Free Will or Destiny: the Problem of Free Will Versus Predestination and Its Representation in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

Human nature has always been a mystery. Whether we are conducted by individual impulses or subject to a greater force called destiny? We have our assumptions but no one knows the answer indeed. Christopher Marlowe lived in a time when religious dogmas overwhelmed society - nevertheless, the rebellious playwright raised some of the burning questions we would never dare to ask about. He realised that the case should not be simply about original sin but it has to say something about our wavering nature and inherent possibilities as well. The rumours and taboos left the people in a quandary but at the same time, the Elizabethan era was labelled by the increasing power of self-consciousness. Marlowe gives an analysis about this dual characteristic in his play Doctor Faustus confronting the basic tenets of Calvin, Luther, Erasmus and such. Whether Faustus is guilty or not? He is not attempting to give an overall answer - all he does is depicting a great personality who is destroyed by his own passion and ambition. Marlowe detects the pros and cons just as we do if we seek after self-knowledge. This book is for those who are the same.