Sunday Morning, June 15th 1924: A Pyrrhic Victory
In reply to novissimo (msg # 48):
Byron
While Byron doesn't recall the sign itself, he does recognize the symbol painted upon it. It comes from the legend of Faust, representing the powers and ever-present watch of Mephistopheles. The academic in him remembers reading of Goethe rendition of the legend in Soren Kiekegaard's Either/Or:
The story concerns the fate of Faust in his quest for the true essence of life. Frustrated with learning and the limits to his knowledge, power, and enjoyment of life, he attracts the attention of the Devil Mephistopheles, who makes a bet with Faust that he will be able to satisfy him; a notion that Faust is incredibly reluctant towards, as he believes this happy zenith will never come.
In the first part, Mephistopheles leads Faust through experiences that culminate in a lustful relationship with Gretchen, an innocent young woman. Gretchen and her family are destroyed by Mephistopheles' deceptions and Faust's desires. Part one of the story ends in tragedy for Faust, as Gretchen is saved but Faust is left to grieve in shame.
The second part begins with the spirits of the earth forgiving Faust and progresses into allegorical poetry. Faust and his Devil pass through and manipulate the world of politics and the world of the classical gods, and meet with Helen of Troy (the personification of beauty). Finally, having succeeded in taming the very forces of war and nature, Faust experiences a singular moment of happiness. Mephistopheles tries to seize Faust's soul when he dies after this moment of happiness, but is frustrated and enraged when angels intervene due to God's grace. Though this grace is truly 'gratuitous' and does not condone Faust's frequent errors perpetrated with Mephistopheles, the angels state that this grace can only occur because of Faust's unending striving and due to the intercession of the forgiving Gretchen. The final scene has Faust's soul carried to heaven in the presence of God by the intercession of the "Virgin, Mother, Queen, ... Goddess kind forever... Eternal Womanhood. The Goddess is thus victorious over Mephistopheles, who had insisted at Faust's death that he would be consigned to "The Eternal Empty."
Strangely he remembers Kierkegaard's conclusion that "Goethe's Faust is a genuinely classical production, but the idea is a historical idea, and hence every notable historical era will have its own Faust".
"Byron, we're tying this man up to get information about Jack". Byron starts at the sound of his name. He can no longer feel the presence of the shard.
Clarke
Father Henesey finally looks up at Clarke, seeing the length of rope he holds in his hands. "If we don't do something now, I'm not sure he will survive long enough for us to tie him up and question him." He switches the now soaked bandage with a fresh one, throwing the used one aside. "Do any of you have any medical experience?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:34, Fri 01 Dec 2017.