Faustus Fears, Singh Stood Steadfast

Faustus Fears, Singh Stood Steadfast 

This blog, as given by Dr. Dilip Barad, head of the Department of English at MKBU, reexamines the final monologue of Dr. Faustus in light of Bhagat Singh's firm conviction as expressed in his partly autobiographical essay Why I Am an Atheist.

Introduction 

To practice more than heavenly power permits.

                   

                    (The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus)

Surpassing all the religious boundaries, Dr. Faustus practices more than heavenly power allows a human being. Awaiting his eternal damnation, he bewails and abhors the choices he made. The final monologue of Dr. Faustus reveals his fear of perpetual death, and he looks for some divine power to intervene and save his life. Bhagar Singh's ideology and beliefs, on the other hand, are as steady as the stars. He lived a life of revolution against all the oppression, suffering, and struggle for independence. He wrote the essay Why I am an Atheist in 1930, a year before his martyrdom for India’s freedom for independence.

This blog explores how Singh's thoughts on freedom, belief, and courage might rewrite the way we understand Faustus' end.

Christopher Marlowe and His Tragic Hero

Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593) was a major English playwright and poet of the Elizabethan era, educated at Cambridge and considered a leading precursor to Shakespeare. His brief but influential career advanced English drama through the innovative use of blank verse and a focus on ambitious, psychologically complex protagonists. Marlowe’s most significant works include Tamburlaine the Great, Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta, Edward II, The Massacre at Paris, and Dido, Queen of Carthage, each engaging with themes such as power, religious conflict, and individual desire. He also wrote acclaimed poetry, notably The Passionate Shepherd to His Love. Marlowe’s bold language, thematic depth, and dramatic innovation have secured his enduring reputation in early modern English literature.

Doctor Faustus is one of Marlowe’s most famous play. It tells the story of a philomath named Faustus who wants more than ordinary knowledge. He makes a deal with the devil, giving up his soul in exchange for magical powers for 24 years. At first, Faustus enjoys his powers, but as time runs out, he feels fear and regret. In the end, he begs for mercy, crying, “O, I’ll leap up to my God! Who pulls me down?” This shows his deep fear and hopelessness. The play talks about sin, time, and the limits of human power. The play mixes elements of medieval morality with Renaissance humanism, showing the tension between the desire for knowledge and the fear of eternal punishment. The final monologue, spoken as the hour of death arrives, is filled with panic, regret, and pleas to God that go unanswered.

Bhagat Singh: Reason Over Religion 

Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) was not just a freedom fighter; he was also one of India's most intellectually driven revolutionaries. Born in British-ruled Punjab, Singh became a symbol of fearless resistance against colonial oppression. His activism began early, inspired by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and later shaped by Marxist and socialist ideas. While many viewed the freedom struggle through a religious or nationalist lens, Bhagat Singh emphasized political awareness, economic justice, and intellectual freedom. 

Bhagat Singh wrote the essay Why I Am an Atheist in October 1930 during his imprisonment in Lahore Central Jail, answering his friends who believe that his atheism is led by vanity. Singh sets the tone of the entire essay in the very beginning. He refuses the role of vanity in shaping one's views as to the existence of God. Taking no more time, he refuses the charges that it's vanity behind his atheism and denies the very existence of God, saying, "I deny the very existence of that Almighty Supreme Being… Here I want to clear one thing, that it is not vanity that has actuated me to adopt the doctrines of atheism. I am neither a rival nor an incarnation nor the Supreme Being Himself. One point is decided, that it is not vanity that has led me to this mode of thinking.”

If not vanity and pride, what is the reason behind his atheistic views? Singh takes us back to his early days and describes how, despite having a religious background, he disbelieves in God. He recounts his religious upbringing. Singh notes he grew up as a devout Sikh, regularly visiting temples and reading scriptures. He was a strong believer in God until his belief was challenged by rationalist and scientific literature. He describes how reading about rationalism and science led him to question religious dogma, eventually eroding his belief entirely. He shares how, for two or three years, he extensively read about philosophy and atheism. Through this, his questioning transformed into conviction: religion, to him, was deeply flawed. He uses this as a starting point to further explain his reasoning.

Furthermore, Singh systematically critiques religious belief, examining common arguments for the existence of God and their shortcomings. He discusses how belief in God often arises from fear or ignorance and links this to societal fatalism and inaction: "Unable to solve the riddle, men attribute their troubles to the working of God." He questions the moral claims of religion, arguing that morality is independent of belief in God, and condemns fatalism as an obstacle to human progress and social change.

In the final section of his essay, Bhagat Singh reflects on how atheism shapes and strengthens his commitment to revolutionary ideals. As he awaits execution, unlike Faustus, Singh remains steadfast in his convictions, urging his friends not to pray for him or seek divine intervention, but to uphold reason and continue the struggle for justice and human dignity.

English audiobook of Why I am an Atheist 

Rewriting the Monologue Through Bhagat Singh's Lens

Doctor Faustus, a true Marlovian and Renaissance protagonist, has an unquenchable desire for knowledge, just as Barabas has for wealth and Tamburlaine for power. He sold his soul to Mephistophilis for twenty-four years. This act of Dr. Faustus ultimately results in his death. Realizing that his end is near, he repents and begs for redemption from God, whose advice he had refused earlier. The final monologue of Dr. Faustus is a masterpiece by Christopher Marlowe, in which he depicts Faustus' emotional appeal to God as his doom comes nearer. It strikingly depicted how the fear of death makes one believe in the existence of God.

In sharp contrast, Bhagat Singh's Why I am an Atheist rejects all such supernatural limitations on human thought and agency. For Singh, the idea of God exists only because of human weakness, and he explicitly encourages people to cast off belief in divine restrictions, face life's challenges head-on, and take full responsibility for shaping their own destiny. 

“Ah, Faustus,

Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,

And then thou must be damned perpetually!

Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven,

That time may cease, and midnight never come.”

“Yes, Faustus,

This last lone hour is wholly yours to face,

And so you shall endure it consciously!

Turn on, you ceaseless wheels and stars above,

Let time prevail, and let midnight arrive."

“O soul, be changed into little water-drops,

And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found.”

"O soul, become a flame that will not falter,

And rise into the night, claimed and profound."

"I’ll burn my books!—Ah, Mephistopheles!”

“I’ll keep my books!—Reason, my conqueror"

Another point to consider is that Faustus' behavior in his final hours differs significantly from Bhagat Singh's mindset in his last days. To get a clearer sense of Bhagat Singh's thought process during that time, here's the last paragraph from the essay.

"Let us see how I carry on. One friend asked me to pray. When informed of my atheism, he said, "During your last days you will begin to believe". I said, No, dear Sir, it shall not be. I will think that to be an act of degradation and demoralization on my part. For selfish motives I am not going to pray. Readers and friends, "Is this vanity"? If it is, I stand for it."

Conclusion 

Marlowe had not, in his writings, been able to push the boundaries set by his time, as Bhagat Singh would manage to do in the upcoming centuries with his firm conviction and tenacity. Not kneeling to heavenly powers, as religious individuals believe, even in the face of death, sets Bhagat Singh apart from Marlowe's Faustus. Bhagat Singh serves as a striking epitome of self-reliance and freedom of thought. Faustus fails to stand by his decision, whether right or wrong, but Singh holds his head high.

References 

Singh, Bhagat. Why I Am An Atheist and Other Works. Kindle ed., Fingerprint Publishing, 2019.

Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Edited by David Scott Kastan, W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.