PEACE as Faust

James Jordan · 05 Oct 2002, 20:15 · from urth-v0210.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at cox.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) PEACE as Faust
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 15:15:07 -0500
Message-ID: <urth-v0210-1808 at digest.urth.net>
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Let me see if I've got you right:

At 08:32 AM 10/4/2002, Stone Ox wrote:

>  Shortly after that, an image suddenly hit me that connects Peace
>to Faust.  The image is the one at the end of many versions of Faust, with
>the devil dragging Faust down to hell as Margrete looks down from Heaven=20
>(or ascends to Heaven) and prays for him to be saved. The connection, of=20
>course, is to the end of the book, where, while Aunt Olivia calls Weer on =
the
>intercom, Weer makes the fatal error of looking to the enchanted headrest =
of
>the Chinese philosopher (and thus reliving his afterlife) rather than pray=
ing
>to Jesus for salvation.   So we have the identification of Olivia with
>Margrete, and Weer with Faust.  More on this identification later.
>
>Is this really the right interpretation of the ending, leaving the ghost of
>Weer caught eternally in purgatory, while Olivia has ascended to heaven?  =
It
>seems right to me, but I have only a few pieces of evidence for this:

snip

>Next, at the end of the Chinese philosopher's story, we find the passage:
>"Fool!" the old man exclaimed.  "Do you not recognize me?  I have granted
>your heart's desire, and for it I receive your ingratitude!"
>Is this not also a plausible response to somebody who has turned down the
>offer of eternal life?

         So, tell me: Weer is Faust. He has been granted his heart's desire=20
for an eternal life, and he has it. He is doomed to walk through his life=20
over and over forever. He's not in purgatory, but hell. Is that it?


Nutria


--=20

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