At the end of Faust I Faust turns on Mephistopheles because Gretchen is imprisoned and suffering because of his actions. Note that this is also a part of the play where the verse that all the characters speak in breaks down and becomes simple prose—a sign that something has gone wrong. However, at the end of Part I, as Faust tries to rescue Gretchen from prison, she is carried away by angels with the declaration “She is saved” (Faust I XXV.4612). In an early draft, she was judged and condemned. What logic does the play offer for why, in its final draft, Gretchen would be saved, both from prison and from damnation?
