A Psychological and Archetypal Analysis
Goethe’s Tragedy of *Faust*
Part Two — *Faust I* (The Journey Inward)
Aydin Areta

The ageing Faust is tired of life and the world. He is ready for death, but instead of death he meets Mephistopheles, and his life begins. Faust becomes young again and sets out travelling with Mephistopheles in search of something on earth that can bring him satisfaction of the heart. If he finds it, his soul will belong to Mephistopheles.

Faust falls in love with a beautiful and simple young woman named Margaret, yet ultimately becomes responsible for her social condemnation and death. The first part of the tragedy of *Faust* is a journey inward and a discovery of the complexities of the psyche along the path of knowing the Self and individuation. It is a story of the destruction of innocence and childhood, growing beyond the sensory pleasures of this world, overcoming traditions, liberation from society’s judgement, self-judgement and guilt. The second part of the tragedy is the arena of Faust’s action in life after he returns from the journey of the soul.