Puritan faith was defined by several key characteristics that made it unique among other Christian denominations. In particular, the Puritans shared an exceptionally powerful religious fervor, believing that one should strictly adhere to the Bible and live as close to the model of Jesus Christ as possible (Mark). As a result, the Puritans were radical in their beliefs as they rejected everything not mentioned in the Bible. For instance, the Puritans considered the Anglican Church morally corrupt since the Anglican priests were allowed to wear vestments, burn incense, and use music during the masses (Mark). Overall, the Puritan moral code was unforgiving, and many harmless activities were perceived as sinful fruits of Satanic powers.
In addition, the Puritans shared the Protestant concept of pre-determinism. According to the Puritan beliefs, every individual had a future predetermined by God, and only the chosen few were selected for salvation in the afterlife. While one could not change their destiny, they could act as if they were destined for salvation and receive a reward for pious behavior from God (Mark). Consequently, the Puritans had a rather polarized worldview that strictly divided all actions and behaviors into good and evil categories. A devoted Puritan was supposed to be good at all times and resist temptations of sin and evil in order to be respected and rewarded. Given the strictness of Puritan morality, Puritan believers had to either never sin or hide their “sins” from the public to avoid social contempt. In other words, Puritanism demanded perfection from normal human beings, forcing them to face an impossible challenge.
Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to expose the inherent flaws of Puritanism in his short story Young Goodman Brown. In particular, a reader can see how Hawthorne deconstructs the concept of Puritan goodness, showing that Puritan society was plagued with hypocrisy and sanctimony. The story starts with Goodman Brown, a young devoted Puritan from Salem, willing to go into the dark, evil forest for an unknown reason (Hawthorne). A reader can see it as a metaphor for Goodman’s wish to live as a normal human free from the strict Puritan faith, at least for a short time.
Puritanism could not stop Goodman, but he obviously feared the social backlash if other Salem residents saw him in such an evil place. On the one hand, Goodman Brown failed at resisting temptation; on the other hand, he still tried to stay a good Puritan by keeping his sin undetected. Next, Goodman met the Devil, who told him about many “good” Puritans using his services in the past. For instance, Devil helped Goodman’s father to burn a Native village, committing an atrocity unworthy of a good Christian (Hawthorne). While Goodman did not believe the Devil, he still used his magical staff to attend the dark ritual, failing to resist temptation again. Unsurprisingly, Goodman met every good Puritan known to him at this ominous ceremony, including his wife, Faith (Hawthorne). In that scene, Hawthorne exposed the prudish nature of Puritanism, showing that its disciples frequently hid their darker side behind the mask of goodness.
Overall, Nathaniel Hawthorne created a strong criticism of the Puritan worldview. One can argue that the Puritans were right by claiming that people should do their best to stay morally good. However, the Puritans could not accept the inherently flawed nature of humanity. As a result, the Puritan believers routinely slipped into hypocrisy and sanctimony instead of admitting their flaws and learning from their mistakes. In the end, Puritanism made its disciples more concerned about looking rather than acting good.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Good Brown. 1835. Web.
Mark, Joshua, J. Puritans. World History, 2021. Web.