538 Hawthorne, Nathaniel
in Puritan attitudes and beliefs, for the townspeople,
and even the magistrates themselves read the “A” as
representing “able” and “angel.”
Laurie A. Sterling
HaWTHornE, naTHaniEL
“young goodman brown” (1835, 1851)
Nathaniel Hawthorne first published the short
story “Young Goodman Brown” in 1835 and it was
later collected in The Snow Image and Other Twice-
Told Tales (1852). In this story Hawthorne reveals
his preoccupation with history, particularly that
of Puritan New England, and issues of guilt, sin,
individual conscience, and social morality. Many of
these themes resurface in Hawthorne’s best-known
work, The Scarlet Letter, which is also set in Puritan
New England.
In the story, the young Puritan, Goodman
Brown, takes leave of his wife Faith one evening
for a solitary expedition into the forest. As he ven-
tures deeper into the wilderness, Brown encounters
many of his neighbors, including the religious and
political leaders of his community. All seem eager to
participate in a sinister ritual in the dark woods. At
an altar in the midst of the congregation, Brown sees
his young wife. At the last moment, he calls upon
Faith to resist temptation. Suddenly, the whole scene
vanishes and the young man is left alone. But forever
after that night, Brown is gloomy and distrustful,
even of members of his own family.
Human nature is put to the test in this disturb-
ing story, as Brown’s perception of his experience
challenges the notion that people are basically good.
The story raises issues concerning innocence and
experience, individual and society, religion,
alienation, and the American dream. The cost
of following one’s conscience is also a prominent
theme here, as it is in many important works of
American literature in the 19th century.
Mary Goodwin
individual and Society in “Young
Goodman Brown”
A complex and problematic relationship unfolds
between the individual and his society in Nathan-
iel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” (1835,
1851). The young Puritan Brown is confronted with
troubling issues concerning his place in society. As
his faith in human nature is tested in the course of
an evening, Brown must decide if he is better off
alone or in company. Does society offer solace and
support to the individual, or only mutual guilt and
fatal temptation?
The story begins as Brown embarks on what
seems a solitary journey of self-discovery, taking
leave of his wife Faith one night to venture into
the woods on a mysterious errand. Brown soon
encounters other townspeople in the forest, but the
company they offer is not comforting. Brown meets
a sinister older man who carries a walking stick
shaped like a snake. Amiable at first, the man later
tells Brown his ancestors were guilty of injustice and
cruel persecution. Brown then sees Goody Cloyse, a
townswoman who had taught him his catechism. In
the woods, however, the old woman expresses great
enthusiasm for witchcraft and dark rituals. As Brown
reaches a clearing, he sees many other townspeople
gathered for a mysterious ceremony. Standing at the
altar, Brown discovers his young wife is also beside
him. At the last minute, he calls out to Faith to resist
the temptation of evil. Suddenly everything vanishes
and he is left alone. The narrator raises the possibil-
ity that Brown has dreamed it all; nevertheless, ever
after this night, the young man holds himself apart
from other townspeople, suspecting all of secret sin.
He is a stranger even to his wife, and maintains a
gloomy solitude for the rest of his life. The effect
of his experience is to make society hateful to him.
The plot seems to follow a typical rite of pas-
sage, in which a young person leaves his community
and undergoes experiences that help him mature.
Upon his return, he takes his place as an adult in the
community. But in Hawthorne’s tale, society seems
to offer the individual not comfort, stability, or sal-
vation but rather guilt, complicity, and moral ruin.
Early in his journey Brown expresses fears of the
“Indians” in the forest. Soon, however, he learns that
the real threat is from his own townspeople, even the
most apparently respectable among them. Brown’s
experience may help him to “grow up,” but it makes
him unsuited for his community.
Issues of religion and social interaction intersect
in the story. As the Puritan church is based on the