Goody
Cloyse is an important element of the story because her character draws attention to how
spiritual hysteria can lead to morbid paranoia. The real Goody (Sarah) Cloyse was accused of
witchcraft by members of her congregation; despite her exemplary life, she was forced to stand
trial based solely on the testimony of impressionable young women. As with the real Goody
Cloyse, Hawthorne's Cloyse is by all appearances a devout and charitable Puritan. However, like
her historical counterpart, she is also characterized as a sorceress of malevolence.
In the story, Goodman Brown is aghast that his former catechism teacher is a
practitioner of the black arts. He becomes extremely wary of her after he witnesses her
participation in the witches' Sabbath. Altogether, Goodman Brown becomes disillusioned by what
appears to be Goody Cloyse's superficial piety. However, Hawthorne's use of magicallends a
deceptive aura to his story; even Goodman Brown asks himself whether he had merely "fallen
asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting." Goodman Brown's
desperate query leads us to question both his sanity and the veracity of the testimonies during
the Salem Witch Trials.
Let's compare the fictional Goody Cloyse and the
historical character. In Hawthorne's story, Goody Cloyse mentions being anointed with "the
juice of smallage and cinque-foil and wolf's-bane...Mingled with fine wheat and the fat of a
new-born babe." Here, Hawthorne draws on 17th century Puritan superstitions about
witchcraft and sorcery to characterize Goody Cloyse as a malevolent character. The fictional
Cloyse even complains about the loss of her broomstick at the hands of one Goody Cory.
Traditionally, witches were said to use magical ointments made from henbane, wolfsbane,
and hemlock to stay aloft on broomsticks and other implements. In the story, Goody Cloyse
mentions being anointed with wolfs-bane. Interestingly, henbane can cause hallucinations.
Consider how Hawthorne uses magical realism to characterize the events at the witches' Sabbath
and how Goodman Brown later agonizes over the "reality" of what he has seen.
The historical Cloyse was accused of being a deacon of the black arts and for drinking
the blood of young women. Again, Hawthorne highlights ancient superstitions about witches
ingesting the blood of the young in order to keep their own youth. Hawthorne's surrealistic
portrayal of Goody Cloyse's sorcery and the events of the witches Sabbath lends credence to a
central theme in his story: the conflict between reality versus fantasy borne out of religious
hysteria. Through Goody Cloyse's character, Hawthorne inspires us to examine the kind of morbid
paranoia that led to misguided justice during the Salem Witch trials.
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