Focus Fall 1997.tif


136 Focus on LiteralJtr 

Representing Torture: T he Struggle 
for the Masculine Self in the HIS7DRIA 

VON D. JOHANN FA USTEN I 

Bettina Mathes 

(\9j riting abOUllorture is a painful undertaking. It involves dea1-
aDing with monstrous cruelty, unimaginable bodily pain and very 
ohen murder. And yet, in torture the infliction of physical pain is 
nOt an end it itself. The following essay discusses tonure as a tech­
nique of subjection - as a technique of regulat ing and formulating the 
self,_ I argue that the "disputations" between Mephostophiles and 
Faust in the HlS70RlA lION D. JOHANN FAumN represent tonure in that 
they appropriate the structure and logic of lOrture as far as the vio­
lent construction of Faust's identity as irredeemable sinner is con­
cerned. My argument has four parts: After some introductory re­
marks about the problem of identity in the f1IS70RLA (1), I discuss the 
StruCture and function of tonure with regard to the construction of 
identity (2), and iLS representation in the f1IS70RLA (3).] conclude with 
a discussion about the construction of masculinity in t his context (4). 

Identity Politics 
The H IS10RLA claims to tell the "true" story of D octor Johann 

Fausten, a gifted Doctor Theologiae (14) who turns [0 magic and a 
pact wilh the devil in orderLO open up new, hitheno forbidden sources 
of knowledge. But Faust's curiosity has its price: The contract with 
the devil stipulates that aher 24 years· which Faust spent in pan 
doing scientific research, in pan who rin g, drinking, and jesting -the 
devil comes to get his soul. Unlike his famous liter.try predecessors 
Theoph ilus and Julta, Faust is not able to repent his si ns and be saved; 
therefore, his soul will be tortured in hell forever. The relentless char­
acter of the ending as well as the fact that Faust's research activities 
do not exceed - as many critics have observed - common knowledge 
(sometimes he is not even up-LO-date) have led criti cs to characterize 

FOCUJ on Lifrrafur Vol. 4, No. 2 (1997) 



138 Focus on Literality 

the text, in the words of Hans-Joachim Kreutzer, as "ein a\tmodisches 
Buch, gar nicht renaissance haft gemeint" (334). Apart from the fact 
that this critique is based on a questionable concept of period desig­
nations - drawing on Jacob Burckhardt's influential characterization 
of the Renaissance as an era devoted to the development of the free, 
autonomous individual - I would like to argue that the HIS70RLA is a 
product of the Renaissance precisely because of its emphasis on and 
concern with the making of identity (Greenblatt 1982). 

Undoubtedly, Faust's identity is one of the central concerns 
of the HJS10RlA. For the narrator his identity seems beyond doubt: 
Faust is an incorrigible criminal (SchwartzkuenscleT, TellfJelsbeschwerer) 
and a sinner, an early modern Cain or Judas, as it were, who deserves 
to be murdered by the deviL To account for Fauses criminal/sinful 
self the narrawroffers a quasi-psychological explanation: "Als D. Faust 
eins gantz gelernigen vnd geschwinden Kopffs / zum studiern 
qualificiert vnd geneigt war.. .. Daneben hat er auch einen thUinmen 
/ vnsinnigen vnnd hoffertigen Kopff gehabt / \'(fie man jn denn allzeit 
den Speculierer genennet hat" (14). Because of this psychological dis­
position Faust's fate is predetermined: "Aber es ist ein wahr 
Sprichwort: Was zum T euffel will / das laefh sich nicht auffhalten / 
!loch jm wehren" (14). 

Four hundred years later, Barbara Konneker suggests a psy­
chological reading as well: "'Was theologisch als Kains- oder Judasreue 
gefafit wird und Cipfe l teu£l.ischer Verfuhrungskunst ist, stellt sich 
gleichzeitig auf psychologischer Ebene als ein in Fausts See Ie 
verwurzelter TTiebzuT Selbstzerstorung dar .... " (196, emphasis is mine). 
Accordingly, part of the text represents "'das Seelendrama eines 
Menschen, der sich vor den unlosbaren Zwiespah zwischen Wollen 
und Konnen gestelh sieht und an diesem Zwiespalt zugrundegeht" 
(196). Another two decades later, Maria E. Muller explains Faust's 
criminal biography with his "'melancholia" (1986), thus, suggesting 
that Faust's self as well as his fate is regulated by the fluids of his 
body. Inte restillgly, Konneker and Muller agree with lhe narrator 
that Faust's "problematic" identity is responsible for his gruesome 
destiny. They presume that Faust's self is the result o f his psychic 
and bodily nature, and they both fi nd good arguments fo r their the­
ses in early modern theology and medicine. And yet, rhis approach 
renders the literary text silent, since it seems to be reduced to a mere 

Representing Torture 139 

illust ration of "hisrory." As concerns the HIS70RlA this approach re­
sultS in the reproduction of the narrator's logic whose imemion it is 
to prove that failure before God is a maHer of the individual's psyche/ 
soul. To avoid this impasse Stephen Greenblan has called for a "cul­
tural poetics" which does not take for granted concepts like "his­
tory" or "author" but which analyzes the practices, norms, and insti­
tutions which constitute the conditions of possibility for literature. 
Regarding (he HIS70RIA VON D. JOHANN FAUSTENcu hural poetics means 
to question the narrator's theory about Faust's horrible biography as 
well as to ask for the social practices and institutions t hat might have 
shaped it. In their reconst ruction of Faust 's self both Konneker and 
Muller do not renect upon tbe fact that this sel f is nOt given bur 
rather produced throughout the narrative. In their readings the indi­
vidual as well as the self are considered as the cause rather than the 
effect of a life story. That is to say, that th e process of becoming an 
individual and a self is nOt taken into consideration. 

Postmodern theories, most of all the works of Michel Fou­
cault, have challenged this "'identity politics." One of rhe cemral in­
sights of Foucault's work is that the self is nOt the result of the 
individual's psychic structure, a psychic necessity as it were, but an 
effect of discourses, instituti ons and disciplinary practices, of what 
Fou cault has called "'power/knowledge." Power not only acts on t he 
ind ividual as a form of domination but also acti vates or formulates 
the subject. In th is sense, the formation of the sel f is made possible by 
procedu res of subjection . Summarizing Foucault's theory of subjec­
tion by power J udit.h Butler draws attention to its psych ic effects as 
well: 

Subjection signifies the process of becoming subordinated by 
power as well as the process of becoming a subject. ... the 
subject is iniciated through a primary submission to power. 
... power that at first appears as external, pressed upon the 
subject, pressing the subject into subordination, assumes a 
psychic form that co n.stitutes the subject's self-identity. 
(1997,3) 

In other words, the subject'S self is a cultural artifact, the 
discursive product of the relations and articulations of power in a 



\40 Focus on Literatltr 

particular society. To claim that selves are constructed is not to say 
that selves do not exist. Quite on the contrary, to emphasize the 
constructedness of selves is to analyze the historically and culturally 
specific discourses, norms, and power relations involved in their con­
struction. 

