the iĄaculty oÍ' Graduate Ątudies April, L96[ - MSpace at the ...

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t^
Ivc
früb ciurch genalt;e Scireiben brichilt l+3 "
i¡or d-escriptive :ourposes these }ines rûay bc iaken a1;
thelr literal level describing his cursèd dank hole-
in-the-i,¡arl r^¡here even the li8iit from trre sky breaks
only gloomiLy through ;oainteci windoi{ pânes. However
the und-ersta.nd.in.q of thes= lines ciernancls closer
exa:lina.tj-on. tndeed the uncler-cur3ent of meaning
insisrs upon being reveaLed. The v¡ords rcìas liqbe
Hirmel_srlchtl are rneani to refer io the blessed right,
of heaven to which Faust as yet uni¡ittingly aspires
and v¡hickr breaks groomily through Lhe panes J¡ecau_se
of the sophistica-tion of his present way of life ivhich
fru-strates gra-ce. The image of hght iakes a more
subtre tu-r'n in the same scene r',.¡hen ihe voices oÍ the
nlrn¡rr-
nn.-^l
^ìo
- ^.i' *:- ." +. 1.
crro-r'us or anEcrs st-ngl-ng lne Easrer message force hirn
to refuse t,Ìre cup of suicid-e, Torn betr,reen des.pair
and hope he cries out that he hears -r,he message yet
lacks the faith to aci upon ii:
rtDie Botschaft hörr ich i,r'ohl, allein mir fehlt
der Glaube: rr l+Lt .
I'he linplied iinage is the Light of Grace iLself . tjut
as every'thing musU rÍpen in its tirne a-nd nou before,
i:'austus is not yei, read_y for l,he faith he ciespairs of
having. Again it is Paracelsust principle that rcnow-
ledge rnust corre firsi, to be fo,Lrorved Ìry faith, and only