“She is judged! — She is saved!”
Faust“She is judged! — She is saved!” is the brief, decisive exchange at the end of the dungeon scene in Goethe’s Faust. Mephistopheles declares Margaret judged; a voice from above immediately answers that she is saved. The reversal affirms her salvation even as Mephistopheles presses Faust to leave her behind.
The Final Exchange
The words come after Margaret gives herself to God’s judgment and appeals to the Father and the angels for rescue. Mephistopheles addresses Faust with the declaration that she is judged, but the answer comes from above, not from either man: Margaret is saved. The two statements are set directly against one another, making the scene’s conclusion a contest over the meaning of her fate.
The distinction between the speakers matters. Mephistopheles supplies a verdict that seems to confirm condemnation; the voice from above overturns its apparent finality. The scene does not erase Margaret’s guilt or the judgment she has accepted. Instead, it makes salvation the last word about her outcome.
From Cathedral Accusation to Salvation
The dungeon’s resolution recalls the earlier cathedral scene, where an evil spirit confronted Margaret with the consequences of her actions: her mother’s death, blood at her threshold, and the life stirring beneath her heart. At that point she recoiled from thoughts that pulled her in conflicting directions. The final appeal to divine judgment therefore follows a prior scene of religious fear and accusation, but changes its direction: condemnation no longer has the last word.
Margaret’s statement that she gives herself to God’s judgment places the decision beyond the escape Faust is attempting. The voice from above confirms salvation, while Mephistopheles’ declaration and his continuing demand that Faust come with him leave the two characters on opposed paths. Margaret is saved; Faust is still being summoned away by the power bound to him.
Dramatic and Thematic Function
The expression’s balanced, sharply opposed clauses compress the ending into a reversal: judgment is announced, then salvation is affirmed. Its force depends on the shift between speakers and on the contrast between Mephistopheles’ claim and the higher voice’s answer. Rather than presenting salvation as an escape from accountability, the scene places it after Margaret has surrendered herself to judgment.
The exchange also concludes Margaret’s arc without resolving Faust’s. Her fate is declared from above, while Mephistopheles continues to call Faust away. The ending thus separates her deliverance from the continuing bargain and pursuit that have shaped Faust’s actions, giving the final words both a personal consequence and a structural role in closing the tragedy of Margaret’s imprisonment.
