2) Is Dr. Faustus doomed from the start or can he still repent? When is it too late? What does this theme add to the play?
             Though Faustus believes he is doomed to hell as soon as he delves into necromancy and denounces the trinity, it is shown throughout the play that it is never too late to repent. This theme of damnation v. salvation adds suspense. If Dr. Faustus was doomed from the beginning we to the play, the moral would be that "if you mess with the devil , you wind up in hell." By adding this idea that Faustus can repent if only he can get over his arrogance, Marlowe adds some intrigue and the audience starts to empathize with the character of Faustus. Throughout the play Faustus ignores omens and advice from others persuading him to repent. He knows what he did was bad but he won't repent.
             In Jerome's Bible, when Faustus reads "Stipendium peccati mors est" (the wages of sin is death), he didn't go on to read the rest of the verse which stated "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (p.25). The next line as well condemns him but the verse after that that speaks of the fruits of penance and confession. It's almost as if he is condemning himself for what he is about to do. By resorting to necromancy (magic) he hopes to delay death but by doing this he is dying a spiritual death.
             Later on, as Mephistopheles is describing the joys of heaven, he urges Faustus to "leave these frivolous demands which strikes a terror into [his] fainting soul". Mephistopheles, a pawn of the devil and a being who has been in the presence of God and heaven, is dissuading Faustus but even this does not dissuade Faustus from his craze. He forges on and signs the contract with the devil though two omens warn him of danger (i.e. his blood congeals and "Humo fuge" appears on his arm). On page 45 lines 12-30 we see that Faustus knows that he can repent ...