German 4

Option essay: Goethes Faust

Examine Goethes Presentation of Gretchen in Urfaust

Student: S0458249

In signing below I state that the following is my own work and

any secondary literature used as a means of researching a
building an argument is acknowledged as such at attributed
to the relevant source in the bibliography.

Signed: .. Date: .....................

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 Mein schnes
Frulein darf ichs
wagen, mein Arm
und Geleit ihr
anzutragen?

Sie
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ist gerichtet!

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It must have been quite a shock for an eager nineteenth century theatre-goer to have sat down to
watch a new play, or rather a tragedy, by that renowned genius Johann Wolfgang Goethe and to find
that the tragedy on first appearances was not that of the legendary protagonist, the hero, the
Goethe-like genius whose name stared out from the program, but rather that of an innocent, young
girl corrupted and damned. Today people are so familiar with the plot of Faust that it comes as no
surprise at all when the sudden entrance of the young and innocent Gretchen completely changes
the direction of the play and strangles the Faust drama 1. Critics seem to forget it too and as a result
relatively little space is devoted to her in literary criticism. In an earlier unstaged and rather more
slim-line version of his masterpiece, Urfaust, Gretchen dominates the proceedings even more, which
contributes to this play being referred to in the vast arena of Goethe studies as the Gretchen
Tragedy.

Goethes portrayal is open to interpretation, which led to the wide ranging criticism we have today,
some of which only looks on the surface and does not take important factors into account; such as
Goethes past and the society in which this drama both took place and much later was staged. At
times it feels impossible to deal with Faust afresh and without taking into account the great critical
tradition that has followed it around ever since its conception, comparable to that Schwarzer Pudel
in Faust Erster Teil, that eventually transforms into Mephistopheles, who from then on does his
utmost to change Fausts perception of all around him. It sometimes feels that a similar relationship
is played out between the reader and the critics.

In outlining Goethes presentation of Gretchen, it will be my task to examine the original text and
literary criticism from both sides of the spectrum and try to ascertain Goethes true intentions for
Gretchen. The ways through which we ascertain Gretchens character are varied. Sometimes it is
from her directly, through speech or song, and others it is when other characters talk of her and her
effect on them. One very telling portrayal of Gretchen does not go hand in hand with these others,
yet appears whenever she does: her name.

Everyone has a name. It is a word that embodies who we are and, to a certain extent, can both liken
us to others, if that name happens to be culturally relevant and commonplace, and separate us from
them, if it is not. Johann Wolfgang Goethes first name would have been considered typical of the
time. Not only common place but with social stigma attached to it, as eighteenth century playwrights
gave many of the butlers and servants in their plays this name. This may be one of the reasons why
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1
Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). P65
Goethe changed his original plan and named his protagonist Heinrich rather than after himself. 2
Gretchens name is also of interest in many ways. She is initially called Margarethe in the stage
directions, with occasional spelling changes that are in keeping with the rough and unkempt tone of
the piece. Yet it is Faust who first names her otherwise Gretgen 3- and in doing so opens the flood
gates to critical debate.

Gretchen can be read as a diminutive form of Margarethe. Although Faust is expressing affection, 4
he is also contributing to the infantization of women, through which they become even more
disempowered than they were before. The critic Gaier dedicates a relatively large amount of space
Gretchens name in his companion guide to the Urfaust with many different lines of inquiry. Firstly,
she clarifies the semantic meaning of Grete as leichtfertiges, sittenloses Mchen. 5 It may be that
Goethe intended this as a kind of dramatic irony to make Gretchens future path clearer to the
audience, and through this raise their attention to the steps to her damnation. It was Faust who gave
her this pet name and through him that she falls. Gaier also informs us that Gretchen ambiguously
refers to Lust Objekt, 6 and thus confirms Fausts growing feelings for the girl. Most interestingly of
all is the historical context of the name. Gretchen was also the name of Goethes first love, a girl
similar the theatrical Gretchen in rank and also in her ways of speech. 7 Other loves of Goethes found
their way into his works, but it is usually agreed that the Gretchen of Faust resembles Gretchen of
Frankfurt more than any of the other women he loved. 8 The common name convinces me that it
cannot have been accidental and by choosing this particular girl, and matched with the fact that he
almost named the eponymous protagonist after himself, one can draw the conclusion that there is a
large amount of biographical material in Faust to the extent that Goethe Urfaust can be seen as
Chiefly an expression of Goethes remorse 9for past wrong-doing.

