Introducing...Dr Faustus! 15/09/2011

I think today's bog will be about whether or not I think that Dr Faustus is presented as a 'traditional' gothic character in scene one.
Some of the characteristics that one might expect to find in a stereotypical gothic character, the archetypal one being 'Count Dracula', include: being inhuman in some manner, having a degree of status, a strong physical presence, arrogance and intelligence.

Dr Faustus' fascination with magic is something that distinguishes him from a 'normal' human being.
Faustus' love of magic is evident at the end of his opening speech, when he decides that magic is what he shall concentrate his studies on.

"These metaphysics of magicians
And necromantic books are heavenly."

Being able to perform magic, obviously makes Faustus more than a human- he has super powers! Furthermore Faustus' captivation with magic, contextually would separate him from his peers with dark magic flying in the face of God; the wrath of whom most humans would fear.

Faustus' characterisation as a typical gothic character perhaps falls short in the area of status. In the opening chorus, it is said that Faustus' parents parents being, "base of stock". Clearly this is very different to the aristocratic status of Count Dracula. That said, I think there culd be an argument that Faustus does in fact have status but that status is an academic one, earned through his intellectual prowess,

"The fruitful plot of scholarism graced,
That shortly he was graced with a doctor's name,"

If I now turn to 'physical presence', I think it that it would be fair to say that there is little evidence in the first scene as to what Faustus is like physically, given that there are no stage directions which specify what Faustus must look like. That said, the physical actions of throwing away the books of the great masters of: philosophy, medicine, law and divinity, hint at a physical confidence to match Faustus' mental one.

There is an absolute abundance of evidence in scene one which suggests, that Dr Faustus has more than a little bit of arrogance in his personality. I think the most obvious piece of textual evidence is his systematic rejection of great areas of studies and the most prolific writers in those areas. It's as if Faustus believes that these subjects are below him and his intelligence, "Affords this art no greater miracle?" (rejection of philosophy).

Finally, I will take a very quick look at the evidence to suggest that Faustus is intelligent as this is clearly the character trait that Marlowe is aiming to emphasise the most when he let's the audience get their first glimpse of Dr Faustus. The setting of the scene, in Faustus' study, immediately lets the audience know that Faustus is a scholarly man. The chorus as previously mentioned, also let's the audience know that Faustus has excelled academically at university. I really like the way that Faustus casually drifts into Latin, and then translates for the 'common' audience,

""Summum bonum medicinae sanitas."
The end of physic is our body's health." 

This for me has the effect of Faustus asserting his intellectual superiority over the audience members too.

After, very quickly going through the tick list of character traits I think it would be fair to say that Marlowe does a good job of creating a typical gothic character in Dr Faustus.