H owever, subjection is not to be understood as a determin­
ing power that inscribes itself on an orherwise passive individual, 
thereby depriving the subject of every kind of agency. Rather, the 
relationship between subject and social strucrure is to be conceived 
of as a dynamic interaction, in which, as Norhert Elias has argued, 
"[b )eide den Charakter von Prozessen [haben]" (XVllI) ,2 But if selves 
are constructed through subjection how is agency possible? In order 
to aCCount for the subject's agency j udith Buder has introduced the 
concept of "performativity" or "reiteration" (1997). The subject can 
only exist if the discourses and conditions of power that brought it 
into being are reiterated continually. The performative formulation 
of the subject leaves room for agency and change, because, as Butler 
argues, reiteration "involve[s] an alteration of power such that the 
power assumed or appropriated works against the power that made 
that assumption possible" (13).) The notion of reiteration points to 
the paradox that selves are always already subjects but must never­
theless continually reiterate both theLr subjection and their selfhood. 

In what follows,l shall suggest that the HIS10RLA constitutes a 
narrative of the struggle fo r the self. There are connicting forces and 
discourses struggling to gain control throughoul the narrative about 
who Faust really is, or rather, who he is to become. Yet, the text also 
lays open the process of producing this self by showing the mecha­
nisms involved in the making of a crLminallsi nner. 

O nce Faust has signed the pact with his ghost, the implica­
ti ons for his identity are far-reaching. The fundame nta l cond ition of 
the contract reads "daR er allen Chrislglaeubigen menschen woelle 
feind seyn" (20). As a consequence, Faust mUSt become an outsider; 
he must disclaim all social relations, such as family, religion/God, or 
professional organ izations. But, as Natalie Davis. has poi~nted out, t~e 
fashioning of early modern selves took place In relation to SOCial 
groups and institutions. By becoming the enemy of every human 
being, of aU that is human as it were, Faust is not only stripped of his 
social life, he is stripped of his self as well. The devil turns out [Q be 

Representing Torture \4\ 

Faust's only peer "dieweil er nicht zweyen Herro I als GOll vnd ... 
dem Teuffel / dienen koennte" (28). It is Mephostophiles he mUSt 
tum to in order to find out who he is. In the disputations that stan 
r ight after his fai led attempt at marriage, he seeks to position himself 
in relation to the devil. His first question, "Wes Geist bis[u n (29), 
actually aims at getting to know himself The same holds true for all 
the other questions in the dispUlations of "Book I.H They are all con­
cerned with getting to know the communi ty Faust has agreed to be­
long to. The belief that he w ill turn into a good Protestant and even­
tually be saved from eternal punishment if only he discussed th ese 
matters with his ghost shows MephoSlophiles's significance fo r his 
identity: "vnd meynet jmmerdar durch offt vnd viel disputieren I 
Fragen vnd Gespraech mil dem Geist I wodle er so weil kommen I 
daft er ei nmal zur Besserung/ Rew vnd Abstinenzt gernthen moechteH 

(36). Of course, this relationship is not one characterized by equality. 
Right from the start, Mephostophiles has made it quite clear who is 
in comrol. When Faust tries to establish a social identity by wishing 
to get married, this desire is immediately squashed by the devil's in­
timidation: 

Vmb jhn gieng allenthalben das Feuwer auff I als ob er 
Verbrennen wolte Er schrey seinen Geist vmb Huelff an I er 
wolte nach aHem seinem Wunsch I Raht vod Thatleben. Da 
erschiene jhm der Teuffel Leibhafftig / doch so grawsam vnd 
erschrecklich I daR er jn nicht ansehen kundt" Jm antwort 
der Teuffell sagende: Nun sage an I was Sinns bistu ooch? 
D. Faustus antwon er jhm kuertzlich / Er habe sei n 
Versprechen ni cht geleystet bate vmb Gnade vnd 
VerLeihung. (28) 

C learly, their relationship is characterized by a struggle for 
Faust's self. This struggle has a stnlcture as wen as a r unction . The 
rest of my remarks will explore the context in which Faust's idemity 
is fashioned as well as the strategies employed and the goals pursued. 
[ argue that the struggle for Faust's self represents torture. That is to 

say, that the relationship between Faust and Mephostophiles displays 
the logiC and struclIIre of LOnure, but, of course, is not torture. The 
term representation does not mean mimesis or renection. By repre-



142 Focus on Literalltr 

sentation I mean tbe appropriation and symbolic articulation of dis­
courses. The relationship between text and social practice is not one 
of origin and reflection, meaning that literary texts reflect original 
social practices. Rather, as Stephen Greenblan (1988) has argued, there 
is no claim to center or origin, but both social context and literary 
text are manifestations and articulations of discursive material that 
circulates in a specific culture. The appropriation of this material by 
different media and institutions entails its continual negotiation and 
renegotiation. To trace represemations inuterary texts is to connect 
these texts to various social and cu ltu ral pntcrices and to reconstruct 
theif common historical context. 

The textual traces that have survived from the Renaissance 
are the products of extended borrowings, collective ex­

changes, and mutual enchantments. They were made by 
moving certain things - principally ordinary language but also 
metaphors, ceremonies, dances, emblems, items of clothing, 
well worn stories, and so forth - from one culturally demar­
cated zone to another. We need to understand not only the 
construction of these zones but also the process of move­
men t across the shifting boundaries between them. 
(Greenblan 7) 

I intend to pursue the traces that torture as a technique of 
subjection has left in the HIS10RlA VON D. JOHANN FAUSTEN. I shall fo­
cus on the so called "disputations" afte r the endorsement of the pact 
in "Book I," where Faust "learns" about Heaven and Hell (29-43) and 
on Faust's lamentations (If/eheklagen) in the very last ch apters, when 
he prepares to die (113-123). I will start with a brief summary o f the 
5[rucrure and practice of torture. 

Torture 
There can be no doubt that torture is [he most violent tech­

nique of imposing a self on someone. In early modern Germany, 
tOrture was omnipresent (Helbing/Bauer, van Diilmen). The tribu· 
nals of the Inquisition to rtured thousands and hundred's of thou­
sands of mostly women and some men, making them confess against 
themselves and even making them urge their own death penalty: 

Repr-esenti ng Torture 143 

Anton Prnerorius, an outspoken critic of early modern criminal pro­
ceedings, writes: "Nun leget jhr vnberuechtigte Leute zwar gefangen 
/ vnd darnach wollt jr erst forschen / ob sie es verdienet haben / 
oder nit ... ist das nicht verkehret Ding? Jhr spannet die pferde in 
Wage / lasset darnach em Raeder machen / daB ihr fah ren koennet" 
(232). Moreover, he contin ues: "Warumb rettet jhr dieselben nicht 
allein nicht / sondern leget jnen selbs[ noch groessere Last auff den 
halB / vnd beschweret sie so lang vnd weit / daB sie darumer 
zermalmet werden?" (255). Tonure - even though it was executed 
in secret places - was a legal and legitimate prnctice in early modern 
criminal proceed ings, which was not confined to the ju ridical realm. 
F or Francis Bacon ronure served as the ro le model for the inquisi­
cion of nature: "For like as Mans disposition is neuer well knowen, 
till he bee crossed, nor Proteus neuer changed shapes, till he was 
straightened and held faSt: so the passages and variations of Nature 
cannot appeare so fully in the libenie of Nature, as in t he trialls an d 
vexations of Art" (10). 