With Gretchen comes a much-needed contrast. If Faust, our tragic hero, represents a new
enlightened world, then Gretchen most surely stands for an older world order that Faust rejects and
is moving away from. She is the product of centuries of Christian tradition [] and a strict social
order10 that are so central to her dogmatic existence that at first it seems inconceivable for her to

2
Gaier, Ulrich. Erla uterungen und Dokumente. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Urfaust. Reclam. Stuttgart (1989) p46
3
Urfaust L703
4
Which he continues later with Margaretlein (L681), Puppe, and Engel, which serves as another example of
how Faust idealizes Gretchen and sets up her fall by underlining her purity and religiosity.
5
Gaier P55
6
Gaier P40
7
Stawell and Dickenson Goethe and Faust. An Interpretation. G. Bell and Sons, LTD. (1928). P27. The linguistic
similarities that he cites as evidence are to be found in old letters of correspondence.
8
Stawell/Dickenson P27
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9
Browning P472
10
Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). p216
abandon these beliefs and go against these social norms. Yet she does. In the early stages when her
reputation remains upstanding and respectable, we see our enlightenment heroes hide in the
shadows as she bears a lamp. Is this not a strange role reversal? It is the Dark Age figure that bears a
lamp11, and who after being seduced by the enlightenment figure, finds herself in a dark dungeon,
which in itself is not unlike Fausts hochgewlbtes, enges, gothisches Zimmer. 12 This not only brings
into question the way we view the enlightenment figures and gives value to the historic figures, but
also offers a new undeniably religious insight as to her function in this tragedy. Is she in fact his
saviour who will absolve his sins and take them onto herself?

This line of argument goes hand in hand with the dismissal of Gretchens further importance other
than a mere stereotypical vessel through which Faust gains what he has never been capable to
before knowledge, love, and enjoyment of nature. 13 This theory can be further supported when
one looks at her eventual fate. The theme of infanticide was particularly popular among the young
writers of the Sturm and Drang14 and here it is explicitly said that sie ist die Erste nicht. 15 Although
it would be a great exaggeration to say that this was a common fate for young girls, this could been
seen as further evidence supporting a claim that Gretchen is a mere stereotype, intended to
represent a trend and women in general. Further evidence for the latter can be found in Faust
Zweiter Teil. The whole play closes with a vision of what is eternal in womanhood drawing the
mystical choir forward forever by love and in that eternity Gretchen has her part, 16which we know
as the text tells us so. Shortly before the end there is mentioned a gute Seele, die sich einmal nur
vergessen17 which reminds us of Gretchen and by strength of position in the text associates her
with the eternal feminine, even perhaps suggesting that she herself is symbolic representative of
womankind.18

For those critics determined to write her off as a two dimensional character, the Urfaust is generous
to Gretchens critics. The larger part of this criticism could be seen to revolve around her pious and
dogmatic existence. When questioning on his faith, Gretchen does not offer Faust any real answers of
substance but rather insists that one should unquestioningly believe. It does indeed seem as if her

11
Urfaust Abend. Around L605
12
Urfaust. First scene. Nacht.
13
Pascal,Roy. The German Sturm und Drang Manchester University Press. (1953) P 205
14
Willoughby,L.A. Goethes Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell. Oxford (1943) Xviii
15
Urfaust Nacht. Vor Gretgens Haus. L14 Mephistopheles.
16
Stawell and Dickenson. Goethe and Faust. An Interpretation. G. Bell and Sons, LTD. (1928). P 63

17
Faust Zweiter Teil 1 L12066
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18
Atkins , Stuart. A Reconsideration of Some Misunderstood Passages in the Gretchen Tragedy of Goethe's Faust
The Modern Language Review, Vol. 48, No. 4. (Oct., 1953 )p 423
soul is bound to Christian doctrines of little use, 19 and it is her guilty conscious that tortures her in
the form of the Bser Geist and into madness. Her religious beliefs are indeed key to the plot, as
she is lead easily into seduction by Fausts equation of the physical body and the spirit 20 and also in
her final moments she retains unshakeable faith in those beliefs and undying hopes that simple
education have given her21 but she is to all intents and purposes only religious in the sense and
degree in which the average respectable girl of the community is. 22 In this respect she stands as a
polar opposite to Faust and this makes his guilt at destroying her even worse.

