Student Question
After signing his pact with the devil, Faustus demands Mephistophilis bring him a wife. Mephistophilis can't provide one, as marriage is a holy sacrament, solely under the control of God. The best this demon can do is provide Faustus with a series of prostitutes. Mephistophilis tries to frame this as the better alternative, saying,
Tut, Faustus,
Marriage is but a ceremonial toy;
If thou lovest me, think no more of it.
I'll cull thee out the fairest courtezans,
And bring them every morning to thy bed.
Mephistophilis diverts Faustus by making this choice seem appealing, but in the end, as is always the case, what the devil has on order will only leave Faustus empty and unsatisfied. Marriage offers the opportunity to develop a long-term and fulfilling relationship with a person, based on body, mind, and spirit. All the devil can offer is the novelty of bodies through sex with different women.
This scene reinforces that God has the true power and that all Mephistophilis really has is pale imitations that won't give Faustus what he wants. However, in this scene, as throughout the play, the demon is able to divert and confuse Faustus. For example, while Mephistophilis calls marriage a "toy," this confuses the fact that the devil can only offer toys in the form of prostitutes. Faustus's tragedy is that although he perceives that the devil is in many ways a fraud, he is incapable of turning away from him and back to God.
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