Hearing Mephisto' s warping influence upon the themes of Faust, and his inability to affect Marguerite's theme, tells the story on a deep emotional and spiritual level that words would be hard pressed to illuminate. A familiarity with the details of the story and its characters enhances the musical study. Therefore, a common language of music is needed to succinctly communicate these impressions. In literature, there is much more leeway. Readers need not be familiar with the classic Faust stories to enjoy a Faustian story.
Convention also allows for different interpretations in storytelling.
Here we find a more cautious Marguerite, her mind tries to keep with the song, but she cannot help breaking out in wonder over Faust and their earlier meeting. Akin to this musical milieu are the various translations of Faust in literature. The source may be the same, but when filtered through different translators, the text produced is varied. Meanings of words are altered, coloring scenes in different ways. No two languages are identical, and the translating of a work from one language into another produces different works than the original.