Mephistopheles

The first impression I had of this devil was different to what I expected. I presumed Mephistopheles would be an evil tempting demon who would do everything he could to gain Fuastus' soul. However, he seems reluctant to draw Faustus away from God, and even tries to actively dissuade him form pursuing this matter further- "O Faustus! Leave these frivolous demands,/ Which strike a terror to my fainting soul.". In fact, it is as though Mephistopheles is more sympathetic than Faustus, who is too arrogant to heed the warnings of this devil. He remains convinced he will gain incredible power from the Devil, and that he''ll be a "great Emperor of the world", though he is too focused on this he fails to see the downside. Mephistopheles in this scene is, in my opinion, a more human character than Faustus, as he displays compassion and concern for Faustus' soul, though the latter remains cold-hearted against God and oblivious to what his fate could be.

Faustus is being drawn away from the study of divinity into this dangerous world of magic, and is tempted by this chance for superhuman power- I'm not talking x-ray vision or flight, just more power over people than anyone has ever had- and is prepared to go against God, something which the contemporary audience would have found appalling. His blasphemous incantation to summon Mephistopheles is completely disowning his religion,which the audience would know must only end terribly.That he orders Mephistopheles to return "an old Franciscan friar" could show evidence of Marlowe poking fun at Catholics at a time when practising other than Protestantism would have meant taking a huge risk. Faustus appears to be somewhat surprised himself at how simple it was to summon a devil ("Who would not be proficient in this art?"), and remains undeterred from attempting to bargain with Hell. In their conversations about the Devil, Mephistopheles explains how God "threw him from the face of heaven", which would suggest the Devil is still subordinate to God, and that even though Faustus switches his allegiance to Lucifer he is still under the influence of God.

The primary reason for Fautus' downfall is further apparent in this scene, and this is his arrogance. Despite Mephistopheles informing him of the eternal joys of Heaven compared to the damnation of Hell, he simply tells of his "manly fortitude" and that he "confounds hell in Elysium". To me, it appears that Faustus is so assured by his own intelligence that he feels that he does not need information from outside sources and is able to make decisions based on little but his own interpretations. He still refers to himself in the third person ("Faustus, begin thy incantations") which could suggest he is showing detachment from emotions and is trying to reach an impartial decision, although to me it sounds slightly disturbing. Fautus' reliance on himself only for advice would show he is heading inevitably towards disaster as he cannot see what danger may come from becoming involved with something that would be considered the utmost blasphemy.