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Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown"
BIOGRAPHY
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Beyond Realism
The story is a kind of allegory, a kind of perverse Pilgrim's Progress, as seen in the names "goodman" and "Faith." There are also symbols (e.g., the pink ribbons, the forest) and mythic elements (e.g., the journey to the underworld, the battle for the soul, the dream world). Hawthorne would probably have called it one of his Romances, which he defines in the preface to The House of the Seven Gables:
When a writer calls his work a Romance, it need hardly be observed that he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume, had he professed to be writing a Novel . . . presumed to aim at a very minute fidelity, not merely to the possible, but to the probable and ordinary course of man's experience. The former—while, as a work of art, it must rigidly subject itself to laws, and while it sins unpardonably, so far as it may swerve aside from the truth of the human heart—has fairly a right to present that truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writer's own choosing or creation.
Consider an allegorical, symbolic, or mythic aspect of the story where the line between reality and fantasy/imagination is blurred.
Salem, the Puritans, and Hawthorne's family history
The setting of this story is crucial. Hawthorne's family had deep roots in Salem, the setting of the infamous witch trials. Though he lived two centuries later, he knew—and felt guilt for—his family's involvement in the trials, the persecution of Quakers, and the killing of Indians. Explore these connections by reading excerpts from his son Julian Hawthorne's book, Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife, and Henry James's Hawthorne.
Martha Carrier (mentioned in the story) was among twenty people condemned and killed as witches in Salem. Explore the accounts of the trials at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial site.
Hawthorne's Puritan works
Nathaniel Hawthorne's interest in Puritan history and theology and what it teaches readers about human nature is the basis for many of his works. Most famous, of course, is The Scarlet Letter (1850), which many students study in high school. The stories "The Minister's Black Veil," "The May-Pole of Merry Mount," and "The Gentle Boy" share many themes with "Young Goodman Brown," especially the ideas of secret sin and guilt, as well as the conflict between the individual and society. What sort of meanings become more apparent in "Young Goodman Brown" when it is compared with one or more of Hawthorne's other works?
"Young Goodman Brown" and its readers
This story has provoked much commentary from its readers at all levels. Look at one or more of these online essays:
What additional perspectives are offered in the online student discussions from Virginia Commonwealth University? By some major Hawthorne scholars, as summarized by Kavis Fleming? Jane Tompkins has looked at how readers have seen different "Hawthornes" through time, in her essay "Masterpiece Theater: The Politics of Hawthorne's Literary Reputation."
As you sort through these commentaries, pull out the interpretations and approaches to the story which seem most promising to you. How do they enlarge your own interpretation of the story?
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