In contemporary juridical literature tonure is usually defined 
as the infliction of pain for tlle purpose of "discovering'" the «truth."~ 

Vnlld ist die peinliche frag nichts anderst / denn ein 
erkundu ng der Wacheit / an clem Menschlichen Coerper / 
durch peinlichen Zwang / als den daumstock / Leyter / 
Brandt / oder ander Peyn / durch welche der Mensch mit 
peinlichkeit vnd schmerzen angegriffen wi lt / daB es jm wehe 
rhut. (Tonuralis Quaestio 1) 

This t ruth was expressed by the confession - the so called 
"queen of proofs" in Roman Law - which was an indispensable 
prerequisite for the condemnation of the accused: "Nulla est maior 
probatio, quam propria ovis confessio, quae dicitur plen iBima 
probatio" (Sawr 40). The confession functioned in two ways: It docu­
mented the victim's guilt justifying rhe usually fatal punishment, and 
it signified the confessor's criminal self. Since the confession is so 
crucial to wnure it is important to explore these functions. The OED 
defines confession as "the disclosing of so mething th e knowledge of 
which by others is considered humiliating or prejudic ial to the per­
son confessing;" in a more juridical sense a confession is "a making 



144 Focus on Literalltr 

known or acknowledging of o ne's faults , wrong, crime, weakn~ss, 
etc. H According to this definition confessions express a truth which 
will have negative, i.e. punitive consequences for the confessor. \'(' hat 
this definition does not elaborate on, however, is the fact that the 
tru ths disclosed might be regarded as being true but do not necessar­
ily have (0 be true. Elaborati ng,on t~: question ,truth ~ichel Fou­
cault in the History of Sexuality Identifies confeSSions a~ one of th~ 
mai n rituals [Western Societies] rely on fo r the productio n of truth 
(58). They are "rituals of discourse" whic,h "un,fold [and are produced; 
addition is mine] within a powe r relationship" (1990, 60). Confes­
sio ns are required from and made in the ~re5e~ce of and for an . a~­
tho rity who evaluates, judges, or even pUnishes Its co ments. [f l~IS IS 
t rue fo r all kinds of confessions, it is especially true fo r co nfesSiOns 
extorted under tortUre, because to rture is the most violent and pow­
erful tech nique of producing guilty and criminal subjects. The self 
that expresses itself in the confession actually is the product ~f a ~ower 
relationship. In that sense confessions induce th e con s~ltu.u?n of 
women and men as subjects in both senses of the word: as mclivlduals 
subjected to an authority, as well as selves that have emerged out of 
this subject ion (Foucault 60). The fol~owin? r~po rt fro m an early 
m odern torture chamber speaks of thiS subJection: Ab raham Sawr 
recounts the case of a wealthy merchant of th e city of M elz in .1500, 
w hose family had been slaughtered by the city's hangm an :while he 
was abroad . W hen he retu rned home he was accused of havmg com­
m itted the murders and put imo jail: 

daB der arme Mann ... nit allein gefenglich win. eiogezogen 
I sondern auch 00 aIle vorgehende erkanmnuB deB Rechtens 
I dermassen mit Pein licher Frage angegriffen I da e r bekenllt 
I er habe sein Wei b I Kind vnd Gesind seiber erwuergt / auff 
welche bekandtnuB er <luch I als einem solchen Vbeltbaeter 
gebuert I vom Leben zum T odt is[ gericht ,,:~rde? V?nd 
hat cler hencker [who is the murderer, addition IS mme) 
weidlich sich gebrauchet / vnnd den armen Mann so viel desro 
haerter an gegriffen / dami' er muftc bekennen / vnd sich zum 
7haeter machen / au ff daB er [der H enker, 8M) sicher were I 
vnnd man niemandt weiter darumb in verdacht haben doerfft. 
(Tortulali s Q uaesti o, emphasis is mine) 

Representing T orture 145 

Clearly, to co nfess means "sich wm Thaeler machen," i. e. 
to fashion oneself as a criminal and guilty subject . Even though early 
modern defenders of lorture claimed to save the accused person's 
soul by making her confess her sins so that she might be pardoned 
(van Dulmen). It is nOt the soul but the self that is at stake in tortu re. 

. T orture, therefore. is 11 0 [ just a disciplining practice hut, as 
MIchel Foucault has argued in Ducipline and Punish, a system and 
mechanism of social com rol that simultaneously im prints the regime's 
power onto the body and into the self of the prisoner. T onure is a 
techn~que designed to subject indi viduals by making th em the agents 
of their own subjection and eventual destrucu on: "lonure is nOi pun­
~ shm~nt; it ... vio lates the subject's body and mind in ways that newly 
IOscnbes th e subject in a regime of control" (Du bois 185). This in­
scription is the result of a "struggle fo rtTUth" (Foucault 1977) in which 
the victim is defeated by the tOrturer. Despite the clea rly repressive 
functio n of power in to rrure, it is impo n ant (0 consider its produc­
tive side as well: It is the con fession in which contro l and productiv­
ity materialize . 

Elaine Scarry has poimed out that one of t he fundamental 
StruCtures of [Drture is the "translation of pain into the fic tion of 
power" (27) . This translation serves as tbe pre requisite for t he even­
tual silencing o f the prisoner's voice, which in turn impl ies the dou­
bli ng of tbe regime's voice. That is to say, that the selves fashioned 
by ~orture ha.ve been forced to achieve their selfhood by eliminating 
their own VOice. Given Ihe close relationship between voice and sel f 
t he el imination of [he victim's voice and its substitution by the re­
gime means the eliminati on of pan of the victim's self. 

