How Far Do You Think Faustus Can Be Seen To Be A Free Thinker And What Elements Of The Fatalist Do We See In His Character? How Do These Traits Reflect The Contemporary Thinking Of The Sixteenth Century?.
The character of Dr Faustus is one of many contradictions. One of these disputes is whether he is a free thinker or a fatalist. There is evidence throughout the play to suggest both and Faustus" character is throughout ambiguous to his own temperament and beliefs. A fatalist believes their life is predetermined and that their aspirations are limited, whilst a free thinker would have more academic aspirations and make conscious decisions. Faustus, throughout the play, shows both qualities to certain extents, making it difficult to determine whether his character is a fatalist or a free thinker.
Scene 1 sees Faustus contemplating his future studies. He uses rational thought throughout his argument, giving reason for dismissing each subject, "too serile and illiberal for me". This use of rational reasoning and thought can be used to suggest Faustus" freethinking temperament. However, much of Faustus" reasoning is backed by fatalist views.
During the same argument in scene 1, Faustus contemplates philosophy. He questions the Bible's claim that "the reward of sin is death". Faustus continues to deduce his own opinion which, in many ways, can be seen to be fatalistic. Faustus says "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us". This statement suggests that Faustus believes people are born to sin and therefore damnation is predetermined. This is very much an aspect of Faustus" fatalistic personality which also reflects upon beliefs of the 16th Century.
Fatalism, during the 16th Century, was part of the Calvinist religion. The religion taught that everyone is born sinners and every attempt to repent is selfish and therefore a sin. Calvinists believed everyone, other than a select group of people, known as the "elite", are predetermined to be damned.
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