In this blog post, we will examine step by step—based on Goethe’s life and the structure of the work—how the two wagers and the symmetry between the beginning and the end shape the evolution and fulfillment of Faust’s soul, that is, his “entelechia.”

Life and Background

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749 into a wealthy family in Frankfurt am Main, a free city of the Holy Roman Empire. Although he had a keen interest in literature and the arts from an early age, he studied law at the universities of Leipzig and Strasbourg in accordance with his father’s wishes and earned a doctorate in law.
After completing his studies, he continued to write while working as a lawyer, and his 1774 work ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ enjoyed explosive popularity throughout Europe. In 1775, at the invitation of Grand Duke Karl August, he moved to Weimar, where he held various key administrative positions before eventually rising to the post of Chancellor.
However, a life confined to the constraints of public administration distanced him from creative work. In 1786, he suddenly departed for Italy, where he spent two years touring major sites and encountering ancient works of art—an experience that brought about a significant shift in his artistic outlook. Subsequently, through his collaboration with Friedrich Schiller, he continued his prolific creative work and played a decisive role in establishing Weimar as the center of German culture.

Faust: Work Commentary

“Faust” is, quite literally, the “work of his life”—a piece that Goethe refined and perfected over the course of his entire life. Beginning with a legend he encountered in a puppet show during his childhood, he started writing the first draft in his twenties and continued to revise and expand it ceaselessly until just before his death.
Although this work is a fantasy in which Faust, a medieval scholar and magician, enters into a pact with the devil and embarks on various adventures, it is more than just a simple adventure story. Due to its vast length and its form as a verse play, it requires a great deal of concentration and effort to grasp the work as a whole and to appreciate its beauty and deeper meaning.
A summary of the plot is particularly useful for readers. Compared to Part I, Part II is more unfamiliar and complex in terms of both form and content; therefore, guidance on the detailed plot and structure is necessary to properly understand the work.

Overall Structure and Symmetry

The main framework of ‘Faust’ unfolds through two “wagers.” One is between God and Mephistopheles, and the other is between Faust and Mephistopheles. The second wager takes the form of Faust signing a parchment with his own blood at Mephistopheles’ request, but in essence, it is a trial concerning the human soul.
From a traditional Christian perspective, the fate of one who makes a pact with the devil might seem inevitably bound for hell; however, the work cannot be reduced to a simple religious conclusion. Instead, the work concludes with a scene in heaven, where the Virgin Mary in all her glory and a group of penitent women appear to summon the soul once known as Gretchen, thereby leaving open the possibility of salvation and reconciliation.
In contrast to the masculine and majestic forces—such as the Lord, the Archangel, and Mephistopheles—that dominate the beginning of the work, the conclusion is marked by the Virgin Mary, the penitent women, and the feminine, soft voices like that of Gretchen. This symmetry and contrast between the beginning and the end align with the theme and tone of the work, revealing Goethe’s penchant for symmetrical form.
Formal unity is also evident in the scene structure of Part II. Acts I, II, and V each consist of seven scenes, while Acts III and IV each consist of three scenes. This principle also applies to the scenes in Part I, where long and complex scenes tend to have seven sub-scenes, while short scenes tend to have three. (A detailed discussion of meter and the subplot would be overly technical and is therefore omitted here.)

Faust’s Spiritual Journey — Entelechia

This work deals with the “entire life” of a human being and, in particular, vividly illustrates how Faust’s soul moves and transforms through his dialogues with the devil (or with another self within himself). While external events are conveyed through stage directions or explanations by other characters, much of the narrative unfolds through Faust’s inner exploration and yearnings.
Goethe’s Faust is not merely a figure driven by greed or the pursuit of pleasure. The devil is not interested in someone who has already mapped out their path, but rather in a passionate soul who looks at themselves honestly and strives ceaselessly toward self-realization. It is precisely because Faust was such an honest seeker that he finds himself in the extreme situation of making a pact with the devil.
A key concept here is entelecheia. In the Aristotelian sense, entelecheia means “a state possessing an end within itself” and refers to the impulse of an organism to fully realize the purpose inherent within itself. Just as a plant progresses from a bud to a flower and then to fruit, human nature also moves toward unfolding and fulfilling the purpose it holds within itself. Goethe explains Faust’s ceaseless yearning and actions through this philosophical lens.
In short, Faust’s journey must be understood as a ceaseless drive to realize the purpose and potential already present within him, rather than as a pursuit of outward success or pleasure. His actions are a movement toward the entelechy of self-realization, and this serves as the work’s central driving force.

The Prison of the Study and the Longing for Life

Faust, who appears in the first scene of Part I of the tragedy, is a figure who has already mastered the seven liberal arts of the Middle Ages and, furthermore, has even learned magic. Having absorbed nearly all the knowledge of his time, he possesses immense erudition and ability; yet, he is completely cut off from life, the world, and nature, trapped in the “prison” of his study. His life, spent conducting research with books and experimental tools, repeats itself in isolation from the outside world.
A deep inner rebellion arises against this way of life. He longs to roam freely through nature and experience every kind of pain, suffering, and happiness that life has to offer. But how can he do that? He is already quite old and has almost no life experience; it is no easy task to suddenly decide, at this late stage, that he wants to go out into the world. The moment he—a man of contemplation and research—resolves to become a man of “action” (line 1237), he habitually opens a book of magic, but the symbols of nature found there do not connect to reality.
In the depths of despair, he wonders if passing through death—the gateway that everyone fears—might open up new possibilities. Fortunately, his suicidal impulse is halted by external circumstances. Yet his desire does not fade. On Easter Sunday, while out for a walk, he does not want to return home, so he summons the spirits of the air to grant him a “magic cloak”
(Zaubermantel) to take him to a “new and colorful life” (line 1121)—and, surprisingly, a figure named Mephistopheles enters his life—complete with the very magic cloak he had wished for.

The Two Souls and Mephistopheles

Within Faust’s inner self lie two impulses, or “two souls.” One is the impulse to pursue lofty and noble realms and intellect; the other is the impulse toward the world and life itself. While most people may feel this dual desire at some point, Faust pursues it to the extreme. He has long since achieved considerable success in the realm of intellect, but has barely touched upon the realm of life.
Mephistopheles is the very being who will lead Faust toward this realm of life. Unlike Faust, he does not fully understand the desire to aspire to higher things. The devil is ready to fulfill all of Faust’s impulses and desires, but he does not grasp the full scope of Faust’s noble aspirations.

