“Young Goodman Brown,” a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is surrounded by the historical context of Puritan New England. Even though the historical events are not central to the literary work, they significantly define the main themes and issues addressed by the author. “Young Goodman Brown” tells a story of a Puritan man whose beliefs in goodness and social morality are easily undermined as he witnesses his fellow townspeople turn to evil. Thus, Hawthorne raises several themes, such as the good versus the bad, morality versus temptation, and faith versus guilt. The motif of good and evil is emphasized by charactonyms and the devil’s figure, which embodies the dark side of human nature. Goodman and his pure-hearted wife Faith are opposed to Satan, who wishes to bring out the worst in all people. At the beginning of the short story, Brown represents innocence and piousness as he tells his wife to pray and go to bed early to avoid any harm while he is away. Throughout the story, the man discovers that many of those appearing religious and righteous, in fact, have connections with Satan. At this point, the author touches upon another important theme: morality and temptation. The more respectable people turn to the devil, the weaker Goodman’s sense of morality and the stronger his temptation are. Finally, the motifs of faith versus guilt are woven into Hawthorne’s story as the protagonist is torn between staying loyal to God for Faith’s sake or siding with the devil. As Goodman witnesses his wife in her cap with pink ribbons to attend the unholy meeting in the forest, his doubts are dispelled, and the man gives in to the evil. Faith, her pink ribbons, and the gloomy forest create vivid images in readers’ minds. Overall, the short story applies allegory and numerous symbols to reveal the central motifs. Hawthorne uses forest setting, the name Faith, and pink color as symbols to support the theme of “Young Goodman Brown.”
First, the author depicts the dark and gloomy forest that has a symbolic value in this short story. Considering the psychological aspect of the symbol, it is evident that a forest often stands for the unconscious and the forbidden. In the context of “Young Goodman Brown,” this meaning is reinforced by the devil character that embodies evil and danger. Puritans believed that he dwells in the forest, and as Brown notices the figure of a man, he suspects it might be Satan himself. The woods is associated with wildness and pristine nature that conceals the darkest fears, sins, and desires. Brown is well aware of the fact that his journey to the forest is evil and sinful in nature, yet he decides to go that way. Moreover, he is astonished to discover that many of his fellow townspeople follow the same path through the woods. Hence, the connection between wild nature and impure thoughts turned towards the devil becomes obvious. According to Cook, the pass from Salem village to the forest symbolizes the transition from the conscious to the subconscious (474). As Brown leaves his wife home and steps out in the dark, he begins the self-exploration journey. It can be seen from his attempts to remain loyal to God and his Faith, which are supplanted by doubt. Gradually, Brown gets enticed by Satan, and the more sinful people he witnesses, the weaker his faith is. In this regard, there is a clear distinction between the safety of the village and the dangers of the forest, such as temptation and the devil himself. Hawthorne draws parallels with the biblical Garden of Eden as Goodman Brown faces the choice of staying home with his wife Faith or going out to see what the woods conceal. The moment he decides to join Satan is the moment when he experiences a fall from innocence. However, not only the devil figure is used to convey the symbolic meaning of the forest. Hawthorne creates other images, such as trees hiding Indians and wild animals, who represent the dark dangers to the Puritans and their beliefs. In this regard, “Young Goodman Brown” features such classic elements as the descriptions of morbid characters and events, fitting the genre of the dark romance. The encounter with the Satan and emotional suffering of the protagonist enhance the readers’ perception. The forest ceremony is the apogee of the story as it reveals that Faith attends the unholy meeting. Moreover, after Brown eventually loses his faith, nature begins to mock him, and frightful sounds fill the forest, turning it into a sin sanctuary. Hawthorne does not state whether the night events take place in reality or inside Goodman’s dreams. As Cook claims, the real and the illusional can barely be distinguished in the story (474). Therefore, the forest plays an essential role in “Young Goodman Brown,” representing the evil and the subconscious.
