Fatima (fä´tē-mä).—(1) A female worker, in the story of Aladdin, in the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. (2) The last of the wives of Bluebeard, and the only one who escaped being murdered by him.
Faust (foust).—A celebrated tragedy by Goethe, the materials of which are drawn in part from the popular legends of Dr. Faustus, a famous magician of the sixteenth century. A rich uncle having left him a fortune, Faust ran to every excess, and, when his fortune was exhausted, made a pact with the devil (who assumed the name of Mephistopheles, and the appearance of a little gray monk), that, if he might indulge his propensities freely for twenty-four years, he would at the end of that period consign to the devil both body and soul. The compact terminated in 1550, when Faust disappeared. His sweetheart was Margherita, whom he seduced, and his faithful servant was Wagner.
Faustus (fâs´tus).—A tragedy name; represented as a vulgar sorcerer tempted to sell his soul to the devil (Mephistopheles), on condition of having a familiar spirit at his command, the possession of earthly power and glory, and unlimited gratification of his sensual appetites, for twenty-four years; at the end of which time, when the forfeit comes to be exacted, he shrinks and shudders in agony and remorse, imploring yet despairing of the mercy of heaven. This has been the theme of many writers. It is the subject of an opera by Gounod.
Femmes Savantes (fam sȧ-väN´), Les (or, The Learned Women).—Comedy by Molière. These women go in [796] for women’s rights, science, and philosophy, to the neglect of domestic duties and wifely amenities. The “blue-stockings” are (1) Philaminte, the mother of Henriette, who discharges one of her servants because she speaks bad grammar; (2) Armande, sister of Henriette, who advocates platonic love and science; and (3) Bélise, sister of Philaminte, who sides with her in all things, but imagines that everyone is in love with her. Henriette, who has no sympathy with these “lofty flights,” is in love with Clitandre; but Philaminte wants her to marry Trissotin, a bel esprit. However, the father loses his property through the “savant” proclivities of his wife, Trissotin retires, and Clitandre marries Henriette, the “perfect” or thorough woman.
Fenella.—A fairy-like creature, a deaf and dumb attendant on the countess of Derby, in Sir Walter Scott’s Peveril of the Peak.
Fenton (fen´ton).—A character in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor, who wooes the rich Anne Page for her money, but soon discovers inward treasures in her which quite transform him.
Feramorz (fer´a-mōrz).—Lalla Rookh, Thomas Moore. Feramorz in Lalla Rookh is the young Cashmerian poet, who relates poetical tales to Lalla Rookh, in her journey from Delhi to Lesser Bucharia. Lalla Rookh is going to be married to the young sultan, but falls in love with the poet. On the wedding morn she is led to her future husband, and finds that the poet is the sultan himself, who had gallantly taken this course to win the heart of his bride and beguile her journey.
Ferdinand (fer´di-nand).—(1) A character in Shakespeare’s Tempest. He is a son of the king of Naples, and falls in love with Miranda, the daughter of Prospero, a banished duke of Milan. (2) King of Navarre, character in Love’s Labor’s Lost.
Ferrers (fer´erz)—Endymion. The hero of Benjamin Disraeli’s novel Endymion.
Ferrex and Porrex.—Two sons of Gorboduc, a mythical British king. Porrex drove his brother from Britain, and when Ferrex returned with an army he was slain, but Porrex was shortly after put to death by his mother. One of the first, if not the very first, historical plays in the English language was Ferrex and Porrex, by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville.