The Misplaced Epiphany of Doctor Faustus

Note: This was originally a paper for my English 2 class. This paper is a critical analysis of the play, and therefore may be confusing to some one who hasn't read it.


In order to truly understand the epiphany of Doctor Faustus we must first understand Marlowe’s use of character development. In the first act of the play, Marlowe gives Faustus several long monologues. This serves to establish him as the central character, and give the audience some insight to Faustus, and to establish his hubris of excessive pride. After the first act, Marlowe departs from the periodic monologues of Doctor Faustus in exchange for conversations between Faustus and Mephostophilis. Although this creates fluency between the acts, this greatly distorts the Doctors ability to be honest with himself, and the audience. Because of this we must look for the moment in the play when there is a noticeable difference in the actions of Faustus in certain situations, and the events leading up to these actions, in order to pin point the true epiphany of Doctor Faustus.



The first indication that we can no longer see the true feelings of Doctor Faustus occurs in Scene ii of Act II when Faustus, prompted by the words of the two Angels [the proverbial good angel and the bad angel that in modern time would have appeared on opposite shoulders] says, ”O Christ, my savior, my savior! / Help to save distressed Faustus’ soul.” (Marlowe 2.2.89-90). At this point Lucifer himself enters along with Belzebub and Mephostophilis. Lucifer says, “Christ cannot save thy soul for He is just. / There is none but I [who] have interest [or a claim] in the same.” Marlowe 2.2.91-92). This shows that Doctor Faustus no longer can be true in his own thoughts. His thoughts are subject to be read by the evil forces with which he has made a deal. It is from this point forward that we must rely on his actions to determine his epiphany rather than his words.



The first evidence that Doctor Faustus has had an epiphany occurs in Act IV Scene v. Faustus encounters a horse-courser who wishes to buy his horse. Faustus reluctantly agrees, but in contract to his earlier nature, he gives the following warning, “I must tell you that you / may ride him o’er the hedge and ditch and spare him / not. But, do you hear, in any case ride him not into / the water.” (Marlowe 4.5.13-16). This warning, which consequences are evident when the horse-courser proceeds to do just that, is out of character for the mischievous Faustus. When the horse-courser attempts to confront Faustus, [after he disobeyed the warning, and discovered that the horse turned to straw upon entering the water] and demand he return the money he was paid for the horse, Faustus lets the man believe that he pulls Faustus’ leg off. This sends the house-courser running, at which Faustus says, “Ha, ha, ha! / Faustus hath his leg again, and the horse-courser a / bundle of hay for his forty dollars.” (Marlow 4.5.47-49).



The significance of the interaction with the horse-courser is not truly discovered until Act IV scene vi. In this scene the horse-courser teams up with Robin, Dick, and Carter. All four of these individuals have fallen victim to the mischievous Faustus during the course of the play. Carter [who this is the first appearance of] gives the following speech:



“I’ll tell you how he served me. As I was going / to Wittenberg t’other day with a load of hay, he / met me and asked me what he should give me for / as much hay as he could eat. Now sir, I thinking / that a little would serve his turn, bad him take as / much as he would for three farthings. So he presently [According to the edition of the play I an using, the line break occurs in the middle of the word presently, pres- / ently] gave me my money and fell to eating; and as / I am a cursen man, he never left eating till he had / eat up all my load of hay.” (Marlowe 4.6.27-35)



Not only did the Doctor actively seek out Carter in his mischievousness, but he also showed no signs of compassions in contrast to his dealings with the horse-courser. In sharper contrast is how the Doctor dealt with Robin and Dick. In Act II Scene iii Robin reveals to Dick that he has stolen a conjuring book from Doctor Faustus. They proceed to use the book in Act III scene iii. In this scene, they are confronted for stealing a cup from the local tavern, so they summon Mephostophilis. This serves it’s intent of scaring off the Vintner who was chasing them, but Mephostophilis (who is in the Doctor’s service) proceeds to punish them for stealing the book. Robin is transformed into a dog, and Dick is transformed into an ape. Again this is quite a difference than allowing them to believe they pulled the Doctors leg off. When the four of them confront the Doctor in Act IV Scene vii the Doctor merely charms each one of them silent.



Doctor Faustus’ true epiphany occurs as a result of his crowning achievement, so to speak, of his mischief. In Act IV Scene ii Doctor Faustus has assembled with the Emperor in his courtyard to summon Alexander the Great and his paramour for the entertainment of the Emperor. Benvolio, who is skeptical, watches on from his window. He says, “[B]ring Alexander and his paramour before the Emperor, / I’ll be Actaeon [Acteon was a mythological hunter who supposedly saw the Goddess Diana bathing, who then proceeded to turn him into a stag. His own hounds then tore him to pieces.] and turn myself to a stag.” (Marlowe 4.2.53-54). Faustus over hears this comment, and causes Benvolio to sprout horns. These horns prevent him from even pulling his head back inside his window. Not until the Emperor insists does Faustus relent, and cause the horns to disappear. Benvolio, whose pride has been severely hurt, conspired with Martino and Frederick to kill Faustus. Faustus has Mephostophilis dispatch them to various tortures [including a set of horns each] and then Mephostophilis drives away the soldiers that accompanied them. This was Faustus’ last act of mischief to such a degree. The next scene featuring Faustus is his interaction with the horse-courser.



To fully understand how this scene results in Faustus’ epiphany, one must examine his hubris. Doctor Faustus has an unhealthy amount of pride. Doctor Faustus was an extremely educated man, who possessed three doctorates [one in theology, one in medicine, and one in law]. His ease at mastering subjects that would take most people their entire life to master led him to become bored. His pride led him to make the deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for great power. His pride also bound him to the deal. But his pride must have suffered a tremendous blow at such an organized attempt to take his life. A man of such power and education as he must recognize that in order to be great, you must have the admiration of the people around you. The attempt on his life showed him that he was not admired, but detested. As a result of this, Faustus has his epiphany, and no longer acts mischievously.