y that a significant portion of Marlowes original text has been lost over the years, and that we are missing the actual ending of the play. Despite this fact, however, ample symbolism exists to gather Marlowes intended meaning and message for this play. Marlowe desired this to stand as an example of exactly what human greed and pride can do when mixed with a healthy dose of avoiding considering the long-term consequences. Faustus is a shortsighted man who would give his very soul, and his relationship with his creator to capture power that is not rightfully his. St. Augustine writes: If the soul should go out of its way to produce a false imitation of God, and to will to take pleasure in its own powerthat is pride, the beginning of all sin, and the beginning of the pride of man is to fall off from God (Cole 195). It was clearly Marlowes intent to show Faustus pride; Faustus actions are not at all hidden from the reader. The irony in Doctor Faustus, however, is hidden. Faustus sells his soul in an attempt to gain the power to control what shall be (Cole 198), and then, in the pit of his despair, he begins to think that he has controlled nothing, and that he received the short end of the bargain. Faustus, however, was wholly aware that he would be damned, and by selling his soul, actually willed that damnation would come to him, even if damnation was only a consequence of his actions. The irony, of course, is that Faustus will was made to be.Despite all that is hidden however, this play has surprisingly little room to hide it in. Many critics have commented on the lack of depth contained within the dialogue or its two-dimensionality (Ellis-Fermor 69). The idea that the text is in fact two-dimensional may stem from the fact that most do not read fully into the loss communicated within the discourse carried on between Faustus and Mephistophilis. To fully understand this dialogue one must surpass the shallow meanings of the play as being a...
