A Alquimia e o Fausto de Goethe

Abstract

Alchemy and Goethe's Faust is a work where the author studies the symbolic and alchemical structure of the masterpiece of Goethe, Faust I and Faust II. The drama develops itself around a number of archetypes (according to the Jungian definition) which establish the relation of the hero, Faust, to others and to himself. From "the small world" to "the great World" he fights the battle of the initial bet God imposed on Mefisto in the heavens (Prolog in Himmel). Faust will be the winner of the bet. The action that redeemed him was the alchemical sublimation that Gretchen and later on Helen symbolized and culminated in the vision of the Eternal Feminine. Faust's way (equal to the alchemical Opus Magnum) went from magical to spiritual alchemy and express Goethe's idea of redemption: supreme self-achievement of the man that never gives up his search for wisdomAvailable from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, Servico de Informacao e Documentacao, Av. D. Carlos I, 126, 1200 Lisboa / FCT - Fundação para o Ciência e a TecnologiaSIGLEPTPortuga