By Chris Snellgrove | Published
In Buffy the Vampire SlayerThe angel is a character struck by a clear curse: as a vampire, one of the families of his victims takes back his soul, forcing him to constantly feel the oppressive guilt of everyone who has hurt or killed him. To make matters worse, there was a catch to this curse that served to twist a knife through Angel’s heart. Specifically, if he ever had a moment of true happiness, he would lose his soul and become Angelus again, one of the most terrifying vampires in the world.
All of this makes Angel (played by David Boreanaz) one of the most complex and fascinating characters in television history, and many Buffy fans have wondered where showrunner Joss Whedon got the idea for this gut-wrenching curse. But you don’t have to look far for the answer: as it turns out, Whedon took inspiration from one of the most famous stories in all of literature. You see, the Angel’s curse is like that a lot similar to the one we see in Faust’s story, better known as the first “deal with the devil” story.
What a Bad Night of the Curse
If your memories of English class are vague, here’s a quick primer: Faust was originally a German fairy tale about a man, despite his success, who just wanted more from life. To get it, he made a deal with the devil where he would get all the worldly knowledge and pleasures he could ever want. But after living a life equal to Heaven on Earth, his soul would go straight to Hell when he died.
Many authors have adapted this German fairy tale, and the most famous one was created by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He added his own twist to Faust’s pact with the devil, including Faust making a very special bet: he would only be a servant in Hell if the Devil would give him a moment of true happiness that he would like to last forever. This happens unexpectedly when Faust begins to dream of people working together to make the world a better place; this time of happiness destroys his soul, but he is successfully saved by God, who rewards Faust with salvation because of his righteous dream of human harmony.
The Most Abused Vampire in History
Needless to say, there are many parallels between what happens in Goethe’s Faust and what happens in Angel Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When his soul returned, Angel did his best to atone for all the bad deeds he did as a vampire. But when he finds a moment of true happiness (which happens, ironically, during sex with Buffy), he loses his soul, and becomes a monstrous monster who destroys himself with each act of transgression.
Undoubtedly, Angel is also the beneficiary of the same divine grace that saved Faust: after losing his soul and becoming Angelus, he made a plan intended to throw the whole world into hell. Buffy stops him, but only after Willow successfully restores her soul. This leads to the saddest moment in the entire series, when Buffy has to kill the only man she’s ever loved, sending him to hell to save everyone on Earth.
Saved by a Spell
He is mysteriously resurrected in Season 3, and there has never been an official explanation as to who or what is bringing him back from Hell. But another prominent fan theory is that he was brought back by The Powers That Be, the same mysterious group of cosmic powerhouses that ensured Angel met Buffy. Later, they give prophetic visions to Doyle, a demon who helped Angel become a champion of the helpless when he moved to Los Angeles.
The angel was originally condemned to hell because of the Faustian curse, and he may have been saved in the same way: by the power of God that rewarded his dream of making the world a better place. Either way, it’s clearly an outstanding vampire story Buffy the Vampire Slayer He was influenced by the first pact and the story of the devil, which has influenced storytellers for centuries. Even if many fans never turn it on, this means that the hottest TV show of the ’90s is forever connected to a German legend that was popular almost 500 years ago!
