A late-1960s British National Theatre stage production of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus

How to Sell Your Soul to the Devil

The origin of a popular myth…and pact

A recent New York Times column, “How to Sell Your Soul to Donald Trump,” referenced the popular legend of the wizard Faust making a pact to serve Satan in exchange for power and renown. The idea of selling your soul to the devil is among the most familiar tropes in Western culture — but where does it actually come from?

There are many versions of the Faust drama, most notably those by playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593) and philosopher Goethe (1749–1832). The latter is widely regarded as the dramatically superior and more subtle of the two.

Irish artist Harry Clarke’s 1925 depiction of Goethe’s Faust with Master

Marlowe was writing partly in the vein of a backlash against the occult revival of Renaissance. His drama is a lyrically beautiful if simplistic morality tale about the dangers of dabbling in dark forces, for which his protagonist Dr Faustus pays with damnation. Goethe’s play Faust is more psychologically and ethically complex. In it, Mephistopheles and Faust circle each other, sharklike, neither quite trusting the other. They finally strike a bargain in which the Dark Lord agrees to give Faust unbounded happiness and knowledge — with a peculiar catch that binds…