The Neighbor's House

Marthe is alone, thinking about her husband — he has been gone for years with no word, and she fears she will die a widow, which does not suit her dignity at all. Gretchen arrives at her door, excited: a new casket of jewels has appeared, left at Marthe's house this time. Marthe immediately advises practicality — put them on before the mother has another chance to hand them to the church.

A knock at the door. Mephistopheles enters with the bearing of a respectable gentleman and news for Marthe: her husband Schwerdtlein has died in Padua. He was buried there, he says, under circumstances that were not perfectly respectable — another woman was involved — but the death is genuine. Martha absorbs this with more attention to the inheritance paperwork than to grief. She has her dignity to protect: if her neighbors learn her husband died in another woman's arms, she will be the subject of gossip forever.

She asks Mephistopheles to bring a witness who can certify the death in proper form so she can make the legal arrangements. He promises to return with a friend tomorrow evening. Gretchen, who has been listening with innocent concern for Martha's grief, will also be present. The arrangement is perfect: an assignation engineered under the cover of a neighborly condolence call.