SOURCE: "Faust As a Character and a Type: Changes in Interpretation and Motivation," in his Faust in Literature, Oxford University Press, 1975, pp. 14-33.

In the following excerpt, Smeed traces the development of the Faust character in literature: from a wicked, grasping trickster, to an overreacher lusting for knowledge, to a noble character striving for a knowledge that will correct the injustices of the world.

Le magicien coupable et maudit—l'esthète ambitieux—le 'génie original' tumultueux et passioné—le surhumain ou l'homme intégral selon Goethe—le blasé romantique—l'utopiste d'un monde meilleur—Faust est cela tour à tour, selon le tempérament du poète et l'idéologie en faveur aux diverses époques.¹

Geneviève Bianquis' list is not complete, but it is a useful corrective to the view that the sole or main motivation of most Fausts is the quest for knowledge. The changing attitudes towards...