The conflict between the forces of good and evil is a classic theme in literature of all time periods. In his short story YoungGoodmanBrown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man named Goodman Brown, who has to deal with a similar struggle one dark night. However, there is more to the story than just that, and it is a piece of literature rife with symbolism, from the names of the characters to the very setting in which the majority of the plot takes place. Through many different symbolic elements, the story of YoungGoodmanBrown suggests the idea that man constantly faces an inner battle between good and evil, and that it is much easier to stray away from the path of good than it is to stay on it.
The characters themselves are, first and foremost, very important to the true meaning of the story. First and foremost, we begin with the name of the protagonist, Goodman Brown. Even on the surface his name has an obvious meaning. The word ‘Goodman’, when taken apart, is ‘good man’, and brings to mind thoughts of a moral, responsible person. He is a true everyman, and his name helps the reader sympathize with this character. A second important and symbolic character in the story is Goodman’s wife, Faith, whose name also has symbolic meaning. Not only is she his wife, she represents his religious beliefs, and multiple times she is spoken of in the story in such a way that could be referring not just to her as a character, but to Goodman’s beliefs as well. For example, when he arrives to the forest, the gentleman waiting there for him remarks that he is late, and Goodman responds “Faith kept me back a while” (554). This comment can be taken to mean that not only was he being held back by his wife, but that he was already having an inner struggle with his beliefs. The connection between these characters is more than just the bond between a newly-married man and wife. Rather, it represents the inner struggle of the human soul to maintain a relationship with one’s religious beliefs in the face of evil.
The setting of the story is another strong factor that needs to be taken into account to fully understand the meaning of the story. The story takes place in a forest near the town of Salem, Massachusetts, which is a city that is even now famous for the Salem Witch Trials. Nathaniel no doubt knew this place well, being descended from the judge Hawthorne in that famous place, and that may have been one of the reasons he used this setting for the plot. Traditionally, forests are used to symbolize evil and danger. They are dark places where all manner of creatures lurk waiting to attack the unsuspecting, and even Goodman presents this idea when he says to himself as he is walking along, “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree… What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!” (554) Ironically, or maybe not so ironically, it is in this forest that Goodman Brown meets the man who turns out to be the Devil. Their walk into the forest symbolizes Goodman’s increasing involvement with evil, and as he gets deeper into the forest, so does it get darker.
The darkness of the forest at night is also used as an important symbol. As Goodman gets deeper into the forest, it becomes darker, which represents how he is getting involved deeper and deeper with the evil and becoming separated from the ‘light’ of his religion. When he is separated from everyone and left alone except for the voices of those who are passing by on the road, he looks up to the heavens to pray, but, to his chagrin, a cloud “hurried across the zenith and hid the brightening stars” (p. 558). As if coming from this cloud, Goodman believes he hears voices, and among them the voice of his wife, Faith. He calls out to her, but cannot find her, only locating a pink ribbon that has fallen off of her hat. In despair, he cries out “My Faith is gone!” (558). From this it can be inferred that, not only has he lost track of his wife, but his beliefs have been shattered as well.
It can be argued that the character of the Devil in this story plays an important role as well, perhaps the most important of all. The devil is lurking around every turn of the story, and even when Goodman awakes the next morning and wonders if it was all a dream, the devil has won. For the rest of his life Goodman is suspicious of all of the people in his town and unable to have a true social life with any of them because of his fear that they are evildoers. He is unable to participate in the church meetings because “an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. When the minister spoke from the pulpit, with power and fervid eloquence, and with his hand on the open Bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of saintlike lives and triumphant deaths, and of future bliss or misery unutterable, then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest the roof should thunder down upon the gray blasphemer and his hearers” (561-562). He believes that he was able to resist the devil, when he has in reality done just as the devil wanted and fallen from his faith in God, being unable to even listen in Church because of his thoughts that those preaching it are evil. Because of what he believes of the others in his community, it has not only affected his religion, but his relationship with the other people in his town. As well, his relationship with his wife was affected, and “He shrank from the bosom of Faith” (562). From this, it can be inferred that he was not only suspicious of his wife as well now, but because of the double-meaning of the name of her character, it can be inferred that what he thought had happened caused him to lose his faith.
The element of irony ties in with this as well. Whether or not what Goodman experienced in the woods that night actually happened, it is an ironic situation that even though he believes he is the only one who has resisted the devil when he has truly fallen from his beliefs in God. He plays out the rest of his life suspicious of all of those around him, and is unable to worship in Church or pray with others because of his suspicions. He may have been the only one to honestly resist the devil, but in the end the devil, crafty as always, seems to have won.
Through all of these elements of the story, we come to the conclusion that the basic theme of this story is that there is a conflict between good and evil in all of us. The characters themselves are symbolic to mean this, and to encompass everyone. Goodman Brown can be anyone, and that’s what his name means: to make us think that this is a problem that everyone has to deal with at some point or another. The dark forest he traveled in that night was not just a setting; it has a deeper meaning, and it is more than just a dark and scary forest at night represents our journey through life. We all struggle with good and evil, and the message that Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to get across was that every person constantly faces an battle between good and evil inside themselves, and that it is much easier to get lost and stray away from the path of good than it is to stay on it.
WORKS CITED
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” LiteratureReadingFiction,Poetry,andDrama. Ed. Emily Barrosse. New York, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2007. 553-562.
