A spiritual commentary on The Devil Wears Prada

The idea of selling one’s soul to the devil has been explored often in literature though the various permutations of the Faust legend. Usually, the devil offers something a person thinks is valuable and we see them squander the eternal for that which is only temporary.

How wonderful it would be if it were all that simple.

The Devil Wears Prada is really Faust lite. It deals with this same dynamic, but in a much less philosophical sense. Although the film is by and large a great entertainment, it has this underlying theme upon which it is built.

In my personal theology, there is no personal devil. (And yes, I have read C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, where such a belief of the devil’s first victory.) We really don’t need a devil to make us do something; we readily do all kinds of evil all of our own volition, as Andy discovers she has been doing in the film.

I call this Faust lite, because Andy is selling her soul bit by bit. Each time she gives in to the forces acting upon her, she gives up a bit of what is of eternal value (friends, her relationship with Nate, her passion for journalism). At no point does anyone ask her to give up her soul, she just fritters it away a little at a time. Rather than giving up her soul all at once, she gives it away on the installment plan. And then she suddenly realizes how empty her life has become.

Whether one believes in a personal devil or not, this is much more what it means to be seduced into sin. It isn’t even greed or pride that goads her on. She is doing what she is expected to do in her job. As she gets better and better at the job, it begins to steal the life she had and thought she wanted. Soon, she’s not sure which life she really wants.

This kind of slow war of spiritual attrition is much more common in our life than the big temptations – and much more difficult to fight. I think Screwtape would approve of how things are going in this film. (Except for the ending, of course.)