Mephistopheles Influences

The character, Mephistopheles is a rather sympathetic devil. In Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, he is painted as someone ‘just doing their job’ so to speak. This can be best seen in his contradiction actions. On one hand, he openly admits that Hell is a horrible place and warns Faustus off time and time again while on the other he threatens Faustus into staying loyal to Lucifer whenever his faith seems to waver.

All in all, one could argue that Mephistopheles is a tragic character. He warns Faustus about making a deal with Lucifer showing that, on some level, Mephistophilis is trying to protect him. Perhaps he is trying to keep Faustus from making the same mistakes that he had. Though the story does not specify, Mephistophilis might have been a man before he was a devil. Maybe when he see’s Faustus he sees a bit of his old self, prompting the strange kinship that is often described between the two.

Perhaps this is not so much unlikely as it is ironic, but it seems that Mephistopheles is influenced by God. Despite claiming that Hell is awful because it is being deprived of God, Mephistopheles seems bitter toward him. It is that bitterness that partly drives him in his desire to see Faustus fall even while another part of him seems to balk at the action. In short, his anger towards God is the driving force of many of his actions as a devil. Even though he seems to not want Faustus to fall under Lucifer’s sway he also wants to snub the almighty, and what better way to do that then drag one of his creations into Hell?

It makes you wonder just how much your enemies influence you unthinkingly. How much do you change your life and yourself to compensate your hatred for them.