What Faust Pursues: The Fulfillment of Entelechy

What exactly does Faust want? Is he simply chasing carnal desires, gold, power, or fame? No. He seeks to fully unfold all his potential—that is, to achieve self-realization in accordance with his entelechy. Although he has already achieved a great deal through a lifetime of study and experimentation, he wishes to test that knowledge in the reality of life—to thoroughly experience every aspect of life, from the deepest suffering to the highest sense of accomplishment, in both the small and the great worlds.
His purpose is not to indulge indiscriminately in all of life’s pleasures. Therefore, he sets his own terms: no matter how joyful or beautiful a moment may be, if he feels the urge to settle into it—that is, if he feels the urge to say, “O moment, stand still! You are so beautiful!”—then his path must end there. Because of this condition, he cannot rest or settle. He must keep moving forward until he feels that his entelechy has been fully realized.
This path is not the “good path” in the traditional sense. He pays little attention to religious notions of good and evil or the afterlife; he holds only the desire to fully realize his potential—whether good or bad—here in this world. Therefore, Faust’s pursuit of entelechy is difficult to fully understand through Christian thought alone.

The Journey and Fate of the Two Protagonists

After Faust makes a pact with the devil, the two protagonists remain almost inseparable throughout the work. Beginning with “The Study” in Part I, and with the exception of a brief moment in Act II of Part II when they go their separate ways, the two share most of their experiences together until the “Deep Night” scene in Act V. Through this, Faust sequentially experiences personal life events such as regaining his youth, his love for Gretchen, the devil and witches’ revelry, and the death of his lover. This series of experiences constitutes the realm of personal life, which could be called the “small world.”
In Part II, the stage expands. Beginning with their work at the imperial court—where they introduce a paper currency system to an empire facing economic collapse and oversee court entertainment—the two set off for the world of ancient Greece in search of the epitome of beauty or ugliness in human history. They even enter the setting of ancient epic poetry accompanied by an android. This journey spans approximately 3,000 years of time and space—beginning with the tale of a medieval magician, passing through ancient events described by Homer, and ending with the death of a 19th-century poet—a colossal journey that would be impossible to even imagine without a magical cloak.
Even after this journey, the story of Faust does not end.
He sets out to undertake a massive land reclamation project along the coast, and to this end, intervenes in a war against the emperor to secure a temporary yet legitimate domain. Finally, having successfully reclaimed land by filling in the vast coastline, he appears as the lord of that land, looking nearly a hundred years old.
Meanwhile, Mephistopheles has steadily increased the number of souls to be sent to hell by exploiting Faust. Faust is the one who summoned the devil himself, and while Mephistopheles is, on the surface, Faust’s comrade and ally, he simultaneously pursues his own interests—namely, the harvest of souls for Hell. True to his nature as a devil, he skillfully complicates matters; while he understands one aspect of Faust’s soul (worldly desires) well, he does not fully comprehend the other (higher aspirations).
This point is particularly evident in the tragedy of Gretchen. From the very beginning, Mephistopheles designs the plan so that Faust will be tempted by sacrificing a pure soul as a sacrificial offering. Faust, having regained his youth, is initially drawn to physical desire, but as he senses Gretchen’s simple life and soul in her room, he experiences the love embedded within that desire gradually growing. The devil knows no love—love was not part of Mephistopheles’s plan.
While Faust’s physical desire does not diminish, the love that accompanies that desire actually deepens. In a cave deep in the forest, he pours out his deep anguish over his situation and his relationship with her, and he confesses his true love to Gretchen, who possesses a small-town innocence. Gretchen, who is highly sensitive to truth and falsehood, good and evil, deeply despises Mephistopheles yet sincerely loves Faust—even if that love is destined to end in tragedy.

The Unfolding of Part II and the Relationship Between Faust and Mephistopheles

In Part II, which moves beyond Gretchen’s tragedy to explore experiences of the wider world, Faust no longer remains confined to the realm of delicate personal emotions. The Helen scene is not a depiction of personal love but rather a section dealing with beauty, literature, and the concept of ideal beauty; thus, it is not directed at any specific woman in reality.
Part II features public and grand scenes such as the introduction of paper money, the carnival, war, and land reclamation projects, and throughout these events, Faust and Mephistopheles act in close cooperation. Looking more closely, Faust determines the direction and purpose, while Mephistopheles takes on the role of providing the means and material resources to achieve those goals.
The invitation in Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy”—“O you who can call even a single soul on earth your own!”—can be interpreted similarly here. The difference between those who can join the great wave of joy described by Schiller and those who must withdraw without partaking of it clearly illustrates the difference between Faust and Mephistopheles: Faust is able to join that wave of joy, but Mephistopheles must withdraw in tears.
This wave of joy is concretely revealed in the song of the heavenly host that appears at the end of Act 5 of Part II. There, Faust joins in, while Mephistopheles departs with a sigh. From Schiller’s perspective, joy is the fundamental force that moves the universe, and Goethe sought to capture this cosmic and moral energy within his narrative.

Gretchen (Margarethe), Tragedy, and “the Eternal Feminine”

