mephistopheles persuades faust to sign the agreement with his own blood. faust has a few adventures and then meets margaret (also known as gretchen). he loves her, and by offering her jewellery, and with help of a neighbour, martha, gretchen lets herself into faust's arms. faust and gretchen want to sleep together, so gretchen gives her mother a sleeping potion so that she does not see faust. faust and gretchen sleep together. gretchen’s mother dies of the potion. gretchen discovers she is pregnant. gretchen’s brother says faust is bad and challenges him, but faust kills him (with the devil’s help, of course). gretchen has given birth to a baby, but she drowns it. she is found guilty of murder and is sent to prison. faust tries to save her from death, but he cannot free her from prison. finding that they cannot free her, faust and the devil run away from the prison cell, while voices from heaven say that gretchen shall be saved.