She can at times seem insufferably sentimental 23 to a modern reader, but the critic Atkins insists
that this is in keeping with the sentimental nature of 18 th century literature.24 Yet I disagree with his
belief in the plausibility that we are to regard her as the deluded victim of Faust the seducer, the
masterful hero,25 because as I hope to show later, I believe there is more to Gretchen than merely
the role of the victim.

Many argue that Gretchen is a grotesquely inappropriate substitute for the woman he should have
loved,26and one can see their reasoning: there is a total disparity of their intellects and natures. 27
She is a simple girl of limited intelligence, 28 who when standing next to this legendary intellect
comes across as even more so. He leaves Gretchen in awe of him (L1060-65) and questioning what
he sees in her at all. The tokens of jewellery indeed flattered her vanity as they would have any
woman, but the goodness in her made her give them to her mother. When another even grander box
comes she persuades herself to keep them and wear them in secret at her Neighbours home. She
knows what is expected of her and what society expects of her as a woman. She was then flattered
by Faust and even by Mephisto mistaking her for a lady. Her artless prattle about her dull
domesticity can be tiresome, but I agree with Mason in his criticism of those who fail to take her later
development into account and believe it is a sufficient description of Gretchen from start to finish of
the tragedy, when he says,

19
Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). p238

20
Urfaust L1196 Brust an Brust und Seele an Seele drngen
21
Samuel,R.H. The German Sturm und Drang Manchester University Press. (1953) Xxviii
22
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles(1967) p 214
23
Atkins, Stuart. A Reconsideration of Some Misunderstood Passages in the Gretchen Tragedy of Goethe's Faust
The Modern Language Review, Vol. 48, No. 4. (Oct., 1953) p 423
24
Atkins 423
25
Atkins 424
26
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). P 209
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27
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). P 217
28
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). P 216
 How can Gretchen still appear naively domestic and genre-like when she has
just killed her child and is on the point of being beheaded for it? 29

The character of Faust actually holds a substantial influence over the audience with regard to how
they perceive Gretchen. His endless idealization of her beauty, her morals, and even of her dull
domestic chores lead to Margarethe being put up even higher on a pedestal. The higher up she is,
the more damaging a fall would be, so when she does fall to temptation it makes it even more
shocking and tragic. In a way, through Faust, Goethe denies Gretchen the opportunity to be seen as a
person who irrt, solang er strebt. 30 This Vergtterung Margarethes31 is made worse by her
solitude. Where Faust is given a counterplayer in Mephisto, who serves to represent another side of
him that had been fighting for prominence (Zwei Seelen wohnen ach, in meiner Brust! 32), Gretchen
is seen as whole and doesnt need one,33 which is not to say that every aspect of her being
corresponds to her religious, pure existence.

Furthermore, it is through Faust that Gretchen becomes exceptional. It is because he hand picked her
for his affections that she becomes special and comes to our attention. He gushes about her being
sitt und tudgendreich 34 and she is schnippisch35 when she quickly rejects his request to escort
her home. She later demonstrates this curt manner again in another way when dismissing his long-
winded explainations on his faith. She actually silences him. In the context of her devout religious
faith she is not a hugely diverse character, except for the occasional surprising retort. Yet it is she who
captivates him, and she who has opened the world for him once more. 36 If the initial scene were
the extent to which she was portrayed then I would agree with her critics, but this is not at all the
case at all. It is in the small details and the progression as she gradually loses the bloom and
foliage37 of her former innocence, which is well symbolized in her reinliches Zimmer 38