A real-life event deeply influenced Goethe’s work on ‘Faust’, which he began at the age of twenty-two. On January 14, 1772, a young woman from the lower middle class named Susanna Margareta Brandt was executed for killing her newborn baby; this incident had a profound impact on Goethe, and he incorporated that shock into his work by writing the final three scenes of ‘Faust’, Part I, first. Originally, in the tradition of puppet theater, the story centered on Faust falling in love with Helen; however, Goethe adopted Susanna’s name (Margarethe) and fate almost verbatim, shifting the narrative toward the tragedy of Gretchen.
Gretchen is a simple, innocent maiden who harbors no particular conscious resistance to the moral code of the petty bourgeoisie. Young and inexperienced, she is seduced by a man who appears young but is actually much older; without ever marrying him, she becomes deeply infatuated with him. It is only after hearing the tragic story of a girl her own age at the well that she finally realizes the cruel moral code of the community to which she belongs.
Plunged into deep anguish by her sense of responsibility for her mother’s death, she experiences social isolation and pours out her innermost thoughts while praying before a statue of the Virgin Mary. However, an even more tragic event—the death of her brother—soon follows, and the social verdict uttered by Valentin as he lies dying from a blow by Faust’s sword plunges her into true terror. The church fails to protect her, and the reality of the penance and social humiliation that would follow if her pregnancy were revealed becomes an even more terrifying prospect.
Where, then, should she go? In the midst of absolute isolation and terror, with nowhere to turn, the young Gretchen kills her newborn baby, flees, and is eventually arrested. Ultimately, she was executed; from the Church’s formalistic perspective, she can be seen as having been “judged,” just as Mephistopheles said.
However, in the work’s final scene, the chorus of the Mysteries sings, “That which is eternally feminine / lifts us up.” This line is interpreted as one of the core messages conveyed by Goethe’s literature. Goethe’s greatness may stem from his deep capacity for empathy toward “the feminine,” and this empathy recurs throughout his other works.
For example, in Goethe’s novel ‘Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship’, Minon’s songs beautifully convey the emotions of suffering, and the subsequent “Confession of a Beautiful Soul” once again demonstrates the power of “the feminine.” The fact that important concepts in German, such as “beauty” (Schönheit) and “soul” (Seele), are feminine nouns also serves as a reminder that Goethe meticulously captured feminine sensibilities.
In ‘Faust’, “the eternally feminine” first appears in Gretchen’s songs. The opening lines of the song she sings while spinning are: “My peace is gone / My heart is heavy / I shall never find that peace again / Never again.” Though her peace was shattered by her love for Faust, she nevertheless does not cease to love. And it is only before the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows—in the face of the great suffering of the Mater dolorosa—that she is able to pour out her own pain.
Few writers can depict the suffering experienced by women with such poignant beauty. Goethe expressed the deep anguish of the human soul through immortal verses, and the attentive reader is moved to tears at every turn.
Faust spent a long time with Mephistopheles in order to realize his entelechia (teleological fulfillment). Mephistopheles, with God’s permission, sought to sever Faust’s spiritual strength from its source, but ultimately failed to gain complete control over it. This was because Faust’s spirit did not settle for mere pleasure—it did not remain content with the material desires and physical pleasures preached by the devil.
Although Faust committed numerous errors, he essentially strove to maintain the right course. He never gave up his efforts to unfold his entelechy, and throughout the work, Goethe illustrates the human condition: “As long as man strives, he is bound to wander.”
In the final scene, the Sorrowful Mother transforms into the Glorious Mother (Mater gloriosa), and the soul formerly known as Gretchen sings alongside her at her feet. The song of the penitent women is low and humble, yet the vitality of their suffering and sorrow—trampled upon at the very bottom—is ultimately reborn as glory, lifting Faust’s soul upward. The conclusion of Act 5, Part 2 responds to this celestial overture, bringing the work’s narrative full circle.
The idea that the power of suffering, flowing to the lowest of places, is transformed into the highest power resonates with Eastern philosophy—for example, the metaphor in the ‘Tao Te Ching’ that “the highest good is like water.” The ‘Tao Te Ching’ can also be interpreted as a celebration of a kind of “eternally feminine” quality.

The Creation and Development of ‘Faust’

Goethe was first introduced to the ‘Faust’ story through puppet shows in his childhood, and thanks to that experience, he was familiar with the tale from an early age. Subsequently, through various periods and turning points, ‘Faust’ evolved into the form we know today.
① Circa 1772–1775: Shocked by the case of Susanna Margareta Brandt, who was executed on January 14, 1772, the twenty-two-year-old Goethe first wrote the final three scenes of Part I of the tragedy in prose. This early manuscript is known as the “Urfaust” and is in the same vein as his other works of that period—such as ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’, which was written around the same time. However, since this manuscript was not Goethe’s own but a copy made by Luise von Göhehaussen, and was not discovered until 1887, there remains some uncertainty as to whether it is an exact reproduction of the original.
② 1788–1790: In a letter written from Rome in 1788, Goethe noted that he had outlined his plans for ‘Faust’. He revised and expanded the first draft, adding new sections such as “The Witch’s Kitchen” and “The Forest and the Cave,” and in 1790, he published the play as an unfinished fragment in his collected works under the title ‘Faust. Ein Fragment’ (Faust: A Fragment).
③ 1797–1803: Following Friedrich Schiller’s advice beginning in 1794, Goethe resumed work on the verse version in earnest in 1797. At this time, beginning with the “Dedication” and the “Celestial Overture,” he carefully refined the scholar’s tragedy section into verse and added key scenes such as Valentin’s death and Walpurgis Night. Although he completed the verse version of the work in 1803, publication was delayed due to the turmoil of the era, including the Napoleonic Wars, and it was not until 1808 that Part 1 of ‘Faust: A Tragedy’ was published by the Cotta publishing house in Tübingen.
Thus, ‘Faust’ began as a tragedy but was expanded and revised over several decades, shifting between prose and verse, ultimately emerging as a work that intricately combines real-world events with philosophical and aesthetic reflections.

The Composition and Publication of Part II

The outline for Part II had actually been established as early as around 1800. First, a general sketch of the entire work was drawn up, and the section that was refined earliest was the Helen scene (Act III), which was treated as a kind of satyr play. However, the actual writing took place intensively between 1825 and 1831.
In 1825, at the age of 75, Goethe first wrote Act V, and the work was subsequently completed in stages. After revising Act III in 1827, he wrote Act I, and in 1830, he completed Act II. From December 1830 to July 1831, already over 80 years old, he wrote the final scenes—Act IV and the opening of Act V, featuring Philemon and Baucis—and filled in the remaining gaps to finally complete the entire work.
In particular, in Acts IV and V—on which he worked toward the end—Goethe briefly reflected the anxieties and realities of his own time in the work. Several passages in the work shed light on the realities of European imperialism at the time, such as war, trade, piracy, colonial administration, and “world domination,” while industrialization and the mechanization of labor are also hinted at throughout Act II.
Goethe completed the entire work in August 1831 and sealed it away, but in January of the following year, he unsealed it and recited it to his daughter-in-law. He wrote in his diary that he was determined to refine the major motifs in greater detail to complete the work, but he died on March 22, 1832. After his death, Eckermann and Riemer published ‘Faust: Part Two of the Tragedy’ as the first volume of his posthumous works, and in 1834, the first edition of ‘Faust: The Tragedy’, containing the complete work, was printed by the Kotthoff publishing house in Stuttgart and Tübingen.

Plot: Part One of the Tragedy

The content of Part One is broadly divided into two sections. One is the “Scholar’s Tragedy,” which deals with the scholar (Faust)’s mental and spiritual crisis and his magical experiences, and the other is the “Gretchen Tragedy,” which unfolds as he falls in love.

(1) The Scholar’s Tragedy

Night. Late at night under a full moon, Faust sits alone in his study, overcome by melancholy.
Although he has mastered most of the disciplines of a medieval university and even learned magic, he despises himself for being trapped in his study-cum-laboratory—filled with old documents and moldy experimental tools—without having found a clear solution. He longs to roam freely through nature, but his current situation is no different from a prison.
Faust opens Nostradamus’s book of prophecies and catches his breath for a moment. Gazing at the cosmic symbols within the book, he feels a sense of exhilaration and renewal, as if all his senses were being reawakened. The pictorial symbols illustrating the connection between infinite nature and the human microcosm are majestic, but he comes to realize that they are ultimately nothing more than a spectacle, far removed from reality.
He then discovers the symbol of the Earth Spirit and recites a spell—risking death—to summon its immense power. Finally, the Earth Spirit reveals itself, but Faust cowers before it like a worm. The Earth Spirit, the force that weaves all life on earth—an entity almost like a living planet—takes the form of a giant, making it too overwhelming for a mere human like Faust to face.
Faust had imagined himself to be on equal footing with the Spirit as a “god-like figure,” but he despaired at the weight of reality. Even after a brief interruption by his assistant Wagner, his thoughts did not subside, and eventually his hand reached for the poison. This is not mere self-abandonment or pessimism, but an action born of the fanciful hope that through death he might advance to a new stage of activity. However, just as he is about to raise the cup to his lips, the first chorus of the Easter dawn resounds; he sets the cup down, and as joyful memories of his childhood surface, he is freed from thoughts of death.
At the city gate, Faust and Wagner stroll among the people enjoying the Easter festivities. During their conversation, the peasants express their respect for Dr. Faust, as he had cared for the people alongside his father during the Black Death when he was young. On their way back, they see a large dog slowly approaching in a spiral pattern; Faust senses that it is a sign of a spirit and calls the dog over. Upon closer inspection, there are no clear signs of a spirit, but Faust invites the dog to accompany them.
Study (1). This scene clearly contrasts the scholar Faust with the sorcerer Faust. Faust struggles to translate the Bible, and as the dog barks increasingly loudly, disrupting his work, he chants various incantations in an attempt to reveal its true form. Finally, Mephistopheles appears, and during their conversation, the devil himself defines his own nature. Mephistopheles is described as the “strange son born of chaos,” and when he attempts to withdraw but finds he cannot leave at will, Faust realizes that even hell has its own rules. In this scene, Faust proposes a contract.
Study (2). Mephistopheles reappears and formally proposes a contract. The gist of the proposal is that in this world, Mephistopheles will be Faust’s servant and companion, while in the afterlife, the roles will be reversed, and Faust will become Mephistopheles’s servant. Since Faust has little interest in the afterlife, he does not hesitate to accept the devil’s wager.
The terms of the contract are clear: if at any moment Faust says, “O moment, you are so beautiful—stay as you are,” thereby ceasing his pursuit and settling for the present moment, he will no longer need to live from that moment onward. Mephistopheles demands a signature on a parchment contract, and the two seal their agreement in writing.
Mephistopheles’ first task was to deal with the students on Faust’s behalf. Mephistopheles skillfully mimics the kind of nonsense unbecoming of a real professor, creating a thoroughly satirical scene. Later, Mephistopheles wraps the lightly dressed Faust in his cloak and they fly away together. This cloak functions like a teleportation device, and in Part II, it even serves as a time machine—a bizarre tool that demonstrates how the devil has been utilizing high-tech devices from the very beginning.
The scene at Auerbach’s tavern depicts a boisterous drinking party among young people; it is a delightful episode that incorporates some of Goethe’s own experiences from his university days.
The witch’s kitchen is, quite literally, the center of the magical world. In this scene, closely linked to Walpurgis Night, Mephistopheles summons the witch and her servants to create all manner of commotion, while Faust is spellbound by the sight of “the most beautiful woman” in the magic mirror. Although this image of a woman appears to foreshadow Helen, whom he meets in Part II, the love into which Faust first falls in the very next scene is actually directed toward the innocent girl Gretchen.

(2) The Gretchen Tragedy

It is said that Goethe actually began writing ‘Faust’ while working on the ‘Gretchen Tragedy’. The prose section at the end of Part I retains much of the form of the early “Urfaust” (original draft), and the core content that captivated the young author is found precisely in this ‘Gretchen Tragedy’.
In the street scene, the scholar Faust disappears, and a younger man, consumed by carnal desire, appears. The moment he sees a beautiful girl passing by, he springs into action, ordering Mephistopheles to bring her to him that very night and to prepare a gift for her. This scene starkly reveals the frantic nature of a man blinded by desire.
Faust appears kind to the innocent Gretchen, but instead of approaching her gradually, he reveals his hasty desire first. Nevertheless, the girl is swayed by his appearance as a distinguished gentleman, and and while she is away from home, Faust, with Mephistopheles’ help, enters her small, neat room to examine clues about her daily life. If the scholar’s laboratory was once a “prison” that confined him, this small room is another “prison” where petty-bourgeois simplicity and moral codes confine her. Nevertheless, Faust imagines a simple happiness there and fears shattering it, but his desire takes precedence, and he ultimately acts. The silver lining is that true love also grows amid his hesitation, and while Mephistopheles can aid Faust’s carnal desires, he cannot interfere with the love Faust feels.

The Scheme Against Gretchen and False Testimony

Mephistopheles helps Faust by placing a jewel box in Gretchen’s chest of drawers. Gretchen’s mother senses something suspicious and hands all the jewels over to the priest. Afterward, Gretchen becomes increasingly obsessed with thoughts of Faust, her heart completely captivated by him.
Seeking to exploit Faust’s anxiety, Mephistopheles has Marthe (Gretchen’s neighbor) secretly place a larger box containing jewels in Gretchen’s wardrobe. Driven by greed, Gretchen takes the jewels to Marthe’s house to show them off without telling her mother. While the two women are excitedly admiring the jewels, Mephistopheles appears, posing as a messenger.
He delivers false news to Marte that her husband has died, exploiting the fact that, according to the customs of the time, the testimony of just two people was sufficient to establish legal validity. Mephistopheles promises to testify alongside a friend and then urges Faust to join him in giving false testimony. To Faust, who is reeling from moral conflict, he asks mockingly: “Don’t you already know that although you will soon promise Gretchen love and fidelity, you will be unable to keep that promise?” He undermines Faust’s conscience by suggesting that, given his vow not to dwell on the moment, might his other promises also be false. Ultimately, unable to offer any rebuttal and unable to suppress his burning desire, Faust agrees to the false testimony.

From the Garden to the Cathedral: Love, Anxiety, and the Deepening of Tragedy

Thus, Faust and Gretchen meet in Marthe’s garden. The innocent Gretchen confirms his love and loves him deeply with an indescribably pure heart. In contrast, even amid his joy, Faust is tormented by an ominous premonition of the misfortune to come; he hides in a cave in the forest and berates himself. At the same time, he realizes that he has become deeply dependent on Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles points out that Faust himself already possesses a significant degree of demonic character.
Gretchen’s heart is heavy with deep love, yet she finds no peace. Even though she knows that the man she loves is not the same person as she is, she cannot stop loving him. His religious attitude, in particular, is what disturbs her most. He displays an attitude that makes it unclear whether he even believes in God, and his answers to her questions are nothing but vague. Moreover, the presence of Mephistopheles, who is always by his side, fills her with unspeakable terror. When he is around, her love for Faust threatens to fade away entirely.
Nevertheless, she acts as he wishes. She takes the vial of medicine Faust hands her and gives her mother a sleeping pill so she can spend the night with him. However, the blissful night is short-lived, and her anxiety grows increasingly intense. She feels a terrible sense of isolation, especially after her conversation with Lischen by the well. In a society where an unmarried maiden who has shared intimacy with a man must undergo the humiliating punishment of public penance before the church—and even if she were to marry, she would still face social disgrace—the uncertainty of marriage itself drives her even deeper into despair.
The scene where Gretchen sings “Look Down Upon Me, O Suffering One (O Virgin Mary)” in the passageway between the city walls is difficult to read without shedding tears. In the final scene of Act 5, Part 2, she sings “Look Down Upon Me, O Incomparable One” again in the same voice. These tears, this pain, and this song serve as the very force that lifts Faust up to heaven.
There are gaps in the narrative that make it difficult to know the exact details, but the full picture of the events is reconstructed starting from the cathedral scene. Gretchen’s mother died because of a sleeping potion given to her by Faust. While it is possible that Gretchen overdosed on the drug, a more convincing interpretation is the assumption that what Faust gave her was a diabolical potion (the work of Mephistopheles).
Not long after, one night, Gretchen’s older brother Valentin—a soldier who had been tormented by the rumors about her—resolved to take revenge and waited outside her house. This was because rumors were circulating that Gretchen was seeing two men at the same time. Although Faust was not skilled with a sword, he carried one like a nobleman, and when he faced off against Valentin, Mephistopheles exerted his power from behind. At the end of the fight, as Valentin lay dying from a stab wound inflicted by Faust/Mephistopheles, he uttered a prophecy foretelling a grim future. Having already lost her mother, Gretchen now loses her brother as well, facing a devastating fate.
In the cathedral scene, Gretchen suffers immense anguish. While the funeral mass for her mother and brother is being held, the fetus inside her womb is kicking. This compound suffering further weakens her both physically and mentally.

Walpurgis Night, Prison, and Salvation

After killing Valentin, Faust and Mephistopheles set off for Walpurgis Night, a festival of demons and witches. There, an atmosphere of explicit praise for carnal pleasure and asceticism prevails. Parts of the manuscript—written by Goethe but never published due to contemporary censorship—include “Satan’s Sermon,” a scene in which Satan praises sex and wealth to the witches and urges them to worship him. This ode to material and carnal desires is central to the character of Walpurgis Night.
On the way back from Walpurgis Night, Mephistopheles informs Faust that Gretchen is imprisoned and awaiting execution for the murder of her newborn child. Faust is enraged, but the situation has already reached a point where it cannot be reversed by human means. Since Mephistopheles adheres to the principle of not directly intervening in human affairs, Faust attempts to rescue her from prison with the devil’s cunning assistance.
As Mephistopheles clouds the guards’ senses, Faust takes the key and enters the prison. At daybreak, Gretchen is to be bound to the execution chair. Faust desperately tries to lead her away, but she is already distraught and struggles against him. Feeling she deserves to die, she shuns Faust and prays the moment she sees Mephistopheles.
Just then, a voice rings out from the heavens, proclaiming that she has been “saved.” Mephistopheles and Faust leave the scene, and this clear voice in the narrative implies the final judgment on Gretchen’s soul.

Structure of Part II of the Tragedy and Key Scenes in Act I

Part II of the tragedy is broadly divided into three sections. Acts I and IV are set in the world of a medieval emperor, while Acts II and III deal with the world of ancient Greece—specifically, the story of Helen. Act V provides the conclusion to the entire work. Part II follows a relatively strict five-act structure compared to Part I, though some ambiguities remain regarding the division and connection of certain scenes.
In Act I, Faust and Mephistopheles enter the emperor’s palace immediately. There, they tackle practical matters such as searching for underground resources or excavating buried treasure, followed by preparations for a carnival procession and the introduction of paper currency, as well as conjuring the apparitions of Paris and Helen—the most beautiful man and woman in human history—at the emperor’s request.
① Although Faust has been transported to a pleasant natural setting following the painful parting scene at the end of Part I, he remains restless and unable to sleep. Ariel and the air spirits help him fall asleep, bestowing forgetfulness upon his heart to ease his anguish and restoring vitality to his body.
② When Faust and Mephistopheles arrive at the Emperor’s palace, an emergency meeting is in session amid the excitement of the Emperor and his ministers preparing for the carnival. With the empire’s finances depleted and order in shambles, and no one able to propose a solution, Mephistopheles proposes a simple and straightforward solution: to find the “treasures buried in the ground.” His logic is that, historically, the wealthy have buried their treasures in times of crisis, and since the land belongs to the Emperor, all such treasures are therefore the Emperor’s. Once this solution is presented, everyone entrusts the task to Mephistopheles and rushes off to the festivities.

