The Evolution of the Faustian Myth in Western European Culture of the XVII–XVIII Centuries

The article attempts to clarify the trends in the development of the Faustian myth in European culture in the XVII–XVIII centuries in the context of the ideologies of Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment. The origins and further development of the myth are highlighted. Several stages in the history of the Faustian myth are analyzed, each of which was influenced by certain cultural presumptions, ideals and attitudes, which led to its reinterpretation and evolution. It is shown how the image of Faust which arose in the German Protestant environment of the XVI century went from a powerful magician to a hedonist in the XVII–XVIII centuries. During this period, Faust usually serves as a popular hero of puppet theaters and entertainment literature, devoid of any titanic features. Then, under the influence of the Enlightenment ideas and the rise of interest in the national past, the myth of Faust is again actively included in the scholarly culture of Germany in the second half of the XVIII century. It is proved that by the end of the century it is undergoing a new transformation. The image of Faust the scientist begins to gradually replace the images of Faust the magician and Faust the hedonist. The most significant works of the era in which the Faustian myth has found its consistent embodiment are analyzed: the novel by Johann Pfitzer, the unfinished play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, as well as the novel “Faust, His Life, Deeds and Descent into Hell” by Friedrich Maximilian Klinger. It is clarified that Lessing emphasizes the importance of striving for knowledge in full accordance with the pathos of Enlightenment. But later authors raise moral questions about the intrinsic value of this knowledge and talk about the danger of its emancipation from ethical constraints. The works of the Sturm und Drang writers, such as Klinger’s novel, reveal the complex interaction between scientific progress and existential issues. The author argues the influence of Counter-Enlightenment on the evolution of the myth of Faust in line with the Sturm und Drang movement and the ambivalence of the development of this myth in the XVIII century, reflecting the contradictory nature of the spiritual situation of that time.