This purity is brought into question upon close reading of her first song. Der Knig im Thule is a
most appropriate song for Gretchen to sing as it may very well have belonged to the folksongs that a
girl of her stature would have known, and at the same time reveals that she has been effected by this

29
Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967).p 222
30
Faust Erster Teil L317
31
Gaier,Ulrich. Erla uterungen und Dokumente. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Urfaust. Reclam. Stuttgart (1989) p 44
32
Faust Erster Teil L1112
33
Browning, R. M. On the Structure of the Urfaust PMLA, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Jun., 1953) p487
34
Urfaust L463
35
Urfaust L464
36
Stawell and Dickenson Goethe and Faust. An Interpretation. G. Bell and Sons, LTD. (1928). 103/4
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37
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1963) p223
38
Urfaust. Abend. (circa.L530) Stage directions.
sudden meeting with Faust but where the audience sees it, she has yet to acknowledge it her
feelings will not pass the censorship of her consciousness. 39 However conventional it seems at first
glance, there is something amiss which can be traced back to the third line of the first stanza. Is it not
strange that a seemingly religious girl is singing a song of a great man and his eternal love for his
lover40, rather than his wife? This sudden sensuality is reinforced by her actions sie fngt an zu
singen, indem sie sich auszieht. 41 It is possible that this shows that she is fallible and has all the
natural desires of youth,42 which itself is further supported later when she reveals herself as not
completely ignorant to the facts of life and physicality(L986).

The use of song to reveal the psychological state of Gretchen is a master stroke by Goethe and many
critics agree that he had a supreme ability to reveal motive and character in that indirect way, the
way people reveal themselves in real life. 43 As free expression in women was restricted, these songs
afford us a great insight into a womans soul which Goethe possessed to such a great degree 44
without sacrificing its believability that would have lead to the emotional and shocking ending to fall
flat.

The next song starts with Gretchen at a spinning wheel rocking which can be seen to imply sex and
sensuality again. The song, Meine Ruh ist hin, marks a transition where her feelings are not longer
hidden from her own consciousness. Unlike the former ready-made Volkslied, this is a sombre self
composed that recounts her own individual feelings. The style and metre are completely different
from the former and seem to centre on her emotions and the personal conflict inside her that has
become an obsession, shown by the repetition of the refrain. It is clear that her fate is still to be
decided. The simple structure and rhyme are in keeping with her stance and maintain its
believability.

The next time she sings, in Zwinger, her fate has been decided. The emotionally charged words are
smattered with alliteration causing them to flow faster and faster giving the reader the idea that
Gretchen is racing toward her destiny. She is in mourning, but still loves Faust even if she does feel an
obedient slave to his will45 and even in the previous scene with Liesgen, she chooses not to listen to
the warning but to be overcome in the memory. She is in essence blinded by love, and it is in this
love that she commits her crimes.
39
Willoughby, L.A. Goethes Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell. Oxford (1943) Xxiv
40
Urfaust L613.
41
Urfaust Abend. (circa L610)Stage directions
42
Samuel,R.H. The German Sturm und Drang Manchester University Press. (1953) Xxviii
43
Willoughby, L.A. Goethes Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell, Oxford (1943) Xxiv
44
Willoughby,L.A. Goethess Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell. Oxford (1943) Xxvii
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45
Urfaust L1210-3 Weis nicht was mich nach deinem Willen treibt/Ich habe schon fr dich gethan/ Dass mir zu
thun fast nichts berbleibt.
Before her last song we are made aware of how her world has come crashing down. At church she is
tormented by her conscience and then we see her brother outraged by how her name was been
tarnished. Immediately after we see Faust completely inconsolable with guilt for what he has done.
This prepares us for Gretchens final appearance in the Kerker, where she reveals her innermost self
in her madness.46 The song she is singing is from the point of view of the child she killed in shame. It
denounces its parents and shows the view she holds of herself. It seems that motherhood has
matured and aged Gretchen a great deal. I believe that Gretchen reveals more in these four songs
than she succeeded to do before. She does experience a wealth of emotional life, which can here
only find full expression in song. 47 This use of song goes further to separate her from, and present
her as an polar opposite to, Faust. His reasoned argument and logical conclusions are contrasted by
the way her emotions decide her path and find an outlet in song. 48

Her end comes shortly after this last song, but in an unexpected, yet typical fashion. Gretchen may
have become mad but she has not lost her faith. She chooses to lay herself at Gods mercy, even
when Faust comes to save her. She chooses death as soon as Mephisto enters, which goes hand in
hand with the intuition she has always held. At the very first meeting he told us that he had no
power over her49 which is immediately followed by her sensing his influence on the athmosphere
Es ist so schwl und dumpfig hie.50 Now she also feels that his influence has spread through
Fausts soul and finds it hard to recognize him anymore, even from his cold-lipped kiss. 51 It is
suggested here that she remains innocent, with her faith and intuition in tact. This does not however
save her.

It is important to take into account that this in its entirety amounts to a mere eleven scenes, most of
which take place around the action and merely indicate the events in between and a few of which
she plays a secondary role in. despite this, her character development and downfall never seem
rushed or condensed.

Pious, yet sensual; inexpressive but holds the most beautiful lines of verse in song; unintelligent yet
intuitive and decisive: This character is by no means as simple as she seems on first glance, even
though a lot of her personality and life correspond directly to what would be expected of a girl from

46
Willoughby,L.A. Goethes Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell. Oxford (1943) Xxvi
47
Willoughby Xxiv
48
Browning, R. M. On the Structure of the Urfaust PMLA, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Jun., 1953) P487
49
Urfaust 477
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50
Urfaust 605
51
Urfaust Kerker L50
that day and age. She certainly suffers in comparison to Faust, who both emancipates her from her
domestic role by seducing her and also relocking the chains in his idyllic fantasies of her chores and
by renaming her. Gretchen is not a strong and confident woman, in fact she has none of the
strength or courage that might have enabled her to cope with the situation in which she finds
herself,52 yet Mason insists that had she would have become an entirely different person and lost
the greater part of her charm.53 The audience care for her fate more than they would have done for
a more liberal woman, like Gretchens neighbour Marthe. Goethe himself cared for her and in his
final version of Faust Erster Teil she is no longer gerichtet 54 but rather gerettet 55

Gretchen may have been intended as a vessel to Fausts redemption, a contrast to Faust ,or a
representative of womankind, but, as I have shown, that is not saying that she is not also given subtle
individual characteristics that reveal her weaknesses and the inner conflict inside her that shows that
she, like her lover Faust, had two souls inside her too.

52
Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles.(1967) p 216
53
Mason Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967). p216
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54
Urfaust Kerker L111
55
Faust Erster Teil L4612
Bibliography:

Primary Literature:

Goethe, J.W. Urfaust. Goethes Faust in urspru nglicher Gestalt Philipp Reclam JUN.
Stuttgart (1987).

Goethe, J.W. Faust. Der Trago die Erster Teil Philipp Reclam JUN. Stuttgart (2001)

Goethe, J.W. Faust. Der Trago die Zweiter Teil Philipp Reclam JUN. Stuttgart (2001)

Secondary Literature:

Atkins, Stuart. A Reconsideration of Some Misunderstood Passages in the Gretchen

Tragedy of Goethe's Faust
The Modern Language Review, Vol. 48, No. 4. (Oct., 1953), pp. 421-434.

Browning, R. M. On the Structure of the Urfaust

PMLA, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Jun., 1953), pp. 458-495.

Gaier, Ulrich Erla uterungen und Dokumente. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Urfaust.
(Philipp Reclam jun.Stuttgart 1989)

Mason, Eudo.C. Goethes Faust. Its Genisis and Purport University of California Press.
Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1967).

Pascal, Roy. The German Sturm und Drang Manchester University Press. 1953

Samuel, R.H. Urfaust. Johann Wolfgang Goethes Faust in its original form Macmillan &
CO LTD London 1963

Stawell and Dickenson. Goethe and Faust. An Interpretation. G. Bell and Sons, LTD.
1928.

Willoughby, L.A. Goethes Urfaust and Faust, ein Fragment Basil Blackwell, Oxford,
1943.
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