Act I: The Festival, Disguises, and the New Monetary System

③ A grand festival procession, modeled after the carnival celebrations in Florence and Rome, unfolds. Faust makes his entrance aboard a four-horse chariot driven by a young coachman, the boy is dressed as Euphorion—a character who appears in Act III—while Faust is disguised as Pluto, the god of wealth. Hidden behind Faust, barely visible, is Mephistopheles, disguised as Greed. Finally, a group honoring the great god Pan appears, and Pan’s appearance seems to overlap with that of the Emperor. Suddenly, the Emperor’s beard catches fire, causing a commotion, but the magician Faust summons the element of water to extinguish the flames, bringing the festival to a chaotic close.
④ The next day, the Emperor, delighted by the festival, expresses a desire for an even greater adventure. Just then, the ministers enter to report that the Empire’s financial problems were resolved the previous night. They explain that the payment guarantee documents—drafted by the Chancellor and the ministers with the Emperor’s signature—were duplicated 1,000 times overnight and have already been distributed to wherever they were needed. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, a new form of currency—effectively paper money—had been introduced overnight.
⑤ Faust conveys the Emperor’s new wish to Mephistopheles: the Emperor wishes to see Helen and Paris vividly before his very eyes. Mephistopheles honestly admits that he lacks the ability to summon the souls of ancient pagans directly. Instead, he mentions a place beyond the constraints of time and space—the so-called “ Mothers,” a place where the images of all beings from the past and future reside like diagrams. He explains that if Faust crosses the sea to retrieve a trident from there, he can use the mist emanating from it to summon the images of Helen and Paris. Mephistopheles hands Faust a key of uncertain origin and instructs him that if he touches the tripod with it, the tripod will follow him, at which point he should ascend.
⑥ While Faust is away in the Land of the Mothers, Mephistopheles fulfills the court’s every desire and fills the court with all manner of magic. The solutions he offers consist of various magical devices and events, and the court is brimming with magic.
⑦ Before Faust returns, the entire court relocates to the Knights’ Hall. The corners and niches of the vast hall are lined with the weapons and armor of ancient knights, and the space behind a tapestry on one wall serves as the stage. The Emperor sits in the front row; instead of a herald, an astrologer commentates on the events unfolding on stage, while Mephistopheles prompts the astrologer from the prompter’s box. As the audience waits, Faust—dressed as a priest and wearing a miter—enters the stage with a tripod. He has returned safely from the realm of the mothers.
When Faust touches the tripod with the key he received on stage, a hazy mist gradually envelops the space, and the mist soon transforms into the figure of the handsome young man Paris. As Paris appears, all the women praise and covet him, while the men are busy finding fault with him. When Helen’s image appears next, the atmosphere reverses: the men praise her, and the women try to find flaws in her. Faust is captivated by Helen’s perfect beauty; he marvels at her and offers her his adoration. Faust, who has been gradually sinking into the very embodiment of beauty, attempts to strike the three-legged cauldron again to drive away Paris, who is embracing Helen, but an explosion occurs and he collapses to the floor. Mephistopheles sighs.

Act II: In Search of Helen in Ancient Greece

Faust and Mephistopheles enter the world of ancient Greece to find Helen. Their means of transportation is either Mephistopheles’ cloak or a device similar to those that would appear in later eras. Just like on a classic Walpurgis Night, they scatter in different directions, each going their own way, while the android Homunculus—still in a pre-physical state—moves about here and there. Everyone proceeds toward their respective destinations.
① Mephistopheles wraps the collapsed and unconscious Faust in his cloak and carries him to the old Faust’s study. Exhausted by his love for Helen, Faust does not awaken in the medieval study; instead, his assistant Wagner has taken his place as the leading scholar of the era. Mephistopheles takes a moment to engage in a calm conversation with the arrogant bachelor Wagner, who was once a freshman at the university. The conversation reveals a mild critique of Fichte’s philosophy. This bachelor is portrayed as a sort of servant whom Mephistopheles cherishes.
② In the scene set in Wagner’s laboratory, Wagner’s project succeeds thanks to Mephistopheles’s unseen assistance. The homunculus, an artificial being created by Wagner, is like a light within a glass bottle—lacking a physical body but possessing both mental power and knowledge. As soon as he sees the sleeping Faust, the homunculus realizes that Faust is dreaming of the birth of Helen. Feeling that he has a mission to fulfill, the homunculus bids farewell to Wagner and sets off for ancient Greece with Mephistopheles and Faust.
③ In Greece, Erichthonius, the witch of the Thessalian plain, appears first. She, who also appears in Dante’s works, vanishes upon seeing the homunculus, Mephistopheles, and Faust descending from the sky. As soon as he touches the ground, Faust is awakened by the ancient air. The three decide to go their separate ways; while Faust enjoys the ancient world, Mephistopheles—a medieval demon—is initially bewildered by this unfamiliar world but eventually adapts. The Sphinx tells Faust that if he wants to find Helen, he should go to Chiron.
④ Faust’s journey begins with witnessing the scene of Helen’s birth once again on the River Peneus. Having confirmed in reality what he had seen in a dream, he climbs onto the back of Chiron, the centaur, and follows his guidance. Chiron tells Faust various stories as he leads him along the path to the Underworld—that is, to Manto. Like Orpheus, Faust descends at the entrance to the Underworld, guided by Manto, to bring Helen back.
⑤ Mephistopheles’ journey continues as he returns to the upper reaches of the Peneus River. A sudden earthquake strikes, and the sphinxes sit heavily, weathering the tremors. Here, “Seismos,” the personification of an earthquake, makes a direct appearance to demonstrate his power to cause tectonic shifts through volcanic eruptions. Driven aside, Mephistopheles mingles with the ancient Greek Lamiae, is mocked by them, parts ways with them, and then meets the Homunculus again. The Homunculus, yearning for a physical body, follows the two natural philosophers in the faint hope of finding one.
Anaxagoras and Thales, representing the theories of fire and water respectively, engage in a debate. The homunculus joins them and observes their arguments. Meanwhile, Mephistopheles encounters the three Porcides sisters, who each have only one eye and one tooth. At their grotesque appearance, Mephistopheles playfully proposes a merger; eventually, the three sisters are reduced to two, and Mephistopheles becomes part of them, creating a bizarre woman named Porcia with two eyes and two teeth. Mephistopheles is satisfied with the strangeness of this hybrid.
⑥ During the preparations for the sea festival, as the Nereids and Tritons bring the Cabiri gods, Nereus, the god of the sea, appears. Anaxagoras has vanished, and the homunculus, who had been guided by Thales, asks for directions, but Nereus is intent only on meeting his beautiful daughter Galatea, who is to be the highlight of the festival. The Nereids and Tritons quickly bring back the Cabiri gods, and Nereus takes the homunculus to Proteus, the master of transformation. The capricious Proteus instructs him that he must start small in the open sea and gradually progress, and the homunculus decides to follow his guidance.

