and his ultimate damnation follow necessarily from his desperation no less than from his pride, as does his desire for power ” ( Sachs 633 ) . The ego-inflation inherent to Faustus causes his desire for power and his ultimate damnation. Faustus turns to necromancy after rejecting other topics because it is the lone survey that his pride will let him to set about. Furthermore, Faustus ‘ self-importance prevents him from seeing the true nature of his penalty. When Mephastophilis answers Faustus ‘ inquiry about snake pit and notes that, “ Hell hath no bounds, nor is circumscribed In one ego topographic point, for where we are is hell, ” Faustus merely responds by disregarding snake pit as a fable ( Faustus.II.i.567-568 ) . Even before this, Faustus was speedy to disregard hurting in snake pit as “ trifles and mere old married womans narratives ” ( Faustus.II.i.582 ) . This is yet another illustration of Faustus reprobating himself because he overlooks the effects of his actions. Ego-inflation blinds Faustus, and he wants all of the benefits of selling his psyche without any requital. In a modern-day sense, Faustus is “ like modern adult male, who must possess the power of the H bomb, yet can non dodge the great correlate danger of planetal suicideaˆ¦he calls the military buildup ‘a title in the name of peace ‘ -an obvious illustration of neurotic ‘doublespeak ‘ ( Golden 205 ) . Hence, the ego-inflation within Faustus causes him to move for power without adequately turn toing the foreseeable and likely effects of his actions.

Finally, Faustus ‘ inability to come to footings with his shadow side secures his destiny. The shadow, in Jungian psychological science, represents a portion of the unconscious head comprised of pent-up failings. If Faustus most closely resembles a “ wise old adult male ” without an incorporate anima, his shadow most closely resembles the “ puer aeternus ” or ageless male child ( Jung 1 ) . The original of a “ puer aeternus ” is characterized by an adolescent adult male, unable to turn up and tackle life ‘s challenges ( Chalquist 1 ) . Faustus ‘ 24 old ages of possessing his powers represents his shadow side, which stands in blunt contrast to his old, studious life. This shadow seems to attest itself as Faustus ‘ deficiency of taking any important action with his powers. In the beginning of the drama, Faustus crow of how he will implement important alterations with his powers, yet by the terminal of the drama, Faustus has merely used his powers to entertain himself and others. A noteworthy illustration of this occurs when Faustus chooses to cite the liquors of Alexander the Great and his fancy man for the male monarch. Faustus biddings spirits non to larn from them but to shows others that he has such power. Faustus takes his frivolous workss to a new degree when he uses his powers to mortify a knight who had quarreled with Faustus in forepart of the male monarch. Faustus places a brace of horns on the knight ‘s caput for the exclusive intent of abashing him. Shortly thenceforth, Faustus returns him back to his original province at the petition of the male monarch ( McCullen14 ) . Had Faustus come to footings with his shadow side, he would hold been able to utilize his powers for meaningful Acts of the Apostless alternatively of blowing them on frivolousnesss. Additionally, the text suggests that Mephastophilis can be seen as a shadow side to Faustus:

Particularly in the earlier, clearly Marlovian parts of the drama, Faustus is the brave, contemptuous skeptic and deist, the adult male of pride and rational power. Yet, at the same clip, he displays a certain tension, grounds of the interior convulsion caused by the sapping of psychic energies by the rising prices of his self-importance. Mephistophilis, on the other manus, is a compensatory component, the opposing side of Faustus ‘ self-importance. Against Faustus, the power hungry, disdainful, acerb, sensation-oriented skeptic-we see Mephistophilis, in some major addresss asaˆ¦ the low, wholly sincere, feeling-oriented Christian, albeit a tardily born-again one. ( Golden 206 )

Hence, Mephastophilis can be seen as a manifestation of Faustus ‘ pent-up failings. Mephastophilis acts unfeignedly and even warns Faustus against selling his psyche. Of class, Mephastophilis ‘ supplications fall to deaf ears as Faustus is blinded by his pride and ego-inflation. In a sense, Faustus ne’er “ comes to footings ” with Mephastophilis, which is why he can ne’er atone. Whenever Faustus comes near to repenting, he is swayed by Mephastophilis. Near the terminal of the drama, Faustus encounters an old adult male sent by God who tries to convert Faustus to atone. The old adult male tells Faustus that there is still hope and that he can still atone. However, when Faustus tries to atone, Mephastophilis interjects and calls Faustus a treasonist, proclaiming that he will “ collar thy psyche For noncompliance to my crowned head Godhead. Revolt or I ‘ll piecemeal tear thy flesh ” ( Faustus.V.i.1333-1335 ) . Mephastophilis forestalling Faustus from atoning is demoing how Faustus is at odds with his pent-up side and is therefore unable to atone. Faustus is besides impeded by his ain incredulity. The pent-up failings within Faustus cause him to be disbelieving of penitence. In some state of affairss, Faustus can non grok that he can be forgiven because he is blinded by the incredulity repressed within him. The belief of penitence is overwhelmed by the incredulity that he has already sinned and his psyche already belongs to the Satan ; as such, Faustus continues to regenerate his contract with the Satan whenever he wavers:

Sweet Mephistophilis, entreat thy Godhead

To excuse my unfair given,

And with my blood once more I will corroborate

My former vow I made to Luciferaˆ¦

Torture, sweet friend, that base and crooked age,

That durst deter me from thy Lucifer,

With greatest tortures that our snake pit affords. ( Faustus.V.i.1336-1344 )

This is finally the undoing of Faustus. Faustus was given many chances to move and atone, yet he can non do a witting determination to follow through with the act of penitence. Since Faustus can non come to footings with his shadow,