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Faustus’s Pride and Conscience: From the beginning, Faustus is torn between his pride and conscience. Faustus is a great scholar. He is a master of religion, medicine, and law. But he wants more power and more knowledge. He wants to be like God and control the world. So, he defies God and chooses necromancy. He says:
“A sound magician is a mighty god.”
Faustus sells his soul to the devil for 24 years of unlimited power. This decision creates a big conflict inside Faustus. On one side, he is excited about unlimited power, wealth, and knowledge. On the other hand, he feels guilty and scared of going to hell. Sometimes, he even tries to pray to God for forgiveness. But his pride or temptations stop him. This inner conflict makes Faustus a human and a truly tragic character.
Good Angel and Evil Angel: In the play, Marlowe uses the Good Angel and the Evil Angel to show Faustus’ inner conflict. The Good Angel represents Faustus’s conscience. He begs him to repent and seek God’s mercy:
“Repent, yet God will pity thee.”
The Evil Angel represents temptations. He tells Faustus to enjoy his power and forget about hell. This shows the two sides of Faustus's mind: one wants to do the right thing, and the other wants to continue with his sinful path.
Faustus’s Struggle to Repent: Throughout the play, Faustus struggles to repent. He gets many chances to repent. The Good Angel and the old man repeatedly tell him to seek God’s mercy. The old man tells Faustus that God is merciful and will forgive him. The old man says:
“Then call for mercy, and avoid despair.”
Faustus almost repents. But Mephistophilis scares him by saying he will be torn to pieces if he betrays Lucifer. Then, Faustus chooses pleasure over God’s mercy. He asks for Helen of Troy to satisfy his lust. Faustus’s inner struggle to repent shows that it is very difficult to avoid temptations and return to the rightful path.
Despair and Fear: We witness Faustus’s despair and fear through his inner struggle. This makes his tragedy feel very real. In the last scene, Faustus thinks it is too late for him to be pardoned. He says:
“The serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus.”
This line captures Faustus’s despair as well as his inner conflict. So, he misses his last chance to repent. As his final moment arrives, he becomes terrified. He begs time to stop, so that midnight never comes. He says,
“Mountains and hills, come, come, and fall on me
And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!”
His wrong choices finally bring his tragic end. He can no longer escape his fate. The devils drag him to hell.
A Lesson: Faustus’ story is a warning about human weakness. We all face inner conflicts: between right and wrong, short-term fun and long-term consequences. Faustus’ downfall teaches us that ignoring our conscience leads to disaster. It also shows that it is never too late to change—unless we wait too long. Faustus’ tragedy is that he knew the truth but chose lies.
To wrap up, we can say Doctor Faustus suffers because of his inner conflict. He wants power and knowledge, but also fears damnation. Though he gets many chances to repent, his pride stops him. This makes his downfall truly tragic.
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