[5] Scene 2: in his apartment, the Doctor uses black magic to call upon a wizard named Fistula, a cripple,[6] and clear representation of Mephistopheles in the play.
[10] Scene 6: returning to his study, Foustka again meets Fistula and they argue about the "stunt" pulled at the party.
Foustka is able to convince everyone that his studies of dark magic were for scientific purposes, and is subsequently celebrated for his brilliance; the group's next party is revealed to be a costume party featuring witches, wizards, etc., planned in order to mock black magic and celebrate Dr. Foustka's research.
Foustka, resembling his earlier trial, convinces Fistula that he only revealed their meetings to gain the Director's trust and to further the interests of dark magic.
As the Director makes his speech, everyone from the institute surrounds Foustka, he is set on fire, smoke covers everything and the play ends.
The repetition seen throughout Temptation, which is meant to mesmerize the audience and heighten the suspense of the play, has been described as both "meaningful"[16] and "deadening because no new insights are revealed.
"[17] Performances of Fistula have been praised, his character being described as "terrifyingly mysterious"[16] and "quirky, outlandish and completely riveting.
[16] Havel believed in the importance of allowing experience to dictate one’s approach to politics, society, and even morality.
[18] The programmatic style of government seen in Temptation discouraged the influence of personal experience leading to enslavement.
[19] Havel relied on "a ceaseless process of searching, demystification and penetration beneath the surface of phenomena.
"[19] Havel suggested that an open-ended, constant journey for enlightenment was a better philosophy than simply accepting a system that enforced a thought.
[23] While in prison in May 1977, a copy of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust was delivered to his cell, followed by Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus, neither of which were requested.
He fell down the stairs, he developed a fever, and stayed in bed with chills in a situation without medicine or food because he was snowed in.
Unlike the original Faust myths, Temptation's interpretation of the Mephistopheles (Devil) character, Fistula, is not a classically demonic figure; he is a small person who "gives off a distinctly unsavory impression.