The story
of "," byis a clear moral .
It is felt that the story was written
in reaction to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. One of Hawthorne's ancestors was a judge at the
trialswhere a pious community became slaves to false allegations and superstition. It was an
embarrassing heritage for Hawthorne.
Many of his writings deal with themes
that delve into "...evil actions of humans and the idea of original sin." Evil actions
by humans is central to the allegory. It's important to understand that an allegory in
literature is a story of symbolic importance:
...that
serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the
surface.
In other words, on the surface, the story being
read has a plot, characters, conflict and a resolution. It is a story in its own right. However,
in an allegory, elements of the tale have a deeper meaning, symbolizing "moral
qualities," etc., with the purpose to relay an additional "hidden" message to the
reader.
In "Young Goodman Brown," our main character is a member of
a devoutly religious society. (Though not named as Puritans, the parallel is clear.) One day the
virtuous Brown leaves his newly-wed wife to travel for some unknown reason into the forest. (The
Puritans believed the Devil lived in the forest.)
On his trip, Brown meets an
old man who is the Devil in disguise, who secretly wants to get Brown to reject his faith. As
they walk, Brown senses evil and tries to distance himself. He remembers his ancestorsholy
menwhose memory he calls on to help him. The Devil tells him that they were
"in league" with him. Strong religious members of his community pass by, going to a
Black Mass. Brown is horrified as his eyes are opened to the wickedness lurking within those
closest to himwho he has looked to for inspiration. At last, as he looks
on, his wife Faith is brought forth and both are called to join the Devil. Brown tries to yell
encouragement to his wife, but in an instant, everyone disappearsand Brown is unsure if it was
at all real or just a dream. Now believing that he is surrounded by sinners, his awakening
drives Brown to believe there is no good in the word. He rejects his faith
and dies a lonely, embittered old man.
The situation that Hawthorne presents
here is Brown's inability to accept the fragile nature of the human condition, and the truth
that all people are sinful, even Brown himself.
However, his expectations of those of the past and those in his life now,
do not allow Brown to accept sinfulness as a human trait (even though it is biblically
presented: all men are sinners); and, too, he has no compassion. Expecting
perfection is impossible; this is something Brown does not grasp, and it does not allow him to
forgive others for their shortcomings.
Hawthorne reminds
us of the lack of compassion found in the Puritan societythat the promise of the smallest sins
was punishment, and no forgiveness was offered, though this was the central message of the New
Testament in the person of Christ. The allegorical message here is that all of us are in the
same "boat." We all make mistakes: we cannot help it.
Looking to
Goodman Brown's fate, we should see that if we can't allow others to be
imperfect, we will be lonely, hypocritical and miserable people. We must be realistic and
accepting of others who follow a different pathfor even then, we can still
hold on to what we believe.
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