Editing Mephistopheles (section)

== Interpretations ==
[[Image:Mephisto by Mark Antokolski, marble (GTG, after 1883) by shakko 09.jpg|thumb|''Mephistopheles'' by [[Mark Antokolsky]], 1884]]

=== Devil, Damnation, and Hell ===
Although Mephistopheles appears to Faustus as a [[demon]] – a worker for [[Lucifer]] – critics claim that he does not search for men to corrupt, but comes to serve and ultimately collect the souls of those who are already damned. Willard Farnham explains, "Nor does Mephistophiles first appear to Faustus as a devil who walks up and down on earth to tempt and corrupt any man encountered. He appears because he senses in Faustus' magical summons that Faustus is already corrupt, that indeed he is already 'in danger to be damned'."<ref>{{cite book|first=Willard|last=Farnham|title=Twentieth Century Interpretations of Doctor Faustus|publisher=[[Prentice-Hall]]|location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey|date=1969|isbn=978-0132163095}}</ref>

Mephistopheles is already trapped in his own Hell by serving the Devil. He warns Faustus of the choice he is making by "selling his soul" to the devil: "Mephistophilis, an agent of Lucifer, appears and at first advises Faust not to forego the promise of [[heaven]] to pursue his goals".<ref>{{cite journal|editor1-first=Jelena|editor1-last=Krstovic|editor2-first=Marie|editor2-last=Lazzardi|title=Plot and Major Themes|journal=Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800|volume=47|publisher=[[The Gale Group]]|location=Detroit, Michigan|date=1999|page=202}}</ref> Farnham adds to his theory, "...[Faustus] enters an ever-present private hell like that of Mephistophiles".<ref>Krstovic & Lazzardi 1999, p. 8</ref>[[Image:Scuola francese, mefistofele e margaretta, dal faust, 1890 ca. 01.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Mephistopheles and Margaretta]]'', wooden double sculpture, c. 1876]]

Though Mephistopheles can be interpreted as vile through his actions, he profoundly warns Faustus of God’s wrath if he does not repent. Osman Durrani describes the character as “simultaneously, an example of gross depravity and a morally aware theologian.” <ref name=":3" />

Dorothy L. Sayers' play, ''The Devil to Pay'', published in 1939, portrays Mephistopheles as a familiar of the devil as well. Sayers created Mephistopheles to seem mischievous and daunting, while doing the devil's bidding. In this play, it appears as if Mephistopheles' actions were done willingly. Mephistopheles did not necessarily warn Dr. Faustus; rather, he persuaded him to believe that he was to be his servant instead. Once Dr. Faustus was gone, Mephistopheles called into the Hell-Mouth, "Lucifer, Lucifer! The bird is caught..."[Mephistopheles].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2001 |title=Villainy and the Life of the Mind in A.S. Byatt and Dorothy L. Sayers |url=https://doi.org/10.5040/9798400639760.0015 |journal=The Devil Himself |pages=147–158 |doi=10.5040/9798400639760.0015 |isbn=979-8-4006-3976-0 }}</ref>

This interpretation of Mephistopheles falls in line with the Protestant revisioning of magic, specifically conjuring. In the late 1580's, popular Protestant writers argued that conjurations were "theatrical spectacles", in which Satan allowed demons to appear as if they had been summoned and controlled by humans. This performance further damns the soul of the magician and allows for the demon to collect his soul for Lucifer. These revisions were widely circulated before Marlowe's ''Dr. Faustus'' premiered and were integrated into his work.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guenther |first=Genevieve |date=August 2011 |title=Why Devils Came When Faustus Called Them |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/662147 |journal=Modern Philology |volume=109 |issue=1 |pages=46–70 |doi=10.1086/662147 |issn=0026-8232}}</ref>

=== Nature vs. Evil ===
The nature between God and evil is complex amongst the theological issues. In Abrahamic religions, God is inherently deemed as good and not capable of being evil, though those religions also have to acknowledge the existence of evil in the world. Through the ideals of the Society of Jesuits, the Roman Catholic religious order expressed that nature is undistorted by original sin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Jeffery |title=Mephistopheles |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1986 |isbn=9780801418082 |edition=4th |language=English}}</ref> Mephistopheles also appears as a nature spirit, a Naturgeist.,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Jane K. |date=1985 |title=Mephistopheles the Nature Spirit |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25600562 |journal=Studies in Romanticism |language=en |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=475–490 |doi=10.2307/25600562 |jstor=25600562}}</ref> though he is still deemed as evil or rather destructive amongst many scholars. However, Jane K. Brown suggests that Mephistopheles is Faust's "mediator to the world," that he is neither evil or destructive.<ref name="Brown 1985 475–490">{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Jane K. |date=1985 |title=Mephistopheles the Nature Spirit |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25600562 |journal=Studies in Romanticism |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=475–490 |doi=10.2307/25600562 |issn=0039-3762}}</ref> Brown suggests that nature is where God and the devil meet and this is where humans live. Mephistopheles, then, represents the one of the two souls that humans naturally possess, Faust's struggle between the "divine principle (mind or spirit) and the world (physical nature)."<ref name="Brown 1985 475–490"/>  Mephistopheles is a nature spirit representing the unsegmented world through the human experience.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Easlea |first=Brian |date=1989-02-01 |title=jeffrey burton russell . Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1986. Pp. 333. $24.95 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/94/1/105/147393 |journal=The American Historical Review |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=105–106 |doi=10.1086/ahr/94.1.105 |issn=1937-5239}}</ref>

=== Sexuality ===
One interpretation of the character is that Mephistopheles presents himself as a [[Voyeurism|sexual voyeur]]. This voyeurism can represent Faust’s sexual confusion and temptation. An example would be Faust’s interactions with Helen of Troy, in which, given temptation, Mephistopheles loosens his grip on Faust as he falls further from God and Heaven.<ref name=":2" />

Mephistopheles can also be perceived as a homoerotic character. When observing male angels during the burial scene in Goethe's ''Faust,'' he can be seen as becoming physically aroused. Later on, he becomes consumed by his feelings as he is engulfed in flames. This is believed to be the Lord's plan since the beginning in order to save Faust from damnation. By tempting Mephistopheles's homoerotic nature he is unable to focus on corrupting Faust, subsequently saving him.<ref name=":3" />