"Daft doch del' Teuffe l se/bst z ll m hencker and den 
Schwarrzkuenstlem worden" (10): The representa tion of lQrlltre 
in the H 1S70RlA 

The disputations between Faust and MephoSlophiles are all 
concerned with the history and nature of the devils and the place 
they inhabit - hell. They are Faust 's method to find out who he is, 
now lhat he must not belong to human society anymo re. The term 
displUation is misleading, because Faust and MephoSlophiles do not 
JUSt talk or discuss in a scho larly manner. While they tal k, Faust is 



146 
FoClts on Lileratllr 

considered an accused whose gui1t will be established and w hose con­
fession will be extorted. At the beginning, Faust himself d oes no t feel 
guilty; on the comrary, he has decided to become an Epicurean and 
not bother about God, sin , and guilt anymore: "lebt also im 
Epicurischen Leben Tag vod Nacht / glaubet nit dafi ein GOTT / 
H ell ader T euffel were / ve rmeinet Leib vnd Seele stuerbe mireinander 
. . . "(27) . T his b rief characterization is indeed the nucleus o f Epicurus's 
philosophy who posnllated. among other things, a uni verse without 
gods, the mortality of the soul, and the ideal of a life without pain 
and fear. Faust'S adoption of thal philosophy would affect his w hole 
existence and challenge the power structure of his relationship to 

Mephosrophiles. Because if Faust does not believe in God, the devil , 
hell, and life after death, his pact loses much if not all of its threaten-
ing power. Faust 'S conversion to Ep icurus's philosophy poses a threat 
to the authority of the powers of helL Therefore, the fearless Epicu­
rean shall be rurned lOto a fearful Christian. Torture provides the 
necessary strategies for such a "conversion." Elaine Scarry has ob­
served that "it is, of course, precisely because the reality of that power 
is so highly contestable, the regime so unstable, that to rture is being 
used" (27) . Mephostophiles, indeed, is an expert concerning the ex­
ecution of torture. In the "'Vorrede" the narrator points out: "DaB 
doch der Teuffel selbst zum hencker an den Schwartzkuenstlern 
worden" (lO) . It seems, moreover, significant that MephostOphiles 
appears in the guise of a "Franziscaner-Muench" (2 1), that is, as a 
representative of the very o rder that conuolled the confessional prac­
t ice, including the Inquisition and its use of torture, up to early mod­
ern times. Yet , the re seems to be one fundamental diffe rence between 
their disputations and the interrogations of torture. In the H fS70RIA it 
is Faust who wants to know; Faust who asks his ghost to share his 
knowledge with him. Whereas in torture it is the torturer and the 
court who demand information. Th is reversal of roles seems to chal­
lenge my thesis that it is torture which is represented in the H fSTORfA. 

H owever, Faust'S questions are not entirely voluntary for tWO rea­
sons. First , he has no choice but to turn to Mephostophiles to find 
out about himsel f. Second, Mephostophiles controls his dreams and 
thoughts, thus maki ng him demand information that, eventually, 
makes him confess what Mephostophiles wants him w confess: "Dem 
Doet. Fausto / wie marl zusagen pflegt / T raumete von der Helle ! 

Representing Torture 147 

vnd fragte darauff seinen boesen Geist ! auch von der S b 
Ort vnd Erschafhmg der Hellen" (30) 5 F h U siantz! 
roles serves as a device to concealth ' un .erm.o re. the reve~sa l of 
text. Just like the . e ~owe r lelatlons ar work ill the 
power.' pact structure disgu ises the non-juridical nature of 

devil's r~~:!i~~!t~:~i.~nstl(291-~ 1) deal wd itl? Lucifer's fall and (he 
nity of hell. At the be I. g . le Fl1S10ryl' an hierarchy of the commu-

gmnlllg aust Isrens [ 0 M I I '1 
pon s rather indifferently B t h' . _ d ep lOS top 11 es 's re­
hears about the immense'pa~ln Isd·notffu ~ abruptly changes when he 

L 
'f an SU enng that God ' fl ' d 

UCI er who "ward [1 G to Icte upon ... von on auB der Woh d 
vertilget / vnd von seine S. nung ess Himmels 

. m Ill. gestOssen in ei F '/ 
eWlg nit erlischt / sand ' d nen eWrstetIl cler ern Jmmer ar quell " (3') 0 
so much suffering Faust" . h et _. verwhelmed by 
vom Geist in sein~ Kamm~le~gl auc ~o clarauff stillschweigenclt 
bin erl ich zu weinen vnd 'fft eget /S l a~ ff sein Beth / hub an 

seu zen vnd . H 
schreyen" (31) I' . . m semem ertzen zu 
tiny, which ~ ~x(pl:;::~I.S p~.mr tbhat he identifies with Lucifer's des-

IJl IS su sequent confess ion: 

... ich bin gleich so wol ein Gescho f 
vbermuethig Fleisch vnd Blut ba .ep ?ones/ vnnd mein 
Verdammlichkeit ebracht / m' t m'~h ~n Lelb vnd Seel in 
Sinn gereiu [ / dag , hal' Ich mit l1lelIler Vernunfft vnd 

ss IC S em Geseb ff G 
gewichen bin / vnd mich den Te ff ,ob

ep 
d ou es von jme 

ich mieh 'hm . . . u e ere en lassen / daB 
habe. (33/ e mit Lelb vnd Seele ergeben / vnd verkaufft 

h 
The ne~t disputation confro nts Faust with th d 'I' 

over uman belOgs: e eVI s power 

So soltu wissen / daB b Id d 
kam / ist er Con vnndsoll a M er vherstos~e lle Engel in Fall 
. a en ensc en Femd d / 

" bch . . . vnterstanden allerley T yranney am wMor enh vnd 
ven V d . dl enscenzu 
Mens~l~~n ~l ~m a so ;n~er geis(er vnzehlich vii / die den 
/ Also theiJ:~ ::mven~ s,ehz~ Sue linden reitzen vnd bringell 

" noc m ae Welt B / 
allerley List vnd Schalckl . / {f . au versllchen 
Glauben / vnd reitzen si:e~~ S:~rde~n/~endLeuth 3kbe vo m staerc en vns 



148 
Focus on Literawr 

Oluff das beste wir koennen vod ~oe.gen / sind wider Jh~s~~~ 
/ durchaechten jm die seinen / bd110 den Tadt . .. n 
kanstu / Herr Fauste / bey dir abnemmen. (34Q 

Mephostophiles not only cites biblical figures such ,as ~;i~ 
or David to prove his po int. He also declares that Faust hllnse IS 

under the clevil's control. 

