Forest and Cavern

Faust alone in a forest cave, addressing the Earth Spirit — the great spirit that once repulsed him in the study but has now given him what he asked for: nature, feeling, the power to enjoy the world at the level of something close to the gods. He is grateful, genuinely. Then he adds the qualification: along with all of this has come the companion he cannot do without and cannot stand. Mephistopheles, the cold force who fans Faust's desire into flame and then stands by while it burns.

Mephistopheles arrives. The solitude, he notes, is impressive — playing the philosopher in a cave, dripping water, bats overhead — but what is Faust actually doing with himself? Is this enjoyment? The sage routine gets stale. He delivers the news from the world outside: Gretchen is at home, in a state. She loves him deeply and barely functions. She watches the door. She stands at the window. Her mother has died — from the sleeping draught, Mephistopheles does not say explicitly, but the implication is there. The neighborhood gossip has begun.

Faust is furious and horrified. He demands to be left alone. Mephistopheles is sardonic and exact: who lit this fire? Who let it take hold? Faust cannot answer. He cannot stay in the cave and cannot face going to Gretchen. He oscillates between disgust at Mephistopheles and desire for Gretchen and guilt about what he has set in motion. Mephistopheles, watching, is pleased with how well the situation is developing.