Furthermore, Hawthorne uses the name Faith to support the main themes of his short story. Similarly to the protagonist’s name Goodman, Faith is not an accidental choice of words. This charactonym stands for Goodman’s own faith and Puritan beliefs. The name suggests that its owner is pure-heated and pious. Indeed, the story pictures a pure young lady with childish manners and a youthful, innocent appearance. As Fogle states, Hawthorn emphasizes Faith’s resemblance to an angel (456). Her hat with pink ribbons emphasizes her uncorrupted nature and faith in the good. Faith worries about her husband leaving her alone at night and asks him to stay as though she can sense something ominous. This episode indicates her sensitive and thoughtful nature, which quickly recognizes when something unholy is about to happen. Besides, the young woman represents Goodman’s focus on the moral behavior of others. As he goes deeper into the forest, he turns to Faith’s image that reminds him of purity and Puritan ways of living. The memories become vague, and the doubt intensifies as Brown walks further. In this regard, Faith is a symbol of safety and stability along with the village. The more Goodman distances himself from his wife, the weaker his faith becomes, and the harder he finds it to resist the devil. Even though he turns to his wife as a last resort before giving in, his faith was, in fact, corrupted long before. At the beginning of the story, Brown’s wife tells him to wait until sunrise as if she guesses his sinful intentions. However, Goodman sends her to bed, which can be viewed as a metaphor for neglecting his conscience and taking the first step towards sin. He recalls her image as he doubts others’ goodness and believes that if his wife remains good-hearted, he should resist the temptation. However, once this belief collapses as Brown notices Faith in the forest, his evil side begins to take control of his thoughts. This rapid change of heart reveals that Goodman’s faith is easily corrupted as it only relies on the morality of others instead of his inner principles. Once the collective sense of the spiritual and sane disappears, Brown gives up on Faith. According to Connolly, the protagonist’s estrangement from his wife is symbolic, in essence, as it represents the consequences of his poor decision to abandon God (371). Goodman’s attachment to Faith, i.e., his faith in the good, is not strong enough, resulting in his disappointment in others and his miserable fate. The character’s reliance on others’ purity highlights the issue of the Puritan society that valued the outer image more than individual core beliefs. Therefore, Faith is a powerful symbol in “Young Goodman Brown,” used to depict Brown’s faith in God and others and its eventual loss that reveals society’s hypocrisy at the time.
Finally, Hawthorn uses the color pink and its symbolic meaning to emphasize his point in “Young Goodman Brown.” It is used to describe the ribbons in the hat of Goodman’s wife. The symbol is vivid, and it draws the reader’s attention throughout the story. Hawthorn first mentions it in the scene where Faith tries to convince her husband to stay home. Traditionally, pink is associated with innocence and youth. It matches Faith’s character as she is described as a young wife, delicate, naïve, innocent, and childish. Pink is a color of happiness and joy, which is compliant with the angelic appearance of Goodman’s wife. Later on, as Brown walks in the forest, his faith is shaken as he suspects that his wife might be attending the unholy meeting. Goodman has slight hope that his wife resists the devil as he sees a pink ribbon flutter down from the sky. For Brown, it indicates that Faith must not be as righteous, undermining his beliefs, and attempt to resist temptation. He is stunned by the idea that his wife gave up on God and took off her pink ribbons, losing her pure nature. At this point, the symbol takes on another meaning, symbolizing the shallow appearance of faith that he relied upon. Fogle compares Faith’s pink ribbon to Othello’s handkerchief, pointing out that it can be viewed as a sign that Brown’s journey was a dream (451). Nevertheless, as the protagonist sees his wife returning home in the morning, he pushes her away, unsure how to interpret the meaning of her pink ribbons she is wearing again. They might be viewed as proof that the encounter with the devil was illusory, or they might confirm the superficial nature of human faith. Overall, Hawthorn uses the color pink to highlight the character’s purity and leave it to the reader to question it after the meeting in the forest.
To conclude, in “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorn uses symbols such as forest, Faith, and the color pink to support the theme of his short story. The main ideas addressed by the author are the hypocrisy of the Puritan society and the unreliability of faith, based on external representations of morality. The inner conflict of Goodman Brown is enhanced by the symbolic meaning of the settings, people, and colors.
Works Cited
Connolly, Thomas E. “Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’: An Attack on Puritanic Calvinism.” American Literature, vol. 28, no. 3, 1956, pp. 370–375. JSTOR, Web.
Cook, Reginald. “The Forest of Goodman Brown’s Night: A Reading of Hawthorne’s” Young Goodman Brown”.” The New England Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 10, 1970, pp. 473–481. JSTOR.
Fogle, Richard H. “Ambiguity and Clarity in Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown.’” The New England Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 4, 1945, pp. 448–465. JSTOR, Web.