Siehe so machten wir deine Gedancken vod Nachforschen 
oceh freeher vnd kecker / <luch so begierlich / d,aB d,ll Tag 
yond Nacht nicht Ruhe hettest / Son~ern alie dem T tChlen 
vnnd T rachten dahin stunde / wie du die Zaeu?er~y z.u w~gen 
brio en moechtest. . .. Letzlich brachten wlr dlch dahm I 
daB ~u dich mit Leib vod See! vns erga_best / das kanstu a\1es 

/ Herr fauste / bey dir abnemmen. (3,) 

A Olin FaUSt identifies with this report, believes ~hat he is 

P
ossessed ty ~he devil, and surrenders to this apparendYklOc~n~e.st. 
bl . "Es ist leider war / sagt D. Faustus / nun an IC Jm 

a e power. Ib f Also 
, ermehr thun / Auch habe ich mich se st ge angen ... . 

nlmm .' "(35) When Faust demands more 
gieng Doct Faustus trawng von Jme. . . 
" "" b h f ces of hell his pain and suffenng IS once 
Information a out t e or , . II " (37) 

" "f" d Mephostophiles's report of "was die he e seye more lOteOSI te . .' h 
I · bearably painful detail and from every perspective ( e 

reveas to un d '11 h d re in 
eternal bodily tOrture that the conclemne WI ave to en u 
hell. Th is chapter is by far the longest i'~ t~e whole text . I shall only 
quote one passage, hut there are many sImilar ones: 

Die Verdampten werden auch klagen vher die vnleidl~che 
kaelte / vber das vn:auBleschlicheFewer / vher die vntraegbcl~e 
Finsternur.. / Gestanck / vber die ewige. Ruten / vher die 
Gesichter cler Teuffel / vher die Verzwe,flung a~les Guten. 
Sie werden Klagen mit weinenden Augen / Kmrsc.hen de; 
Zaenen / Stanck der Nasen / Jaemmern der Surrune . 
Erschreckung cler O hren / Zittern der Haend vnd Fuer.. . S ~e 

d h ssem Schmeruen )' re Zungen fressen / Sle wer en ler gro b 
d "h den Todt wuendschen / vnnd gerne Ster en werenJnen 'd 

woellen / Sie moegen aber nit / denn der Todt wlr t von 

Representing Torture 149 

jnen fliehen / jhre Marter vnnd Pein wirt taeglich groesse r 
vnnd schwerer. (40) 

Overwhel med by hell's eternal tor ment, Faust finally sur­
renders to rhe deva's verdict: "aber es ist nun zu spat / vllnd ruhet 
Gones Zorn vber dir" (43). 

I have cited these passages at length because t hey disclose the 
disputation's major goal: the fash ioning of Faust's self as irredeem­
able sinner. T he strategy the disputations employ consists of what 
Elaine Scarry has called t he "translation of pain into [he wholly con­
vincing spectacle of absolute power: The physical pain is so incon­
testably real that it seems to confer its quality of 'incontestable real­
ity' on that power that has brought it into being" (27). In Faust's 
case, the pain is incontestable even though it is not actually inflicted 
on his hody but only mapped out before him. Nevenheless, the spec­
tacle of th is unbearable bodily pain leads him to be lieve in and to 
surrender to the devil's absolute power. It is important to keep in 
mind that both pain and absolute power are enabling fictions. That is 
to say, they possess no material real ity but nevenheless constitute 
Faust's wo rld. Repeatedly , t he narrator informs the reader that if 
only Faust repented unconditionally, he could be saved, but Faust 
has submitted to the fiction of absolute power and is unable to find 
his way out: " . . . er sahe wol gen Himmel / aber er kondte nichts 
ersehen" (36). T here is no need for Mephostophiles to physically tor­
ture Faust, when the citation of tOrture scenarios already serves his 
purpose. That Faust so readily surrenders to the devil's manipula­
tions is due to the suffering of thousand's of women and men who 
indeed were victims of tcnure, and whose suffering circulated in 
writing or in pictures. As Jan Philipp Reemtsma observes: "Nicht 
jede Gewaluat muG begangen werden, wenn man mit dem bloGen 
Verweis auf die anderswo schon begangene Tat sein Ziel erreichen 
kan n" (21) . 

During the course of their conversations, Faust becomes in­
creasingly silent. It is Mephostophiles who formu lates Faust's per­
sonal truth, while Faust acknowledges and confirms t he trulhfulness 
of t hose words with a short: "Ja diG is[ leicler war." As Elaine Scarry 
points Out, the silencing or even annih ilatio n of the prisoner's voice 
is another fundamental "achievement" of tOrture . Ann ihilation does 



150 Focus on Literalit y 

not necessa rily mean absolute silence it might also result in rhe sub­
stitution of rhe prisoner's words by those of the torturer. 

The question and answer also object ify the facl that while 
the prisoner has almost no voice - his confession is a halfway point 
in the disi nregr.uion of language, an audible objectification of the 
proximity of silence - the to rturer and the regime have doubled their 
voice since the prisoner is now speaking their words (Sca rry J6).1 

Thus, Faust's confess ions do not speak so much about his 
true self, but, rather permit an understanding of the "procedures of 
individualization by power" (Foucaulr 1990,59). Regarding the close 
rela.tionship between confessi.on and self, Faust becomes what he 
con fesses. This "new" guilt-ridden sel f is the result of a subjection in 
which Faust has been fo rced to become the agent of his own subjec­
tio n. At th is poim the disputati ons are interrupted, Faust must not 
ask any more queStions about the relationship between H eaven and 
hell . 

And yet. the interplay between power, truth , and self is more 
complicated than my analysis o f the disputations in "Book I" has 
suggested so far. Faust is not only the passive victim o f the devil' s 
manipulations; he repeatedly tries to regain control over his sel f. 
Furthermore, it is not the devil alone who strives to gain control 
ove r Faust 's self. The narrato r is a powerful accomplice. The most 
d ramatic incidence of this struggle fo r Faust 's self takes place in the 
final chapters, when Faust pre pares for his death. 

Very shortly befo re his death Faust is seen to be moaning 
and lamenting i.n great despair. He is frightened by the suffering await­
ing him and blaming himself fo r having brought about h.is gruesome 
fate. What is st riking in these lamentations is the use of the personal 
pronouns '" I" and "you ." Faust begins in th e fi rst person but very 
soon switches to the second person: 

Ach / ach / ach / ich arbeilsseliger Mensch / 0 du betruebter 
vnseliger Fauste / du bist wol in dem Hauffen der Vnseligen 
/ da ich den vbermaessigen schmertzen des T ock es erwan.en 
muB ... 0 du verfluchtes vod vnbestaendiges Leben / 0 du 
blinder vnd Vnachtsamer / der du deine G lieder / Leib vnd 
Seel / so Bl ind machest / als du bist. (114) 

