Research Note

Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus

Volume: 20 Number: 1 April 6, 2026
TR EN

Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus

Abstract

The present article posits that the employment of sacred language by Faustus can be interpreted as a manifestation of his existential defiance of both theological determinism and the narrative of salvation. Faustus’s work is characterised by a juxtaposition of two contrasting figures: Christ’s sacrificial submission and the self-authored descent into damnation. Within this framework, Faustus constructs a pseudo-theological temporality that effectively collapses the eschatological promise of Christianity. The present study draws on exegetical interpretations of John 19:30 to explore how Faustus’ selective and distorted use of scripture constitutes a wilful rejection of grace. The study goes on to situate Faustus’ trajectory within both doctrinal and phenomenological frameworks, examining his descent into despair through Gerard H. Cox’s theological model of sin against the Holy Ghost (1973) and Edward W. Snow’s ontological account of subjectivity and lack (1977). In this way, Faustus emerges not only as a figure of intellectual and spiritual hubris but also as a tragic cipher of early modern secularity, suspended between the collapse of metaphysical certainty and the unfulfilled promise of agency. The analysis contributes to contemporary debates in theology, Renaissance tragedy and phenomenology by tracing how the undoing of salvation in Doctor Faustus reveals the limits of free will, the aesthetics of despair, and the unresolved tension between divine order and human desire.

Keywords

References

  1. Cox, G. H. (1973). Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and “Sin against the Holy Ghost.” Huntington Library Quarterly, 36(2), 119-137. https://doi.org/10.2307/3817245
  2. Greenblatt, S. (1980). Renaissance self-fashioning: From More to Shakespeare. University of Chicago Press.
  3. Hylen, S. E. (2015). John 19:30—It is finished: A rhetorical and theological reading. Biblical Interpretation, 23(4-5), 599-612. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43900901
  4. Konradt, M. (2014). Jesus’ death as the fulfilment of Scripture in the Gospel of John. Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses, 90(4), 737-760. https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?id=3183419
  5. Kuwornu-Adjaottor, J. E. T. (2019). The meaning and significance of Tetelestai in John 19:30 [Unpublished manuscript]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337415360
  6. Marlowe, C. (2003). The complete plays (F. Romany & R. Lindsey, Eds.). Penguin.
  7. Snow, E. A. (1977). Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and the ends of desire. In A. Kernan (Ed.) Two Renaissance mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture

Journal Section

Research Note

Publication Date

April 6, 2026

Submission Date

August 3, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 6, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 20 Number: 1

APA
Çapkın, N. (2026). Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 20(1), 174-183. https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1757475
AMA
1.Çapkın N. Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. CUJHSS. 2026;20(1):174-183. doi:10.47777/cankujhss.1757475
Chicago
Çapkın, Nazım. 2026. “Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus”. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 20 (1): 174-83. https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1757475.
EndNote
Çapkın N (April 1, 2026) Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 20 1 174–183.
IEEE
[1]N. Çapkın, “Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus”, CUJHSS, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 174–183, Apr. 2026, doi: 10.47777/cankujhss.1757475.
ISNAD
Çapkın, Nazım. “Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus”. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 20/1 (April 1, 2026): 174-183. https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1757475.
JAMA
1.Çapkın N. Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. CUJHSS. 2026;20:174–183.
MLA
Çapkın, Nazım. “Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus”. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 20, no. 1, Apr. 2026, pp. 174-83, doi:10.47777/cankujhss.1757475.
Vancouver
1.Nazım Çapkın. Apostasy and Phenomenology of Desire in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. CUJHSS. 2026 Apr. 1;20(1):174-83. doi:10.47777/cankujhss.1757475

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