The Faustian "Gretchen": overlooked aspects of a famous male fantasy

This essay takes issue, on the one hand, with the traditional interpretation of Goethe's Margarete as representing the Natural, the Naïve, and the selflessly loving feminine as well as, on the other hand, the feminist interpretation of Margarete as a male fantasy figure who props up the masculine self-perception of the male as a dominant and titanic "striver." Both interpretative tendencies overlook the close analogy with which Margarete's aspirations and behaviour mirror Faust's own regarding a shared readiness to rebel, break all the rules, and dare the ultimate, which gives Margarete her own independent agenda, makes her an individual in her own right. In this light the three key paradigms of femininity – Madonna, whore/witch, and nature – which shape the presentation of this character are investigated, as well as the relation of the "Gretchentragödie" to notions of the classical, the role of sexual fulfilment in Margarete's decision-making, and the significance of this character's two names. The essay concludes that, excepting the area of intellectualised self-consciousness, Margarete must be regarded as a striving individual who engages in autonomous activity, which much previous criticism has made the domain of the self-determined modern male subject.