Representing T orture 15 1 

Faust idemifies with his miserable situatio n but does not re­
gard himself the originato r of this situat ion. By using the second per­
son singular Faust rejects the identification with the guilt-ridden self 
that the devil has fo rced him to adopt. Instead of confessing: "1 am a 
sinner," he says: "You are the sinner. " The "1" reappears when Faust 
talks about his situati on: "Ja / ich seye wo ich woelle / so bin ich 
ge fangen" (lI S). Mephostophiles cannot tolerate such an act of d isen· 
gagement. In an extensive monologue (chapter 65), he confronts him 
with a long list of proverbs all aimi.ng at maki ng Faust acknowledge 
himself as the o riginator of his deeds and sins 3S well as at acknowl­
edging that there is no escape fo r him: "heu estu Galt vOr Augen 
gehabt / vnd dich mit denen Gaben / so er d ir verl iehen / begnuegen 
lassen / doerfh est du di esen Reyeo nicht tantze n .. du hast dich 
zum Buergen gesetzt l mit deinem eigenen blut / so sol man Buergen 
wuergen" (116Q. At the end, he identifies with hi s sins and acknowl­
edges his responsibility. In th e famous "Oratio ad studiosos" which is 
the last chapter o f the HJS7oRlA, he makes a confess ion. In this mov­
ing speech FauSl publicly confesses his sins and crimes, advises his 
students to stay away from crime and sin , and accepts his punish­
ment as just. However, in one major po int he dares to disagree with 
his ghost and lhe narrato r. When talking about h is status as a sinner, 
he states: "Dann ich sterbe :tIs ein boese r vnnd guter C hrist / ein 
guter C hrist / danllnb daB ich cine hertzliche re uwe babe / vnd im 
H ertzen jmmer umb G nade biue . .. Ein boeser C hrist / daB ich 
weiB / daB der T euffel den Leib wil haben / vond ich wil jhme den 
gerne lassen / er laB m ir aber nur die Seele zu frieden" (121). Here, 
despite the continual imerventions of his ghost and the narrator and 
despite that by signin g lhe contract he has promised his soul to the 
devil, Faust States that he does repent and will he saved. This state­
ment is almost simult aneously overruled by the n arrator stat ing "Ju­
das Rew" (12 1), there by disquali fy ing Faust 's re morse as false and 
ineffective. And indeed, when he tries to commu mcate with God he 
inva riably fails: "er waite beten / es waite jhme aber nit eingehen / 
wie dem Cain I der auch sagte: Seine Suende we ren groesser / den n 
daB sie jhme moechre n verziehen werden" (122) . T his failure is en­
tirel y the result of the authoritative intervention of the narr.r.tor who 
fo r reaso ns concernin g his own self-fashioning as an upright Protes­
tant cannot allow Faust to repent and save his soul from the devil 's 



152 Focus on Lileralllr 

claim. 
Although this intervention is the most dramatic one, it is not 

the only one. Already in the "Vorred an den Christlichen Leser" the 
narrator characterizes Faust's sinful state of mind as "grewliche 
verstockung" (12), which Grimms Worcerbltch, referring to Luthe r, 
defines as "ein zustand der vorsaetzlichen unempfindlichkeit gegen 
alle heilsamen besserungsmittel" (Vol. 25, 1764). The term veYStockImg 
emphasizes the individual's free will to sin , that is the explicit and 
voluntary rejection of redemption. The narrator more than once 
describes Faus['s miserable situation as the result of his evil will, nlther 
[han the manipulations of his ghost. Regarding the disputations in 
"Book r" the narrator declares that Faust - like Cain! • deliberately 
chooses not to repent but rather stay with the devil: "Er waite aber 
keinen Glauben noch Hoffnung schoepfen / daR er durch BuR 
moechte zur Gnade Gottes gebracht werden" (33, emphasi.s is mine). 
This statement contradicts the dynamics of the disputations: Faust's 
inability to break free from the devil is - as 1 have pointed out -
entirely the product of the devil's violent manipulations, rather than 
a matter of his free will. In fact, the narrator's deterrence stnltegy 
depends on Faust's VersLOcktheit, that is on his deliberate rejection of 
God's mercy. Moreover, during books "I" and "IV" the narrator can· 
tinually disqualifies Faust's remorse as "Cains vnnd Jude Reuw vnd 
BuB" (36). As far as disciplining Faust's self is concerned, the narrator 
becomes the devil's accomplice. Both strive at making Faust another 
Cain or Judas. Both seek to gain control over his mind and self. The 
means they apply are different: The devil uses images of pain and 
suffering, whereas the narrator defines Faust's state of mind and/or 
authoritatively overrules his voice. 

Let me summarize: During t he disputations and in the final 
chapters Faust has been forced to internal ize and express a truth about 
himself that is the result of a painful subjection. His struggle for rhe 
self follows the structure and logic of torture without ever directly or 
explicitly applying torture. By making Faust an early modern Judas, 
the HISTORLA undeniably reveals the subversive elements not only of 
torture but also of the function of such Christian essentials like the 
existence of hell and the soul's immortality. Just like tOrture pro· 
duces the enemies with which rhe authorities justified their rule, so 
hell is a conStruct without which the Christian regime would not be 

Representing Tonure 153 

able to control the minds of their followers. Obviously, the real threat 
to Christianity is atheism and not, as the H1S"JORLA claims, magic, cu­
r iosity, and pacts with the devil. And finally, by emphasizing the 
repressive function of power the text renders its productive potential 
invisible to the contempOnlry reader. 

"Eyn Mann Sol fin Mann 5eyn:" The CorlSlTUcLion of the Mas· 
Cltline Self 

Talking about the self invariably implies talking about gen­
der. I would like to conclude with some brief remarks about the 
p lace and function of gender in the fash ioning of Faust's self. T or­
ture, as a technique of fashioning selves, is not gender·specific. Both 
women and men were and are subjected to and by torrurc. However, 
in Western Societies social, institutional, and culrural practices have 
been profoundly engendered. In the HIS10RlIt the narrative of mak· 
ing a criminal/sinner cannOt be separated from the narrative of the 
constitution of masculinity. Maria E. Mu ller and Barbara Becker­
Cantarino have claimed that the HlS10RLA affirms gender stereotypes, 
because as a man Faust has the privilege to become the protagonist of 
an extremely influential story, whereas women are denied such rep­
resentations. Bm gender is more than the ascription of di fferent roles 
and attirudes to women and men. Far from resting o n a "narural" 
basis, bodies and selves are engendered by continually performing 
what counts as masculine or feminine (Butler 1990, 134.41). Gender 
is a "doing" (West/Zimmerman), that is to say, to use a well known 
phrase by Judith Butler, "there is no gender identity behind the ex­
pression of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the 
very expressions that are said to be its results" (1990, 25). The notion 
of gender as an accomplishment or doing also implies that it is a 
"situated doing," carried out in gendered spaces and contexts CWestl 
Zimmerman 14). The notion of performativity, furthermore implies 
that gender identification is never completed and gender identity is 
always contested. 

