Rafe and Robin in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (A-text)

Rafe and Robin waltz into Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of D. Faustus in scene four and vanish three scenes later. Although they may appear trivial and even intrusive, Rafe and Robin bring much-needed comic relief to this tragic play. Imitating Doctor Faustus’ actions unwittingly, this pair of ostlers illuminates Faustus’ misuse of power. They also reflect Faustus’ character by acting as his parallel self. Behind their clownish antics, Rafe and Robin highlight Faustus’ downfall and evil’s power through comic relief, parody, and parallel.

According to the Neo-Classical view of tragedies, tragic action is the essence of the play; comic relief is often dismissed as mere filler (Tydeman and Thomas 48). To overturn this view, Rafe and Robin successfully render evil harmless with their lowly jests while Doctor Faustus cannot free himself from evil’s bondage with his great learning. When Mephastophilis transforms the two clowns into an ape and a dog in sc.viii, Robin and Rafe only laugh. This nonchalance dampens the severity of the curses. In sc.iv, when Wagner threatens to turn him into a flea, Robin immediately thinks of a flea’s ability to crawl all over the bodies of women. As Cole remarks, “In the long-range divine scheme of things, evil is essentially both impotent and vulnerable; hence the possibility of looking at it as a laughable degradation”(15). By laughing at evil, Robin and Rafe provide moments of relief in a play overflowing with reminders of damnation. Aside from unpolished laughter, puns also provide comic relief. In sc.iv, when Wagner attempts to enslave Robin, the clown plays on the words “guilders” and “gridirons”; thus, Robin momentarily diverts Wagner’s serious attempt at seizing power over him. In sc.vi, Robin jokes about his ability to “read” his mistress’ “private study” when Rafe remarks on Robin’s illiteracy (20-21). In the same scene, Robin confuses the Devil “Balioll” with “Balio” and ”Banio.” Since Robin is able to conjure lewd yet intelligent puns, it is possible that he only pretends to mix up Balioll’s name so that the Devil becomes a silly entity to be laughed at and not to be feared.

Exposing Faustus’ sins to grotesque exaggeration, Rafe and Robin parody Doctor’s magical tricks. Cole states that “the representatives of the forces of evil and destruction are doomed before they begin; the more confident and boastful they are, the more ludicrous they become; any suffering they experience is but just and deserved”(16). Indeed, as Faustus becomes more boastful of his mastery over the dark arts, Rafe and Robin’s exaggerated imitations demonstrate the absurdity of his abilities. In sc.iv, immediately after Faustus declares his ambitions to become emperor of the world by learning from Mephastophilis, the clown Robin decides to become Wagner’s pupil. This is a parody of serious action, and it undercuts the grandeur of Faustus’ dreams. Faustus marvels at the words of Valdes and Cornelius and daydreams about learning the dark arts from them. Rafe’s naïve reply to his mentor Robin parodies Faustus’ wide-eyed wonder (sc.vi, 37-40): “O brave, Robin! Shall I have Nan Spit, and to mine own use? On that condition I’ll feed thy devil with horse-bread as long as he lives, of free cost.” Faustus’ aspirations, then, become more apparent in their absurdities. The great Doctor has become a victim to evil through self-imposed blindness. With the help of a stolen book of spells, Rafe and Robin play tricks that are similar to those of Faustus’ conjurations. Faustus wishes to use magic to obtain a wife; in sc.vi, Robin and Rafe hope to use their magical abilities to conjure naked maidens and Nan Spit. The clowns’ much less worthy use of magic parodies Faustus’ misuse of power. At the end of the play, Faustus parodies himself and wishes for the beautiful Helen of Troy, thereby showing that the great Doctor is now thinking no differently than the lowly clowns. In Rome, Faustus plays several tricks on the Pope and steals the latter’s dishes. In sc.viii, Robin and Rafe steal the goblet from Vintner. This parody of Faustus’ tricks show that the Doctor has become a performer like the clowns; Faustus is no longer a great thinker who once mastered all the grand subjects of his day.

Functioning as a parallel to Faustus, Rafe and Robin illuminate the Doctor’s downfall through their self-imposed moral blindness. Robin, like Faustus, sees what a dear trade-off that he must make should he sell his soul to the Devil (sc.iv. 12-15): “How? My soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton, though ‘twere blood raw?…By’r Lady, I had need have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear.” Nevertheless, Robin quickly decides to become Wagner’s disciple when he sees that the latter can summon devils. This parallels Faustus in sc.i, who is resolute in learning the dark arts from Valdes and Cornelius when he sees that they have mastered the arts. There is hope for Faustus at the beginning of Doctor Faustus, as seen in Robin’s scepticism in sc.iv when Wagner threatens to summon the devils Balioll and Belcher. The clown’s scepticism parallels Faustus’ doubts when Valdes and Cornelius first insist that it is possible to summon devils with spells. Akin to Faustus’ scepticism is the Doctor’s initial awe when he first summons Mephastophilis, Robin’s surprise at his ability to summon Mephastophilis from Constantinople in sc.viii serves as a reminder of Faustus’ progression of feelings towards the Devil and towards evil, for Faustus too was surprised at his ability to conjure Mephastophilis at the beginning. Like Faustus who fearlessly stabs his own arm to sign the pact with Lucifer, Robin and Rafe are not shaken when Mephastophilis turns them into beasts. The two clowns persevere in learning the dark arts so that they are able to summon Mephastophilis even though they are not highly educated. This parallels Faustus’ own thirst for knowledge. All three students of the dark arts, however, use their magical abilities to satisfy their lustful appetites. Robin and Rafe’s wish to conjure naked women parallels Faustus’ declaration in sc.v: “The god thou servest is thine own appetite”(11). Not only do Robin and Rafe’s conjurations parody Faustus’ misuse of power, they also parallel each other in their relatively harmlessness. It is more tragic then that Faustus should be imprisoned in Hell for eternity when these evil but naïve tricks do not warrant condemnation.

Offering laughter as a powerful force against diabolism, Rafe and Robin prove the limitations of evil. Through their parody of Faustus, the clowns also show that the Doctor is no greater than them, for even a great thinker such as Faustus is pervious to the lures of evil. By acting as a parallel to Faustus, Rafe and Robin further highlight the tragic downfall of Doctor Faustus. Though their appearances in The Tragical History of D. Faustus are brief and their actions seem to be of no consequence, Rafe and Robin bring both comic relief and serious reflection to this tragic Marlovian play.

WORKS CITED

Cole, Douglas. Suffering and Evil in the Plays of Christopher Marlowe. New Jersey:

Princeton University Press, 1962.

Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of D. Faustus. In Renaissance Drama: An

Anthology of Plays and Entertainments. Edited by A.F. Kinney. Massachusetts:

Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 2002.

Tydeman, William, and Vivien Thomas. State of the Art series: Christopher Marlowe - A

guide through the critical maze. Bristol: The Bristol Press, 1989.