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Jade Carolina Gonzlez Surez

Mtra. Roco Saucedo Dimas
Ingles III
11/03/2015
The presence of Calvinism in Doctor Faustus and its relevance in the perception of the story
In Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe the concepts of predestination and damnation are
described in a way distinctive of Calvinism and this affects the reading of the play. However,
Calvinism is not the only type of religious belief that is present in Doctor Faustus. It is certain
that Marlowe would have been exposed to many debates between the Calvinist and anti-Calvinist
during his time in Corpus Christi College in Cambridge. His extensive training in theology is
clearly reflected in his plays. This is apparent throughout the whole tragedy, but the very first
scene is where we perceive most of the contrasts between the Anglican background and the
Calvinist one.
Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the forms of Christian practices of
John Calvin. McNeill phrases this belief as that each human being was fated from the beginning
of its life to be damned or saved and then through the workings of faith the subject may come to
knowledge of its fate; however, this does not mean that the subject has influence over its own
salvation (McNeill 32). Frequently the importance and influence of Calvinism in the 16 th century
church is dismissed (Honderich 3). Around the 1580-1590s Cambridge housed most the debates
of Calvinist and anti-Calvinist During the 1590s English Calvinism had been very much in the
ascendant, and nowhere was that ascendancy more obvious than at Cambridge University []

Paradoxically, however, the propagation of such views also helped fuel the anti-Calvinist
sentiment (Tyacke 29); this coincides with the time Marlowe spent in Cambridge.
Marlowe studied at Corpus Christi College with the financial aid of Archbishop Parker who
was one of the writers of the Thirty-nine Articles which affected the teaching of the concept of
predestination; in consequence the schools showed a more Calvinist interpretation of the concept.
The Scholastic Curriculum at Early Seventeenth-century Cambridge stablishes that theology
was the primary frame of reference at Cambridge [] and that theology was still scholastic
(Costelloe 128) and as phrased by Pauline Honderich, with Calvinism the prevailing point of
view (5). So by the end of his studies in 1587 Marlowe, whatever his own beliefs were, had an
integral understanding of Calvinist theology (Honderich 5) that he applies in Doctor Faustus.
This knowledge of Calvinism is clearly appreciated in the first scene of the play, where
Faustus reads from the Vulgate and ponders about its meaning: Jeromes Bible, Faustus, view it
well. / Stipendium peccati mors est. Ha! Stipendium, etc., / the reward of sin is death? Thats
hard (I. i. 38-40). He also thinks that if people believe they are not sinners they are deceived:
Faustus: If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth
in us. Why then, belike we must sin, and so consequently die.
Ay, we must die and everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this? Che sera, sera.
What will be, shall be. Divinity, adieu! (I. i. 42-46).
Faustus interpretation of the passage of the Bible comes close to the Calvinist doctrine of
predestination. This verse appears to doom humans from the beginning of their lives. So this
would mean that there is no consequence for Faustus to make a deal with Mephostophilis to
obtain the knowledge he desires before hi soul goes to hell. However, the presence of the Good
Angel and the Bad Angel suggest that Faustus has a choice in the matter of where his soul will

go. The Good Angel warns Faustus about the consequences of venturing in the books of
necromancy:
Good Angel: O Faustus, lay that damned book aside
And gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul
And heap Gods heavy wrath upon thy head.
Read, read the scriptures: that is blasphemy. (I. i. 68-71).
But, before the warning of the Good Angel, Faustus mentions his desire of learning this forbidden
knowledge and even if it is his own decision to read the necromancy book he does describe them
as irresistible And necromantic books are heavenly; [] Ay, these are those that Faustus most
desires (I, i, 48-50) his own nature makes him study magic. Faustus constantly reminds himself
of the price he has to pay for the wisdom he gained but he also remarks that he has no intentions
of repent because of his lack of faith:
Faustus: Now, Faustus, must thou needs be damned?
And canst thou no be saved.
What boots it then to think on God or heaven?
Away with such vain fancies, and despair;
Despair in God, and trust in Belzebub []
To God? He loves thee not (II. i. 1-10).
This lack of faith, however, does not affect whether or no his soul would be damned. That
decision is only Gods.
Although this reading of the play gives a logical explication of why Faustus went to hell in the
end even though he repented, it takes away the depth that both the play and the main character
possess. The implications of the Anglican doctrinesthe idea of redemption and free will
portrayed by the Good Angel give the play its tragic sense. If we were not able to perceive all

opportunities that are given to Faustus to repent it would be impossible to evoke any reaction
from his death. Also because Faustus is not evil, he is capable of good:
Old man: Do not persever in it like a devil
Yet, yet, thou hast an amiable soul
In sin by custom grow not into nature:
Then, Faustus, will repentance come too late (V. i. 40-43).
In the end, Marlowes play cannot be appreciated with only one type of theological
perspective. Not only because there are clear reference to different religious point of view but
because the contrast that they make between each other enhances the reading of the text. The play
never comes down on one side or the other of the debate, sometimes portraying Faustus fall as of
his actions or as a result of his fate. Empson thinks that with Faustus The peculiarity of the
mind of Marlowe [was that] it erected absolutely opposed ideals. The unmentionable thing for
which the punishment was death was the proper thing to do (qtd. in Gill xxi).

Works Cited

Costello, William T. The Scholastic Curriculum at Early Seventeenth-century Cambridge.

Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1958. Web. 23 October 2015.
Honderich, Pauline. John Calvin and Doctor Faustus. The Modern Language Review, Vol. 68,
No. 1 (Jan., 1973), pp. 1-13. JSTOR. Web. 23 October 2015.
Marlowe, Christopher. The Plays of Christopher Marlowe. Ed. Roma Gill. Doctor Faustus.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979. 331-389. Print

McNeill, John Thomas. The History and Character of Calvinism. New York: Oxford University
Press. 1954. Print
Pinciss, G. M. Marlowe's Cambridge Years and the Writing of Doctor Faustus. Studies in
English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 33, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring,
1993), pp. 249-264. JSTOR. We. 20 October 2015.
Tyacke, Nicholas. Anti-calvinists: The Rise of the Arminiatism c.1590-1640. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1987.