As centuries pass and human civilization continues to develop, so does moral ideology. The division between sin and virtue has also undergone many changes since it was cited in the Bible, particularly in The Vision of Tnugdal, Dante's Inferno, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, and Goethe's Faust. Following the succession of such works, one finds that the more modern the author and the later the date of composition of a piece, the more distinct and intentional the tactic.

      Goethe is the first to deviate from the classic medieval journey to Hell written in Dante's Inferno. Goethe eludes Hell. The focus of works of the modern age demonstrate a shift from Hell to Heaven and salvation, as is shown in Goethe's Faust. Hell is no longer regarded as a definite, physical, universal prison delivering eternal punishment. As depictions of Hell change, so do beliefs concerning damnation. Goethe presents a tale in which the main character, Faust, evades damnation. This is made possible through the rising force of science and knowledge in culture and society.

      Goethe's character Faust plays an active role in his life, even while accompanied by the devil Mephistopheles. If one were to look at Faust from a medieval model (for example, like that of Dante), it would be easy to conclude that Faust, as a mere a human who is subject to the will of higher entities, cannot be held responsible for his actions. However, just as modern science can reasonably explain what used to be perceived as "fantastic," Faust can be held responsible for the sins he commits, as all of his sins are performed consciously. One must keep in mind, however, that Faust's wrongs are committed while pursuing the innocent, insatiable thirst for knowledge. Therefore, the reader/audience is at odds about Faust's fate. Faust's near damnation can be considered in many different lights. There is no clear-cut way to decide if Faust is deserving of damnation.

      In the Prologue in Heaven, the reader/audience learns of the challenge between God and Mephistopheles. When speaking of Faust, God says, "He serves me, these days, in bewilderment. But soon I shall lead him into the light." (Faust, 16) This is followed by Mephistopheles challenging, "What will you bet? You'll lose him yet, If only you will let me have the chance to usher him discreetly down my street." (Faust, 16) Through this scene in Heaven, the reader becomes aware of the fact that in every individual's life, he/she will be blown off course of his/her "right path." God and Mephistopheles simply exaggerate this natural passing by establishing a formal bet. Such a scene employs hyperbole in order to make the basis of Faust plausible for the reader/audience. Initially, it is easy for the reader/audience to believe that Faust will be subjected to the whim of these two higher beings, and therefore his actions will be inhuman. However, in recognizing that each man/woman is incapable of perfection and following God's will all the time, the deal between the two entities is easily understood. Mephistopheles can be perceived as the physical form of Faust's "bad conscience" - who allows Faust to act upon his whims and fantasies. Mephistopheles enables Faust to perform acts that Faust had only dreamed about in the past. One cannot help but feel sorry for Faust as he becomes enraptured by his power and forgets his responsibilities once he is no longer perceived as simply and exclusively a scholar.

      The Faustian bargain that Goethe presents is not a "lose - lose" situation as in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, but rather a fallacy - for although Faust believes that he dictates the terms of dealing with Mephistopheles, this is not the case. When Mephistopheles finds himself unable to leave Faust's study, Faust exclaims "That was a real piece of luck! And you're my prisoner because of that? It was only an accident!" (Faust, 72) This sets the stage for the deal between Faust and Mephistopheles. Faust believes that he establishes the terms of his contract with Mephistopheles; however, their entire relationship is completely fabricated by Mephistopheles, who is the physical embodiment of Faust's "bad conscience:" the young, uninhibited daredevil. Faust combines forces with Mephistopheles in his mind, to inspire the "most excruciating ecstasy, Enamored hatred, stirring discontent…" (Faust, 89) Therefore, when the contract is signed between Faust and Mephistopheles, Faust fails to recognize the extent to which Mephistopheles will affect him.

      Mephistopheles follows Faust throughout Faust's dealings with Gretchen. Without Mephistopheles, Faust would never have acted as he did. Until Mephistopheles is acknowledged by Faust, Faust would have been content to simply fantasize about such acts, rather than doing them. A witches' potion causes Faust's infatuation with Gretchen, and this infatuation spurs Faust to bear false witness in order to speak with her. Mephistopheles convinces Faust that the only way to see Gretchen is by testifying to Martha that he saw Martha's husband perish. Mephistopheles presents an "all or nothing" situation to Faust: lie to Gretchen and Martha or be void of love (Faust, 179)! Once again, Faust falls prey to Mephistopheles. If Faust had been more aware of his "good conscience," then he would have been able to uphold his previous moral standards. However, this is one of the fundamental Christian beliefs: that each man/woman has free will - that he/she can turn away from God. However, his/her "true path" is eternal, as is God's love.

