Nathaniel Hawthorne

8 Pages 1950 Words

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” widely regarded as one of his finest works, illustrates vividly how society and culture can influence one‘s sense of reality (53 ). Goodman Brown is everyman of general intelligence striving to live and achieve a better life (60 ). Faith and righteousness were daily themes in Puritan society, however when Goodman Brown faces change in his perception, the once solid foundation is washed away. The journey into the wilderness enlightens Brown to societal truths amidst his struggle within himself and against fellow men. It is a dreaded walk on the dark side of the human heart (26 ).
Consuming most of Hawthorne’s tale is a test of faith. For three months Brown has been married to a young woman symbolizing his faith (60 ). She even carries this name and lets her role in the story tie to that aspect of her husband’s life. Brown calls for his wife three times as he stands before the devil at the alter. Goodman then cries, “My Faith is gone.”(9 ) As Brown is drawn into the deepest shadows of the forest and enters the devils sacred service, Hawthorne dramatizes his feeling that once commitment to evil has been made, its purpose must prevail by securing a shelf in Goodman’s soul. There is no struggle of power to oppose it and in this tale the power is so unequal that Faith, supposedly the Devil’s antagonist, is drawn into the camp of the enemy (11 ). She appears at the service as a baptismal candidate along with Goodman, a faint insinuation that Faith has her own covenant with the Devil. This also suggests that her complicity may be prior to and deeper than Brown’s, as Faith could’ve played a role in the path of her husband (12 ). Her possible involvement then brings on a submerged irony in the manner in which Faith comes to meet Goodman when he returns to the village, as if she had not been present in the forest. She greets him in a manner inn...