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It may be that Marlowe is not answerable for some of the scenes that were inserted into the middle of the play. Yet to judge only from the scenes admitted to be Marlowe's and from the ending that Marlowe devised for the play, it is inconceivable that Faustus should ever have carried out the grandiose plans which he mentions in the beginning (Act l, Scene IV, Lines 104-09)-such matters as making a bridge through the moving air so that bands of men can pass over the ocean, or joining the hills that bind the African shore to those of Spain. Faustus's basic motivation ensures that the power he has gained will be used for what are finally frivolous purposes. (His basic motivation is his desire for self-aggrandisement).
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If we assume that Faustus is doomed once he has signed the contract with the devil, then there is no further significant action that he can perform and the rest of the play will not have any dramatic quality. Whether the case of Faustus becomes hopeless early in the play (that is, immediately after the bond has been signed) is then a matter of real importance. On a purely legalistic basis of course, Faustus's case is certainly hopeless. He has signed a contract and must abide by it. This is the point that the devils insist on most firmly. Yet there are plenty of indications that Faustus was not the prisoner of one fatal act, namely his signing the contract. For instance, after Faustus has signed the bond, the Good Angel reappears and urges Faustus to repent. The Evil Angel, it is true, appears along with him to insist that repentance will be of no avail. But then the Evil Angel has appeared along with the Good in the earlier appearance also. This is not all. The devils, in spite of the contract, are evidently not at all sure of the soul of Faustus. They find it again and again necessary to argue with him to bully him, and to threaten him. Mephistophilis considers it very important to distract Faustus from his depressing thoughts. There is never any assumption in the play that the bond itself is quite sufficient to ensure Faustus's damnation. At least once, Lucifer himself has to be called to make sure that Faustus will not escape. When Faustus in a state of despair, is ready to commit suicide with the dagger offered to him by Mephistopholis (who feels happy to make sure in this way, of Faustus’s damnation), the Old Man persuades Faustus to desist from such a course.
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