The Climax of the Sea Festival and the Homunculus

With the arrival of the Telchines of Rhodes, the sea festival reaches its climax. Proteus transforms into a dolphin, carries the homunculus on his back, and attempts to wed him to the open sea. Next, the beautiful Galatea, riding Aphrodite’s conch shell, appears escorted by Dorides; she glances briefly at her father Nereus before drifting away again. Galatea’s arrival on the conch shell is the highlight of today’s festival, and all sea creatures circle around her, emitting a mystical light that magnificently adorns the sea. As Galatea drifts away, the glass vial containing the homunculus strikes her conch shell and shatters; the homunculus emits a sparkling light, startling Nereus before vanishing into the sea. He must begin the path of life anew—just as in the beginning of the world, when Eros and Pan reigned.

Act III — Pastoral Bliss and the Shift in Time and Space

Faust and Helen experience a brief moment of pastoral bliss. Midway through the act, the stage shifts instantly from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and the setting moves from Sparta to Mistra. This shift in time and space, which unfolds solely through the chorus’s song amidst the mist, feels particularly wondrous as it is placed at the very center of the five-act play. This staging evokes ideas connected to the astonishing spatial shifts seen in Wagner’s later masterpieces.

Helen’s Return and Porcius’s Proposal

Summoned from the Underworld, Helen returns from Troy to her homeland of Sparta with her handmaidens. During the voyage, her husband Menelaus says little, but upon arriving home, he tells Helen to go up to the palace first to prepare offerings to the gods, while he remains behind. Perhaps because she has just been summoned from the underworld, Helen feels dizzy, but she attributes it to the voyage. Upon entering the familiar palace, she is startled to encounter the hideous woman Porcia and rushes back outside. Porcia is the steward whom Menelaus entrusted with managing the palace before his departure. The maids are astonished by the stark contrast between Helen—the most beautiful woman in the world—and Porcyas, the ugliest. Porcyas says that all preparations for the sacrifice are complete and asks about the offering, but Helen replies that the king did not mention anything of the sort. When Porcius declares, “You are the sacrifice,” Helen and her maids are deeply shocked. Porcius then makes a proposal laced with threats, suggesting they go to a long-abandoned valley and mountain where the descendants of the Cimmerians have built a sturdy fortress, adding that its lord is a decent man. Fearing for her life, Helen agrees to the proposal and sets out on the journey, guided by Porcius. These 3,000 years and the 7-kilometer journey are narrated through the chorus’s song.

The Medieval Castle and the Appearance of Faust

When they come to their senses, they find themselves in the inner courtyard of a medieval castle. Porcius is nowhere to be seen, and before the bewildered women, the dashing lord Faust appears, accompanied by the watchman Lynceus. Lynceus blames himself for failing to fulfill his duty and not announcing Helen’s arrival in time. Soon the commotion subsides, and Faust and Helen are instantly captivated by one another. Porcius, who had disappeared, suddenly returns and reports that Menelaus is leading an army to attack. Following medieval feudal customs, Faust divides the land among the various tribes and orders them to defend their territories under the command of their leaders; thus, they unite and swiftly repel the enemy. After the battle, Faust, Helen, and Faust’s residence are settled in Arcadia, not far from there.

The Birth of Euphorion and the Tragedy

According to Porcius’s message, Helen and Faust have a son in a cave in Arcadia. The newborn Euphorion grows rapidly, knows no restraint, and keeps leaping upward. Shortly thereafter, the family of three—father, mother, and the boy—appears on stage. The boy dances with the young chorus members and teases the maidens, but unable to contain himself, he leaps high into the air once more. As he leaps toward the heavens to survey the surroundings before joining those fighting for freedom, he plummets to his death. A song mourning Euphorion follows, and Helen, longing for her son, returns to the realm of Persephone—that is, the underworld—leaving behind only her costume and veil. Faust vanishes into the sky, enveloped in Helen’s garments, while Porcius (Mephistopheles) takes up Euphorion’s clothes, cloak, and musical instruments and sings a demonic dirge. The chorus dissolves like thin air and returns to the elements.

Act IV — The Intervention of War and the Nature of Power

Helen’s scene vanishes like a dream, and time and space shift once more. Faust and Mephistopheles return to the heart of the battlefield where the Emperor from Act I is waging war against a rival emperor. Here, the two intervene in the war, and at times, Faust displays traits so similar to Mephistopheles’ that the two are almost indistinguishable.
① Faust’s Plan and the Land Reclamation Project: Faust descends to the mountaintop riding a cloud formed from Helen’s transformed garments, while Mephistopheles appears wearing boots that cover seven miles with a single stride. Mephistopheles asks Faust what else he desires and offers various suggestions, but Faust has other ideas in mind. He wishes to harness the power of the waves—which surge from the open sea toward the shore, waste their energy, and vanish—to carry out a land reclamation project that will provide a livelihood for countless people. Mephistopheles says he saw the Emperor in dire straits while fighting a rival emperor on his way there, and, suggesting that helping the Emperor in the war would earn him a fiefdom, introduces three warriors.
② The Battle Unfolds: With the battle going against him, the Emperor, upon hearing that the rival emperor has appeared, declares he will turn the tide through a one-on-one duel, but the rival emperor refuses. When Faust and Mephistopheles (also known as the Sorcerer of Norza) offer to aid the Emperor by harnessing the power of mysterious spirits, the Emperor accepts—knowing full well it is a diabolical scheme—but having no other choice. With the combined strength of the three heroes and the illusions created by the water nymph Undine, the enemy is ultimately defeated, and the Emperor emerges victorious.
③ Distribution of Power After the War: Mephistopheles’ warriors are the first to enter the tent of the deposed rival emperor to loot it, followed by the emperor and the lords. Under the pretext of strengthening the empire and the imperial family, the emperor grants the rival emperor’s faction the territories, various titles, and hereditary privileges they had previously held. Finally, he grants them and their descendants the hereditary right to elect future emperors. After this distribution of power, the high ministers withdraw, leaving only the Archbishop behind, and negotiations between the Church and the Emperor begin. Citing the possibility of an excommunication decree if the Pope learns that the Emperor has colluded with the forces of evil, the Church exerts pressure on the secular authorities and absorbs their assets. In particular, toward the end, the Archbishop even demands authority over the land allocated to Faust, and even reclaimed land that has not yet been created is transferred in advance to the Archbishop’s hands at the Church’s request. Through this scene, the reader learns that Faust is a vassal slated to receive a fief: once the land is created, he will become its lord for the duration of his life.