"Eyn Mann sol ein Mann seyn," demands Abraham Sawr in 
his 5trajJbuch published in 1593. His request - expressed by the word 
"sol" - only makes sense if gender is understood as performative, as 
a doing rather [han a being, because a man as a man would always 
already be a man and Sawr's request would be unnecessary. In what 



154 Focus on Literallir 

way is Faust doing gender? Which performances consritute his mas­
culinity? First of all, the form of discourse in which Faust's self fash­
ioning takes place is profoundly gendered. The encounters between 
Faust and Mephosrophiles are called Dispuralionen, rather than inter­
rogations or Anftchrungen.1 In early modern Europe disputations were 
pan of a learned, scholarly discourse. A disputation was considered a 
"Iogi.sch argumentierende Eronerung" (Baufeld), and as such required 
(and established) a masculine subject position. With regard to women 
Francesco Barbaro in De re uxoria notes; "By silence indeed women 
achieve the fame of eloquence" Gones 299).10haoo Weyer drawing 
on Chrysostomos writes: "Das Weibliche geschlecht (spricht er) ist 
vnbesinnet ... von deB wegen / das die Weib li n nicht alles was sie 
sehen oder hoeren / mit WeiBheit vnd vernunfft erwegen .... 
Quintilianus nenm das Weib auch ein gantz bloed ding." The subject 
that spoke in a disputation, obviously, was masculine. The term de­
notes a masculine pr:.Jctice. Women could engage in this practice if 
they "accomplished" a masculine subject position, which meant the 
transgression or denial of their femininity. The "feminist " defense of 
women so fashionable among Renaissance humanists is thus a de­
fense of masculinity, since they praised women for their masculine 
virtues Gordan 1986). To the extent that gender is performative, per­
forming a disputation not only requires but also constitutes m e mas­
culine subject. 

r have characterized the disputations as a struggle for Faust's 
self - a struggle, that is, which denotes yet another gendered practice. 
Early modern constructions of gender were based upon the notion 
of "masculine strength" as opposed to "feminine weakness." Both 
categories referred to the "nature" of women and men. Drawing on 
Galen Ambroise Pare, one of the most famous and most innuential 
physicians in early modern Europe, states: 

Das Geschlecht bedeutet nichts anders denn de, Vnterscheid 
zwischen Mann vnd Weib / vod ... daB / was anlangt die 
Gliedmassen deB leibs / vnnd deroselbigen Ort oder Stelle / 
ein kleiner vnd geringer Vnterscheid sey: jedoch ist die 
W'aennbde der Maenner in groesser menge / an jrer selbst 
staercker / denn der Weiber. Derohalben I so sind auch 
diejeruge G lieder I welche alleio auB dem Samen herkommen 

Representing Torture 155 

in clem Weibe kaelter / weicher / zaerter vnd (euchrer / 3uch 
aile jhre natuerliche Wuerckungen v nd Geschaeffte 
schwaecher vnd geringer. 0-YlundtArzney 28-29) 

Masculine strength involved heat, activity, reason, determi­
nation, and discipline. Feminine weakness involved coldness, endur­
ance, less reason, and less control. Therefore, Johann Weier, early 
modern physician and one of the most outspoken opponents of witch 
trials, declared that women should nOt be accused of witchcraft be­
cause they exerted no authority over their selves, and accordingly 
could not resist the devil's temptation; they were "'wanckelmuetig I 
vnbestendig / leichtglaeubig / boBhafftig / 5eirzer selbst nit maechtig. 
. ." (my emp hasis). C learly, being a woman meant to possess little or 
no control over one's self. Men as the stronger gender, on the other 
hand, were believed to be better equipped w fashion their own selves 
and to fight negative influences. Accordingly, they were reg3rded 
asbeing fully responsible for t.heir deeds and were to be punished 
harder than women, ar least according w the law (Koch 1 60-67).~ 
The HIS10RLA frequently Stresses Faust's will power and determina­
tion to explain his relationship to Mephoswphiles; in fact, Faust him­
self confesses tbat it was his "HalBstarriger vod Gottloser Willen" 
(120) which had made him want to conjure t he devi l in the first place 
and is responsible for his miserable situation: "Ach / 3ch Vernunfft / 
Mutwill / Vermessenheit vnd freyer Will ... in was Muehseligkeit 
hastu mich gefuehret" (1 14). H owever, bis accusations not only in­
criminate himself, they also make him a man, because "Vernunfft 
vnd freyer WiW are masculine virtues. 

Moreover. gender differences were said to derermine the re­
lationships between humans and th e devil. Johann Weyer bel ieved 
that women were nOlhing but passive victims of rhe devil's vexa­
tions, whereas men engaged in an active though nOt equal relation­
ship with the devil (415). From the very beginning Faust's relation­
ship with thedevil is characterized by struggle and negotiations: "Denn 
:tIs D. Faustus den Teuffe! beschwur I da lief~ sich derTeuffel an / als 
wan n er nicht gern an das Ziel vod an den Reyen kaeme" (16): 

. wie dann der Teuffel im Wald einen solchen Tumult 
an hub / als wolte alles zu Grund gehen .... Es lieB sich sehen 



156 Focus on Literatur 

/ als wann ob clem Circkel ein Greiff oder Drach schwebet / 
vod natterte / wann dann D. Faustus seine Beschwerung 
brauchtc I da kirrete das Thier jaemmerlich / bald darauff 
fiel drey oder vier klaffter hoch em feuwriger Stern herab / 
verwandelte sich zu ciner feuwrigen Kugel / dell dann D. 
Faust 2uch gar hach erschracke / jedoch liebete jm scin 
Fuernemmen I achtel jhms joch / daB jhm def Teuffel 
vntherthaenig seyn solte .... (H16) 

But is Faust nOt the victim of Me ph as lOp hiles's machinations? 
Isn't he weak and powerless, lacking masculi ne strength and determ i­
nation? J USt like femininity, m asculi nity is not a monolithic concept. 
As R. W. Connell has pointed Out, masculinity involves tWO struc­
tural aspects: It is both a hierarchical system in which men dominate 
women, and a SYStem of dominance and competition among males. 
Therefore, rather than speaking of masculinity, one should speak of 
different types of masculinity: Some are hegemonic, some 
marginalized, and some subordinated (Connell 87.182). Clearly, 
Faust's gender status at the end of the H1S7ORlA might be character· 
ized as "subordinated masculinity." That is to say that Faust did nOt 
succeed in participating in the hegemonic discourse of the devil and 
the narrator; he did not succeed in making himself a master·subject 
capable of ruling himself as well as others. 10 That his masculine iden· 
tity remains in control of Mephostophiles and the narrator is not 
only exemplified by the fact that he has to succumb to being an early 
modern Judas. It is also exemplified by the prohibition to get mar· 
ried. Apart from the catholic clergy, for the majority of early mod­
ern men marri2ge meant entry into the realm of full man hood 
(Wunder 140). For a man, getting married was regarded as "seiner 
selbst eigen Handlung," that is, an activiry expressing the full comrol 
over his self and his deeds. Being denied marriage, Faust is thus being 
denied fu ll manhood. For the satisfaction of his masculine hetero­
sexual desire however, the devil grants him almost unlimited use of 
women. 

