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Thales
Proteus is a shape-shifter who helps Homunculus ride out into the midst of the Aegean Sea, where the unnatural creature transcends his vial and reconciles himself to the natural world. Proteus represents, in contrast to Chiron, the complete integration of the intelligence and sensuous feeling, and so exemplifies Classical Greek culture for Goethe.
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Proteus Character Timeline in Faust
The timeline below shows where the character Proteus appears in Faust. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: Act 2: Rocky Inlets of the Aegean Sea
...to be with his daughters, the nymphs, advising Homunculus to speak with the powerful shape-shifter Proteus instead about changing his form and achieving a real existence.
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Homunculus and Thales withdraw to speak with Proteus. They lure him over to them by shining the lamp of Homunculus’s vial. The tricky...
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Proteus transforms into a dolphin, on whose back Homunculus rides to the open waters. There his...
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