'Marlowe exposes the corruption of religious beliefs and practices.' In the light of this statement about Doctor Faustus, explore how Marlowe presents ideas about religion. (60)
Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus was first performed in 1592 under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I of England, a devout Protestant. This religious climate had a powerful influence on many ideas in the play, most notably the strong themes of anti-Catholicism. Ever since the Protestant Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther’s ‘95 Theses’, England had swing like a pendulum between the two denominations of Christianity, with the current opposing group being persecuted by the other. This is evident in Doctor Faustus, as Marlow uses many scenes to mock the Pope and the Catholic faith. Protestants at this time spoke out against corruption in the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church, including the doctrine of transubstantiation and religious icons. Marlowe uses much of this anti-Catholic feeling in England in the late 16th century to engage the audience and enhance some of Doctor Faustus’ central themes. In the words of Kirsten Pool (2006) ‘The play lies at a cultural and theological nexus, where residual modes of Catholicism intersected and competed with emerging concepts of Protestantism’.
In the opening scene of the play, Faustus is contemplating which profession he should adopt in order to achieve the greatest possible ends. He considers philosophy, medicine and law before he moves on to theology, or ‘divinity’ as he calls it. ‘Jerome’s Bible, Faustus, view it well’, he says as he ponders the subject. This mention of ‘Jerome’s Bible’, otherwise known as the Latin Vulgate, is particularly important in this scene. Before the rise of Protestantism in England, the Catholic Church had strictly prohibited the use of any other Bible translations but the Latin Vulgate, enforcing the idea that ordinary people only had access to God through the clergy. Protestant reformers like Martin Luther and William Tyndale spoke out against this idea, exposing its corruption and translating the Bible into their own languages. However, in 1538, an English translation of the Bible was authorised by King Henry VIII, which was one factor involved in the English Reformation, beginning around this time. Marlowe’s audience would have immediately understood this reference to Catholicism and might have even agreed with Faustus’ ‘What doctrine call you this?’ in regard to the Catholic faith. Indeed, even Faustus’ erroneous interpretation of the essential Christian doctrine as he says ‘Why, then, belike we must sin and so consequently die’, may have struck a chord with the audience in terms of current doctrinal debate. Even this early on in the play, Marlowe takes the opportunity to tune in to the palpable religious and political tensions of the time.
Similarly, Marlow uses subtle connotations to present the Catholic Church as deplorable in the mind of his audience. First, when Faustus first conjures the devil Mephostophilis in Scene Three, Faustus declares that Mephostophilis is ‘too ugly to attend on [him][’ and bids him ‘Go, and return an old Franciscan friar’. As innocuous as this may seem, the reference to a ‘Franciscan friar’ is once again an invisible arrow. Franciscan friars were members of an order founded by St. Francis of Assisi, a venerated Catholic figure. The way this Catholic character is ironically connected with Mephostophilis clearly shows Marlowe’s Protestant opinion of the Catholic Church. In addition, just a little later on in Scene Four, we see the conversation between Wagner, Faustus’ servant, and Robin, a vagrant. In one of Robin’s lines, he says ‘Yes, marry, sir, and I thank you too’, ‘marry’ being an exclamation meaning ‘by the Virgin Mary’. The fact that this very Catholic expression is being used by such a low class, vulgar member of society undoubtedly cultivates the idea that Catholicism is disgusting and detestable. Through these small, seemingly insignificant allusions to Catholicism in very choice circumstances, Marlowe manages to put the audience in just the right anti-Catholic mindset to receive his next and greatest offence against the Catholic Church.
In the opening scene of Act Three, the audience meets the character of Pope Adrian for the first time. Pope Adrian is presented as an exceedingly proud, arrogant and conceited man, shown by lines such as ‘Sound trumpets, then, for thus Saint Peter’s heir/From Bruno’s back ascends Saint Peter’s chair’ and ‘Is not all power on earth bestow’d on us?’ Pope Adrian’s insistence on referring to himself in relation to ‘Saint Peter’ and using the royal ‘we’ show how highly he thinks of himself. The Pope is, in fact, so incredibly pompous that he appears comical. Therefore, when the audience laughs at the Pope, they are indeed laughing at the Catholic Church- and such was Marlowe’s intention, to be sure. Poole comments that ‘The Pope is presented as the butt of the joke here, and his authority is thus called into question’. However, the Pope appears less comical at times, with ominous lines such as ‘It is enough’ after Faustus and Mephostophilis, in clerical guise, have declared that Bruno the Heretic shall be ‘on a pile of faggots burnt to death’. This chilling show of self-importance is Marlowe’s way of showing us the corruption of the Catholic Church. The Pope is indifferent to actual morals and cares for nothing but preserving the appearance of his own supremacy. The irony is seasoned particularly well when Pope Adrian condemns the Emperor of becoming ‘too proud in his authority,/Lifting his lofty head above the clouds’ and declaring that ‘we’ll pull down his haughty insolence’. This dialogue is saturated with hypocrisy, something which the audience clearly senses. Marlowe presents Pope Adrian’s belief in his own supremacy as ridiculous and loathsome, an idea which ‘unfortunately’ leaks out to drip all over the very real Catholic Church.
Furthermore, in Scene Two of Act Three, Faustus and Mephostophilis proceed to make a complete and unabashed mockery of the Pope and his various underlings. ‘Who snatch’d the meat from me?’ Pope Adrian exclaims, then ‘My wine gone too?’ This slapstick comedy appears quite silly to a modern audience, as it completely subverts Faustus’ dark, sinister character. However, it is important to remember that a Protestant, Elizabethan audience would have seen Faustus in a heroic light for performing these deeds. The average good, reformed Elizabethan would have hated the Pope just as much as Faustus, therefore Marlowe’s portrayal of Pope Adrian and therefore all Catholic beliefs and practices, is welcome and humorous. Likewise, one Archbishop in the scene observes ‘I think it be/Some ghost crept out of purgatory, and now/Is come unto your Holiness for his pardon’. The mock seriousness with which an actor would perform this line is indeed laughable, for the idea of ‘purgatory’ and a ‘pardon’ from ‘[His] Holiness’ seems perfectly absurd. Poole observes that a ‘Protestant audience… might view purgatory as a papist superstition’. The scene descends into complete farce when a parade of friars chant ‘Cursed be he that stole his Holiness’ meat from the table’. By this point, it is easy to imagine the audience in such hysterics that even the word ‘mass’ would send them into fits.
Nevertheless, despite the entertainment provided by this scene, Marlowe is communicating a grave and powerful message. Religion was a very serious source of controversy at this time, and to ridicule the Catholic Church in this way was no light-hearted joke. Marlowe wanted to convey the genuine corruption, even evil, of the Catholic Church, both their doctrine and their practices. In addition, by presenting Catholicism as inherently bad, Marlowe is inadvertently presenting Protestantism as good. Although there is no talk of Reformist Protestant ideas, such as justification through faith or predestination, in Doctor Faustus, it is evident that Protestantism is the necessary antidote to the supposed poison of Catholicism. Therefore, Marlowe is not exposing the corruption of all religious beliefs and practices, he is specifically attacking the Catholic faith and doctrine. He presents religion as an integral and dominant part of life and society, an idea which an Elizabethan audience would have accepted without question. It is specifically Catholicism which is in the noose in Doctor Faustus, though it is difficult to say how much of this theme is a product of its time and how much is Marlowe’s personal convictions.
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