Faustian Deal in The Woman in White, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and D

The Faustian deal and subsequent fall is a common theme throughout literature, and with each new iteration sheds increased light on the character of the individual and of society. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson are all texts which exhibit the Faustian deal and descent, complete with Doctor Faustus and Mephistopheles counterparts. Sir Percival Glyde, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Edward Hyde are all characters who are ultimately lead to their moral downfalls by their respective Mephistopheles counterparts. Specifically, the characters of Sir Percival Glyde, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Henry Jekyll fulfill and contrast the Faustian archetype, who are aided in their moral descent by their Mephistopheles foils, Count Fosco, Lord Henry Wotton, and Mr. Edward Hyde respectively. The characters of the different novels will be compared against one another and a discourse about what their varying motivation s reveal about their respective moral compasses will be conducted. Among other vices the characters exhibit, vanity plays a prime part in their individual development. Vanity is a detriment on the individual, and serves as a driving force behind the three character’s motivations, ultimately leading to their respective downfalls. At its core, the Faustian deal is a contract between an individual who aspires to be or achieve a type of greatness and a devil who enables the individual to do so at a severe cost. There are different versions, including the original German legend, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust and Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Most typically, as in the case of the titular Faust of leg... ...pr. 2014. Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. 2nd ed. New York: Signet Classics, 2010. Print. Puhvel, Martin. "Mephostophilis's Manipulation of Faustus." English Studies 71.1 (1990): 1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 02 May 2014. Sanyal, Arundhati. "Taboo in The Picture of Dorian Gray." The Taboo. Ed. Harold Bloom and Blake Hobby. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. 147-56. Print. Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. New Lanark: Waverley, 2008. Print. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Joseph Bristow. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Yirinec, Jennifer A. "Re-Envisioning the Faust Legend: Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill's Doctor Faustus" Literature Film Quarterly 41.1 (2013): 67-76. Literary Reference Center. Web. 03 May 2014.