While it is certainly true that Faust becomes the victim of the 
devil's manipulations, it seems significant that the HIS70RIA places 
particular emphasis on the way Faust's victimization is brought aboul. 
Clearly Faust is nOt a ready victim, nor is he a victim right from the 

Representing Torture 157 

beginning. Rather, his eventual defeat is the result of a struggle for 
his self in which Faust. Mephostophiles, and the narrator are engaged. 
My point here is, that it is precisely this struggle-structure that con­
stitutes Faust's (the devil's and the narnlor's) masculinity. Regarding 
the disputations after the pact Faust is doing gender in his repeated 
attempts to regain control over his self. By trying to break away 
from the devil's domi nation he demonstrates a will to self-determina­
tion which makes him "be a man." It is, therefore, in his struggle 
with as well as his resistance to the devil that Faust's masculinity is 
consri tuted. l ! T hat his attem pts are doomed [Q fa ilure does not elimi­
nate their masculine chancter. If gende r is a process and a doing, it is 
nOt only the results, but first and foremost the means applied and the 
positions assumed that are involved in the construction of mascu lin­
ity and femininity. The HIS70RIA represents the early modern sexl 
gender system nOt only because Faust is a man, but because the text 
discloses the elements and processes involved in the constitution of 
masculinity. It is significant that none of the very few women that 
appear in the text even possess a self. They are mere creations of the 
masculine mind and are used as commodities. Although rar more 
women than men have been subjected to torture, literary representa­
tions of this struggle for the self have been, or so it seems, entirely 
reserved to men. 

Humboldt·Utliversiuit Berlin 

Notes 

I This article is the revised text of a pilp~r given ilt the 2nd annual 
FOCUS ON LITERA TUR Graduate Student conference. at the Univer­
sity of Cincinnati, Oct. la/ 11th 1997. I would like [ 0 thank all panicipants 
for productive discussions, criticism, and encouragement. Thanks to An­
drea Grosse for helping with the English language. 

1 ] depart from Elias, however, in his predomin.lOtly psychic expla· 
nation of social and individual change as well as in his evolutionary think­
ing. I believe that cultural and discursive forces are responsible for the 
individual's selL 

l About the relationship between agency and power Butler remarks: 



158 FOCIIS on Literalltr 

~ Agency exceeds the power by which it is enabled. One might say that the 
purposes of power are not always the purposes of agency. To the extent 
that the latter diverge from the former, agency is the assumption of a pur­
pose unimended by power, one that could not have been derived logically 
or historically, that operates in a relation of contingency and reversal to 
power that makes it possible, IO which it nevertheless belongs. This is, as it 
were, the ambivalent scene of agency, constrained by no teleo logical neces­
sity" (15). 

·Since truth is always constructed and in order to avoid unneces­
sary confusion the term does not appear in quotation marks. 

~ ln early modern Europe dreams were considered to be an instru· 
ment of the devil in order to control the thoughts of human beings. Ludwig 
Milichius in umber Teuffel writes: "Die Traewme werden in viererley 
geschlecht / und unterscheyd abgetheilt . Die erste nennet man Natuerliche 
odder Gemeyne traewm / die andern Weissagende / die driuen Goettliche / 
die 4. Teuffelische {159Q .... Wie auch uff den heutigen tag der Satan solehe 
betriegende traewm den Widertaeuffern / unnd andern Schwermern / die 
im verborgen auff solche offenbarung warten / deBgleichen den Zauberern 
und Hexen / auch allen / so ohn ware bekerung zu GOtt / seiner Tyranney 
unterworffen seind / eingibt / das er also allerhand jamer / als todsch lag / 
auffrhur / untertrueckung rechter warer lehr / unnd aile Abgoeuerey I 
durch solche stine und anrichle" (162Q. 

·It has frequently been pointed out that Mephostophiles is a very 
lawful devil for whom contracts are important. 

'Indeed, Faust is speaking Mephostophiles's words. When he reo 
flects upon the terrors of helJ shortly before his death he does so in the exact 
words of his ghoSt (40 and 117). 

I This holds true not only for the encoumers I have discussed in 
this paper but for almost all the encounters between Faust and the devil, 
before and after the pact. 

'Abraham Sawr in SCTaf!bllch writes : ;'Eyn Mann sol ein Mann seyn. 
Viri namque gravis sum puniendi, quam mulieres, cum lantO grauius delict"um 
viri sit, quanta magis adeos peninet. el virtute vivere. et exemplo regere 
foeminas- (75). 

IOConsuh Foucault, Horkheimerl Adorno, Maihofer. 
!l Faust's struggle with the devil before the pact pursues a different 

goal. He strives to negotiate the "terms of trade" of their relationship, rather 
than the conSliwtion of his selfhood. 

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mOO] 

THE CONSTANCY of CHANGE: 
The Role of the Paternoster in Grass's 

Ein weites Feld 

David Prickett 

.!.j in weites Feld is Grass's examination of German reuni fi cali on 
I.:iI wi! hin the context of Germany's turbulent history. By analyz­
ing histo rical parallels 10 the history·making events of 1989· 199 1, Grass 
demonstrates that Germany's fu ture is nOt ein weices Feld. Events are 
not fated to repeat themselves time and again. O f course, ro find a 
new path, "den Drinen Weg" (409), one should approach the re-un.ifi­
catio n with a strong dose of Grass's doubt. To this end, Grass rein­

ventS the literary icon Theodore Fomane and translates Fonrane's 
Griinderzeil ambivalence to the person of present-day historian T hea 
Wuttke. Wunke, called "Fonty" by all, has a career that spans from 
the Third Reich and serves above all as a model of Wiederkehr in 
recent hi story: "Fonty, den das Tausendjahrige Reich immer noch 
krankte, blieb schroff: ' H iell nur zwoif Jahre, wirft abereinen kolossal 
langen Schauen'" (67). Th is "shadow" cloaks the ca reers o f Fonty and 
hi s TagltYldnadmchatien H oftaller. Central to Grass's theme o f perpe­
tuit y is the image of the Paternoster which is h o used in the 
Reichslufifahrtministen·um. Fro m the twelve years o f the Reich to fony 
years o f the DDR to the p resent-day Treuhand, Fonty and H oftaller 
consider the buildi ng a second home. As Fom y ma intai ns, "Mir gibl 
das ne gewisse Festigkeit. WeiR jedesmal, wenn ich hier anlrabe, wohin 
ieh gehore ..... (67). On a large scale, th e Paternoster symbolizes the 
machinery o f ti me t hat will not stand still. For protagonists Fo m y 
and H o fi.aller, the Paternoster squarely symbolizes a sense o f personal 
survival within the system, regardless of the powe rs that be. 

The reader is first introduced to th e Paiernosier in the fourth 
chapter, entitled "Viele Varerunser lang": 

Sogleich riic kt ein T ransportmittel ins Blick feld, das seit 
Anbegin ll in Betrieb war. Wir stellen uns den Aktenboten 

FOCUJ on Literarllr Vol. ~,No. 2 (l997)