The Honeycut: ‘Faust’ is a Strange Literary Classic

A Deal with the Devil 

We’ve all heard of a Faustian deal, where you sell your soul to the devil in exchange for whatever you want. Even though it was written about 200 years ago, the infamous bargain continues to show up in pop culture. Most notable is probably the tale of Robert Johnson. He was a legendary blues musician, who is said to have met the devil at the crossroads and exchanged his soul to be the best guitar player around. He was also the first member of the 27 Club, but that’s a story for another day. 

“Faust” had been on my shelf for years before I recently decided to read it. I figured it would be a good story for the Halloween season. So, did it live up to the hype? Or did it go down in flames?

The Story

Faust is an aging scholar who is bored with life. In his quest for knowledge and power, he summons the devil, Mephistopheles, to make a bargain for his soul. The rest of the book follows the pair and their various adventures. 

Honey’s Cut 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published the first part of Faust in 1808 and is a much more grounded story than the second part he wrote about 20 years later. Both are written like a play and a poem, similar to Dante’s “Inferno” or Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”

In the first part, Faust and Mephistopheles travel to a town where Faust falls in love with a young lady. He uses the power of the devil to win her over but at a terrible cost. This is more of a contained, personal story and it works well. I could see someone using their dark powers this way. 

The second part is where it goes off the rails. Faust and Mephistopheles begin in a castle, advising an emperor. Then they travel to ancient Greece and encounter several characters from that time. A bunch of other stuff happens and it’s all weird.