Within Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘Doctor Faustus’, the protagonist describes the demon Mephastophilis as being a ‘bewitching fiend’. This description seams very apt due to Mephastophilis being a fiend in the literal sense; he is a supernatural creature; a demon and servant of the devil. Indeed, it can be seen that he is bewitching due to the way in which he puts Faustus under the illusion that his damnation is inevitable and that there is no hope of redemption. Although, it may be said that Mephastophilis does have some redeemable qualities. These include his empathetic warning to Faustus to not undertake his contract with the devil and his strong sense of loyalty. Therefore, it can be questioned whether Mephastophilis is truly a ‘bewitching fiend’, or whether he is merely a dammed soul who must follow his duty.
Mephastophilis is characterised as being a spirt who was ‘dammed with Lucifer’ for trying to rebel against god and thus is confined to spend eternity in hell. In this sense then Mephastophilis can clearly be seen as being a fiend due to the purpose of his existence being to prey upon ‘glorious souls’. When Faustus attempts to repent Mephastophilis threatens to ‘tear thy flesh’ and then encourages Faustus to commit suicide ‘quickly, with unfeigned heart’ to quicken the completion of his contract. Not only does this harsh imagery reflect his violent and aggressive nature, but also shows the way in which he uses pavlovian style condition to bewitch Faustus. Marlowe uses a repeated sequence of four to emphasis the subtly way in which Mephastophilis convinces Faustus he has no hope of redemption. The sequence follows that Faustus doubts the actions he has done, he is influenced by the evil angel or Mephastophilis, Faustus becomes ‘resolved’ and is then rewarded by a show of physical pleasures. When questioned, Mephastophilis describes these shows as being ‘nothing Faustus, but to delight thy mind’. This shows a trait of Mephastophilis which is to tell the truth and yet a lie at the same time. These spectacles of parading demons and ‘rich apparel’ are to delight Faustus but they do not mean ‘nothing’. They are intended to encourage Faustus to not doubt his actions and to focus on the pleasures of the physical world; the only thing he retains control over. Therefore, it can be seen that Mephastophilis is both ‘bewitching’ and a ‘fiend’ thus matching Faustus’s description within the play.
On the other hand, it can be said that Mephastophilis possesses some redeemable features which prevent him from becoming an entirely malevolent figure. Mephastophilis inspires a certain sympathy within the audience, mainly for the fact that he has suffered eternal damnation for a single mistake. This mistake is that of going against god, one which Faustus intends to make. As a result he makes an empathetic plea to Faustus to ‘leave these frivolous demands, which strike a terror to my fainting soul’. This suggests that Mephastophilis possesses some degree of compassion and is not completely heartless. It also reminds the audience that he is still has a soul and therefore still retains feelings and emotions. This reduces his power as a gothic villain within the play since he does not have a destructive monomania against humanity. Although, this multi-layer characterisation of Mephastophilis may in fact be incompatible with the morality play structure of ‘Doctor Faustus’. In traditional medieval morality plays, upon which ‘Doctor Faustus’ can be seen as being based, characterisation is usually limited and, apart from the protagonist, characters are seen to be symbolic of ideas rather than personalities to be developed. Therefore, Marlowe may have intentionally have made Mephastophilis appear a ‘bewitching fiend’ to be symbolic of the horrors and trickery of servants of the devil.
Although, these sympathies towards Mephastophilis are extended by the cause of his suffering being that of loyalty. Mephastophilis confesses how he was one of the ‘unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer/ Conspired against our God with Lucifer/ And are for ever damned with Lucifer’. Marlowe’s use of repetition here of Lucifer highlights the attachment between the pair and how he has remained loyal to him throughout his condemnation. This strong devotion is contrasted with that of Faustus who happily switches masters from God to Lucifer for personal gain. This suggests that Mephastophilis, a supernatural demon, possesses greater moral strength than that of Faustus, who can be seen as being symbolic of humanity as a whole. Therefore, reduces the validity of the description of Mephastophilis being merely a ‘bewitching fiend’. However, loyalty may be seen as being a respectable characteristic among a modern audience, but to its original Elizabethan audience, conspiring against god would have been seen as an unforgivable sin. Hence, to an original audience Mephastophilis will have been seen as a terrifying ‘fiend’ and not as a relatable villain.
Clearly, Mephastophilis does appear to possess some redeemable features within the play that reduce his status as a dominating gothic villain. However, Faustus’s description of him being a bewitching fiend’ does appear to be accurate due to his demonic nature and deceit.
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