
Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Mrs Faust describes the faulty marriage of two highly egotistical people. Wealth, money, power, and earthly possessions serve as the foundation of the toxic marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Faust. The Fausts resemble a power couple, showered with material goods, living the ultimate modern day lifestyle. Everything seems perfect for the Fausts, expect for their marriage. We can clearly see that there is something missing from their depressing marriage, something that all successful marriages revolve around. Love is the void of the dispiriting household of Mr and Mrs Faust. The only love that exists within the marriage is for the lifestyle the Fausts have developed for themselves. The only thing that truly matters to the Fausts is earthly pleasures of the world. Material objects serve as their god, their only source of what they consider to be happiness. The pursuit of power remains their sole task. There is so much desire for power that Mr. Faust finds it suitable to sell his sole to the Devil. The faults within the marriage have created an unsettling relationship. But who do we cast the blame on in this marriage? Are Mr. and Mrs. Faust both to blame for their unfortunate marriage? We can see the that Fausts are involved in a faulty relationship because they are both choosing to have money and power over love and joy. Although some may believe that the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Fausts has been corrupted by the greed of Mr. Faust, after a close reading and analysis of the theme, speaker’s tone, diction, and personality, we see that the failure of the marriage is the result of both the Fausts.

Western civilization’s consumerism has led to the obsession of material goods. In Mrs Faust, Duffy illustrates how consumerism has the ability to take control over people and their relationships. With materialism at the center of the Faust marriage, a true relationship between Mrs Faust and her husband is almost non-existent. Unfortunately for Mr and Mrs Faust, neither of them were willing to engage in a loving and healthy relationship. Often in movies, television shows, and novels, it is the men who seem to be less interested in having an emotional relationship while his wife starves for attention. However, in Mr Faust we see that both Mr and Mrs Faust are focused on material goods rather than engaging in a loving relationship. With Mrs Faust as the speaker, the audience is able to witness her internal thoughts that expose her flaws. In stanza two the audience is able to see the focus on material goods within the Faust relationship as Mrs Faust lists, “fast cars. A boat with sails. / A second home in Whales. / The Latest toys – computers, / mobile phone” (Duffy 11-14). We are able to see that from the beginning the relationship is based on superficial pleasures. But more importantly we begin to see how the obsession with money and goods is shared between Mr and Mrs Faust. Additionally, the idea that Mrs Faust in no way loves Mr Faust becomes apparent as she states, “Faust’s face was clearly, greedy, slightly mad. I was as bad. I grew to love the lifestyle, not the life (Duffy 15-19). Mrs Faust is aware of her loveless relationship with her husband and refuses to leave the relationship because of her thirst for a life of luxury. Another key point to consider is the fact that Mrs Faust recognizes her partaking indulging in their lavish lifestyle. She was just as bad as he was which supports the idea that the failure of the marriage was caused by Mr and Mrs Faust. Throughout the poem, the audience is able to see that the language, tone, mood, and context within the poem further contributes to the idea that Mrs Faust has just as many flaws as her husband. 

Although the Mrs Faust mainly discusses the many transgressions of Mr Faust, it is important to recognize that the main focus of the poem is the faults of Mrs Faust. Simply looking at the title tells the reader that Mrs Faust is the character of concern. The poem illustrates the experience of being married to a selfish, cheating husband, but the overall message of the poem focuses on how Mrs Faust is also to blame. When analyzing the overall mood and tone of the poem, we see that Mrs Faust as the speakers seems to be relaxed as she uses informal language.  The opening lines, “first things first - / I married Faust” illustrates how to poem would be told in a relaxed and informal tone (Duffy 1-2). It almost feels as if Mrs Faust is talking to a friend about her issues. Her tone of voice suggests that Mr Faust is not completely to blame for her unhappiness. If the poem’s overall message was about the neglect and abusive of Mr Faust, the tone of the poem would most likely be depressing and serious. Instead, the tone on the poem suggests that Mrs Faust knows that she is also to blame. As Mrs Faust describes her feelings toward Mr Faust’s behavior, her choice of words illustrates the how she never cared too much about her relationship with her husband. Mrs Faust explains her attitude toward her husband’s adultery, as she states, “he grew to love the kudos, / not the wife. / He went to the whores. / I felt, not jealousy, / but the chronic irritation” (Duffy 20-24). Irritation seems to be mild reaction as compared to the feeling of jealousy. The reader may question why Mrs Faust is irritated by the fact that Mr Faust spends his time with whores. Is it because she really cares about her husband? The irritation of Mrs Faust comes from her own inner flaws. Perhaps Mrs Faust is irritated with her husband because she is more concerned with her image rather than her relationship with her husband. 

Throughout the poem, we see no evidence that suggests that Mrs Faust wants to change the situation she is in. As we can see that Mrs Faust is not willing to leave her failing marriage. She tells her story with an attitude of acceptance. She is accepting her lifestyle, even though she recognizes the fact that she is miserable. Although Mr Faust contributes to her misery, Mrs Faust continues to stay with him in order to maintain her lavish lifestyle, the only thing she truly loves. The innocence of Mrs Faust does not exist as she completely neglects to take any action that will better her miserable life. Carol Ann Duffy highlights the idea that money and earthly possessions lake the ability to make people satisfied. Loving and meaningful relationships create contentment within our lives. Both Mr and Faust have no interest in having a meaningful relationship with each other. The image of being married to a wealthy, educated, and powerful spouse is more appealing than a love connection with a spouse. I believe Mrs Faust refuses to leave her husband because being divorced would disrupt her perfect image.  In my opinion, Mrs Faust is not a victim as she contributes and accepts her life of loneliness and despair. 
