The Glass Bead Game and Goethe's Faust

First we examine the basic similarities between The Glass Bead Game and Goethe's Faust. They are both stories in which a man is striving to become more than he is. In The Glass Bead Game, the player has dedicated themselves to an academic life of the mind. In Goethe's Faust, Faust is bored of his life as a scholar, so he makes a deal with the devil to indulge in all of the pleasure and knowledge of the world. Both characters devote their lives to intellectual pleasures.Another similarity is that they are both stories about men who have made a deal with the devil.In Goethe's story, Faust has made a literal deal with the devil. In The Glass Bead Game, the player has made a metaphorical deal; they have completely dedicated themselves to serving the mind. There is a sense in which Goethe's Faust is a reaction to the kind of person who plays glass bead games. Goethe, like the author of The Glass Bead Game, is an intellectual who believes that the highest pleasure comes from the exercise of the mind. However, Goethe's Faust is about someone who feels they have exhausted the pleasures of the mind. This is why Faust turns to the occult, in order to obtain a new perspective on life. Faust is seeking the Romantic reenchantment of a world he suffocated with purely rational thought.Wurds, Alley. GPT-3 TECHGNOSIS; A CHAOS MAGICK BUTOH GRIMOIRE (pp. 5-6). Kindle Edition. Wurds, Alley. GPT-3 TECHGNOSIS; A CHAOS MAGICK BUTOH GRIMOIRE (pp. 5-6). Kindle Edition.
The Glass Bead Game