Zeit und Erhabenheit in Goethes Faust I

Abstract

The Sublime as understood by Kant may be helpfull to understand the aesthetic qualities of the apparition, the Erdgeist, and the effects it has on Faust. It is argued that these qualities are – in a milder form – assigned also to the object of erotic desire, Gretchen. As a category the Sublime may contribute to the interpretaton of Faust's internal contradiction concerning any kind of striving struggle.