Nevertheless, because his consciousness is so wrapped up with this quest for knowledge, he refuses to acknowledge what he will have to give up in order to acquire it. Also, Faustus never completely devotes himself to the dark side, because if he did, he would not contend that hell does not exist, but would instead accept it as his fate. To Faustus, as long as he perceives hell as "trifles and mere old wives" tales" there is always room to think about God and repenting. Moreover, even if he wanted to change his mind and devote himself to God it seems impossible, because his conscious mind is so easily manipulated by Mephastophilis that he has neither time, nor space to consider what he truly wants. This lack of space creates his lack of inner strength because he is never allowed to think about repenting for too long before he is interrupted with various distractions. This is illustrated on line 82 when Mephastophilis decides to "fetch him somewhat to delight his mind". The crowns, riches and dance provide an immediate distraction for Faustus, and he completely forgets all subliminal thoughts of repenting that had surfaced just moments prior. It seems as though Mephastophilis is aware of the fact that Faustus" lust for power and knowledge is what ultimately controls him because he constantly uses that force to bring him closer to hell.
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Faustus" lack of inner strength is predominantly shown through his subconscious .
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struggles in several ways. First of all, the presence of the good and evil angels is the ultimate illustration of the battle that exists in Faustus" head. The good angel urges Faustus to repent and return to God and in many ways represents his conscience, while the evil angel gives reasons against repenting and serves as the evil half of Faustus" conscience. It can then be assumed that if Faustus really wanted to completely commit himself to Lucifer, there would be no internal struggle and therefore no angels; but instead the angels are fighting for the will of Faustus.