RCarol 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. Duffy provides subtle hints that certain elements of happiness are missing from their depressing marriage, something that all successful marriages revolve around. Love remains the void of the dispiriting household of Mr and Mrs Faust. The lifestyle the Fausts enjoy captivates their attention, making money their one true love. Earthly pleasures serve as the primary concern for both Mr. and Mrs. Faust. Material objects act as their god, their only source of what they consider to be happiness. The pursuit of power remains their sole task. The Fausts strong desire for power made selling their sole to the Devil justified. The faults within the marriage creates 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, the audience can conclude that both Mr. and Mrs. Faust caused the failure of their marriage.

Western civilization’s consumerism has led to the obsession of material goods. In Mrs Faust, Duffy illustrates how consumerism holds the ability 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, men 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 exposed to her internal thoughts that reveal her flaws. In stanza two the audience can 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 can see that from the beginning the relationship revolves around 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. Mrs Faust shares her husband’s love for material pleasures, which supports the idea that the failure of the marriage was caused by Mr and Mrs Faust. Throughout the poem, the audience can see that the language, one, mood, and context within the poem further contributes to the idea that Mrs Faust possesses just as many flaws as her husband. 

Although the Mrs Faust mainly discusses the many transgressions of Mr Faust, the audience must recognize that the 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 contributes to the toxic marriage. 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 demonstrates Mrs Faust’s knowledge of her role in the collapse of her marriage. 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 expresses feelings of frustration toward 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. 

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 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. 