      The three deaths that occur in Faust (Gretchen's mother, Gretchen's brother [Valentine], and Gretchen's baby) are all indirectly connected to Faust. There is a common thread between the three - and that is the manipulation or perceived manipulation of the situation by Mephistopheles. The reader does not know what caused Gretchen's mother's death. However, one assumes that the flask that Faust gave Gretchen to give to her mother in order to "sleep a deep and pleasing sleep" (Faust, 211) had an effect on her health. As previously discussed, although Faust would have felt the desire to spend the night with Gretchen, he would have never acted upon such desire without the elated feeling of power that Mephistopheles provided. The reader suspects that the contents of the flask were provided by Mephistopheles, and inflicted harm on Gretchen's mother, which adds to the reader/audience's characterization of Mephistopheles' negative (one can even say evil) influence on Faust. Even if the contents of the flask did not physically harm Gretchen's mother, and she died a natural death, there is still the guilt that during her deep sleep, her daughter, Gretchen, conceived a bastard child. Faust is responsible for the death of Valentine because Faust's knife delivered the fatal blow to Valentine's chest. As Valentine lunged at Faust with the intent to kill, Mephistopheles caused Valentine's hand to go lame, and upon Mephistopheles' order ("Lunge!" [Faust, 226]), Faust attacked Valentine. Valentine was stabbed and died on his mother's doorstep. Faust surely did not like Valentine - and may have even wished for his death, but it was the power the Mephistopheles gave to Faust's inner desires that allowed mere contentions to become actions. Without supernatural means, Faust would not have been able to physically fight with Valentine - for with words as his only weapons, Faust would have quickly fallen to Valentine's sword. Finally, Gretchen drowned her child under a cloud of grief for the loss of her lover Faust. Although learned, Faust did not have the interpersonal skills to comprehend Gretchen's sorrow. At this point, Faust surely wished that he did - for it would allow him to understand his lover's feelings. The fact that Faust was unable to understand Gretchen's pain shows how on a superficial basis as Faust's "bad conscience," Mephistopheles, is able to act upon previous feelings, but unable to manipulate Faust's deeply ingrained beliefs and insights. Although responsible for the conception of Gretchen's child, it was Gretchen's own incapacity to deal with the consequence of her actions that drove her to kill her child, not Faust. In none of the three situations dealing with death did Faust actually intend to inflict death, rather Mephistopheles, the physical embodiment of Faust's "bad conscience," allowed inner feelings to be acted upon. Since Faust was the agent but not the cause of the deaths, he cannot be held responsible for them.

      Because of Mephistopheles, the powerful physical form of Faust's own "bad conscience," Faust impulsively acted contrary to his previous scholarly behavior. Faust does not deserve damnation, for had he not been faced with such seductive power, he would not have acted upon his fleeting thoughts that are accompanied with grave consequences.

Counter Argument
      In order to blame Faust for all that occurs in Goethe's Faust, one must turn to an older model of Hell and credence. If one holds the belief that every man and women always possesses free will, even when faced with great cosmic temptations of power, then Faust in every way deserves damnation.

      Faust brought himself to a state of hysteria by fostering the feeling that he no longer had a purpose in life. This can be partially attributed to his lack of faith in his life- for even when suffering from deep despair, Faust refused to turn to God. When seeking death or intervention from a higher power, Faust turned to the only source of power he could find, that being Mephistopheles, the physical form of his own superficial, negative emotions and desires. Faust was not strong enough to ignore Mephistopheles' tempting tricks.

      Not only did Faust bring about his personal corruption and moral destruction, but he also manipulated the pious young lady Gretchen (and made her no better than the whores of her town!). Faust and Gretchen acted upon their desires, in complete denial of any reverence and respect to the Lord. They drugged Gretchen's mother so that way they could share the same bed. Later, Faust later stabbed Gretchen's brother, Valentine. Valentine did mean to harm Faust out of concern for his sister, but in the eyes of God, murder is still murder. Finally, after the conception of their child, Faust disappeared with Mephistopheles, his inner partner in crime. This left Gretchen with an illegitimate child. In her helpless situation, Gretchen drowned her baby. Finally, while in prison awaiting her punishment, she found the path to salvation from which she had strayed so long ago. Not once did Faust reflect upon his actions and recognize his wrongdoing. Faust never felt the desire to uncover his personal path set out by God.

      Even upon hearing Gretchen's decision to die in order to reconcile with God, Faust does not acknowledge his sins. For such a learned man, Faust fails to grasp such a simple moral distinction between right and wrong.

      In the Prologue in Heaven, the Lord tells Mephistopheles that, "A good man, struggling in his darkness, Still knows the one true way." (Faust, 18) Not only did Faust run rampant with Mephistopheles' seductive power to manipulate situations, but Faust also did not follow through with God's divine plan for him. Faust failed to recognize a God, and throughout his life, was selfish in his desires. Faust acted on the notion that "Feeling is everything," (Faust, 207), and this active denial of God left no other option but for Faust to squander eternity as a damned soul.