Act 5 — The Completion of Land Reclamation and the Salvation of the Soul

Faust reclaims the sea to create a vast expanse of land where millions of people settle, thereby becoming the lord of the fief he has received. Living in a palace as a lord of immense power and wealth, he goes blind in his later years but finds contentment in the present as he reflects on his past life. Ultimately, as promised, he recites the incantation to end his life, and a final battle ensues between the forces of heaven and the forces of the devil over his soul. The two forces are locked in a tense standoff, but the balance is slightly shifted by the power of the roses of love scattered by the angels, and the heavenly forces ultimately lift Faust’s soul upward. The devil’s struggles are depicted as a passive mockery, and the final force that lifts the soul is declared to be “the eternally feminine.”
① The Elderly Couple and the Changes to the Reclaimed Land: Near Faust’s palace lives an elderly couple who are not his subjects. While millions have settled on the vast reclaimed land, this couple lives on a small plot of land left behind right next to the palace. It used to be a hill overlooking the seashore, but now only the canal is visible. Long ago, they had rescued a shipwrecked traveler, and today, after many years, that traveler comes to visit them.
The traveler is so astonished by the drastically changed landscape that he is left speechless.

Discontent and Plans: The Watchman, the Return of the Ships, and the Land Reclamation Project

As evening falls at Faust’s palace, where the watchman Linkeus keeps watch, the sound of bells ringing from the hill where the elderly couple lives next door makes Faust feel extremely uneasy. He is troubled by the fact that land not his own still remains nearby. Just then, Mephistopheles returns from the sea with three young men; the two ships that had set out have now become twenty. These are ships that have multiplied through war, trade, and piracy. Even if the old lord does not praise him, Faust does not care, for he has long since become Mephistopheles’s tool. In the end, he does not offer a single word of praise to Mephistopheles and his companions, but only complains about the sound of the bells ringing from the elderly couple’s land. He is tormented by the fact that the land is not his own and thus remains a blemish on his “worldly dominion.” In response to his command to drive out the elderly couple, Mephistopheles counters by quoting an ancient story from the Bible.
The watchman’s song then depicts the scene of the elderly couple’s house and the small church on the hill going up in flames. Faust vehemently protests that he ordered them to be sent to a new land, not killed, but his protest is to no avail.
At midnight, the figures of Deprivation, Poverty, Guilt, and Sorrow—all personified as women—visit Faust’s palace. The first three are unable to enter the wealthy man’s home; only Sorrow slips in quietly. Faust claims that a little worry is no problem and reminisces about his past life, but his words increasingly diverge from reality. His judgment is clouded, and self-reflection has become nearly impossible. Ultimately, Worry blinds the foolish old man Faust.
In the palace courtyard, Mephistopheles, already aware that Faust’s death is approaching, summons the Remures to begin digging a grave. The blind Faust, unable to tell whether it is night or day, steps outside and, mistaking the sound of shoveling for a tribute to himself, rejoices greatly. He summons the foreman and orders him to gather more workers, to which Mephistopheles replies cheerfully. Faust intends to build a drainage system to remove the water pooling on the reclaimed land. He reasons that if the water continues to pool, the land will turn into a swamp, so proper drainage is essential to maintain the reclaimed land. Exhausted from striving to secure this land—which is both precarious and vital, as the livelihoods of millions depend on it—Faust finally feels a sense of satisfaction. Standing “among free people on free land,” he recites the incantation he promised Mephistopheles: “Stay, O moment, for you are so beautiful.”

The Woman of Hell and the Heavenly Rose: Mephistopheles’ Frustration and Spiritual Salvation

At last, the moment Mephistopheles has been waiting for has arrived. However, in an age where technology and the world deceive even death, it is crucial to ensure that Faust’s soul—secured by contract—is reliably taken to hell.
To prepare for any contingencies, Mephistopheles summons all manner of demons from Hell, along with the very maw of Hell itself. Then, from above, a heavenly host appears. They are beings who sing while scattering roses of love—roses that flowed from the hands of the penitent women who appeared in the final scene. Mephistopheles spurs on the demons with curses, but when the scent of love and the roses descend, the demons are rendered helpless. These beings, founded on hatred, are rendered powerless by this fragrant scent of love and return to Hell, leaving Mephistopheles alone—unexpectedly feeling the pain of love and at a loss. For a long time, he simply stares, completely captivated by the figure of a tall boy; meanwhile, the heavenly forces envelop Faust’s dead soul with the scent of roses and songs of love, lifting it upward. When he comes to his senses, Mephistopheles realizes he has already lost Faust’s spirit.
The heavenly realm is shaped like a pointed cone, with angels gradually ascending from the bottom to the top. Passing through the middle point—which lies between the Father of Joy and the Profound Father, leading to the Angelic Father—there are also noble beings such as the Seraphim. A group of boys who died immediately after birth ascends alongside the angels carrying Faust’s soul. The soul of the infant killed by Gretchen must have ascended in this manner as well. These blissful youths take Faust’s soul into themselves and, as if shedding a chrysalis, strip away the earthly elements—the Mephistophelean elements—that envelop Faust. Faust’s soul, which was originally that of an adult, grows more rapidly than theirs as it remains with them.
Near the very top of the mountain, a scene unfolds in which Dr. Virgin Mary praises the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary, in all her glory, ascends accompanied by penitent women, and the three penitent women implore the Virgin Mary to admit another penitent woman—formerly known as Gretchen—into the choir. The soul of the former Gretchen sings, asking to be allowed to guide Faust, who has just arrived, but in fact, there is no need—for he will soon follow. Here, what was once imperfect became the crux of the story, and the conclusion declares once again: “That which is eternally feminine draws us upward.”