Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “Young Goodman Brown” is a classic tale of a man’s descent into misery by way of moral struggle in the woods at night. In this tale, Hawthorn depicts a Puritan man by the name of Young Goodman Brown who must reconcile his troubled mind according to his beliefs and role in his community. When he fails to do this, he simply rejects all of society for their own sins. He becomes miserable until the end of his days because of it. The story’s most potent elements are its setting, symbolism, and theme.

The story takes place in Salem Village in the 1600s. This was the center of the witch craze in New England. Immediately, the reader gets a sense of Puritan society. The pious members of the community from that era are famed for their religious distrust and depravity. The story moves to the dark woods, showing a massive shift from the light of community to the dark chasms of the protagonist’s mind.

What I find most interesting in the story is the symbolism. The setting itself represents religious fanaticism. Without that element, the conflict of the story is baseless. The images of the Devil and the witches’ Sabbath mean nothing unless the context of Puritanism is used as a backdrop upon which to hang them. Next is the pink ribbon in Faith’s cap. This represents the wife’s vitality, or it can also stand for the tainted nature of the woman or of Faith itself. The ribbon is neither pure white, nor a scarlet red, but something in between. The most prominent symbol of all is, of course, the dark forest. This represents the protagonist’s troubled mind and, given the outcome of events, the gravity of the situation of which he was not initially aware. The Devil might be Brown himself or an ancestor. As the text indicates, they bore a “considerable resemblance.”

At first glance, the story’s theme seems to be “lose your Faith, ruin your life.” However, I think the actual theme is a bit different. It was Faith itself that betrayed Young Goodman Brown. By holding onto his notions of piety, he struggled immensely with what he saw at the Sabbath. Had he indeed cast aside his Faith fully, he would have been more comfortable with what he found. The real theme, as I see it, is: Don’t get involved with something without a solid understanding of the consequences. You don’t go out to the woods to meet the devil on a whim if you don’t really wish to see him. This can be applied wisely anywhere. Then again, perhaps the faith one has in his convictions, no matter what they are, is the same as that in the already established theme. Without fixity of intent, one will fail in their endeavors unless they happen to be lucky. Whether Brown stayed at home with his wife and remained a man of faith, or decided to go and meet the devil, he should have “stuck to his guns,” so to speak. Ultimately, the weight of Brown’s doubt and indecision is what crushed his spirit, coupled with witnessing the hypocrisy of his community and family members.

All in all, “Young Goodman Brown” is a terrific story. It is rife with actual historic context, powerful symbolism, and influential themes. Many things can be taken from this story. Because the events weren’t clearly real or imagined by the character, the audience is left to deduce the meaning and value for themselves. Clearly an echo of Hawthorn’s own moral struggle in his lifetime, it is a simple story, with a lasting impact.