Nathaniel Hawthorne: Life and Literary Analysis

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Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of over fifty books and short stories, wrote from his personal faith-based experience. He was raised in New England during the 1800’s. As a child Hawthorne witnessed the hypocrisy of man first hand, especially when man weaponized religion. Hawthorne used symbolism and allegory in many of his novels and short tales. An example of this can be found in “Young Goodman Brown”. The pink ribbons that Faith, one of the main characters, wears and then loses symbolized innocence and pure femininity at that time.

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However, the loss of the ribbons, signals the loss of faith. Also, “Young Goodman Brown” is an excellent example of Hawthorne’s works because its plot relates to the main elements Hawthorne utilizes which demonstrate that humans are easily gullible; humans are filled guilt; and humans can be hypocritical when it comes to their faith. Mr. Hawthorne was born on July 4th, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts to Elizabeth Manning and Nathaniel Hathorne Senior. He was raised with the Puritan faith; and the history of his town indicates it was a prime area for Witch trials and burnings.

His uncle, Jon Nathaniel Hathorne was one of the three judges during the Salem Witch Trials and so that specific family history followed him from an early beginning. Eventually, Mr. Hawthorne changed his last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne to hide his shameful family’s past. As a result of his father’s death in 1808 Nathaniel grew up as a secluded child; however, this started his journey into reading and writing.

At an early age he shared his works with his relatives and by the time he was seventeen one of uncles sent him to Bowdoin College from 1821 to 1825. There he learned more writing techniques and examined classic books published during his time. During the courses, he began to study Latin. Shortly after his graduation he wrote his first novel, Fanshawe. Hawthorne was significantly unhappy with it both in a literary sense and in how it was a complete commercial failure. According to a biography “Later all the copies that could be obtained were destroyed. a dozen years after his death a copy was found and the tale reissued by James O & Co. A dozen years after his death a copy was found and the tale reissued by James & Company.” (Browne) Hawthorne didn’t share this work with his wife and upon his passing she was shown a copy and simply didn’t believe that her husband could write such a boring book. When Hawthorne moved and lived in Salem with his mother from 1825 to 1837, he recounts that it was a very lonely time, but biographers show that he was actually very involved in town meetings and social gatherings (Browne). Most of Hawthorne’s early writings were published in magazines and gift books anonymously, giving him no recognition.

Then, at the end of 1837, he published his first successful short story, Twice-Told Tales. This publication launched him into relevance in the literature world. Later he added on to the short story’s plot line by creating companion pieces called Grandfather’s Chair, Mosses from an Old Manse and The Snow-Image, all of which were published in 1841, 1846, and 1851 respectively. Each of these stories addressed concepts of faith and religion; as well as the idea of good and evil (Eldred). Clearly Mr. Hawthorne’s background had an influence upon his works and one can begin to dig deeper into his literature. An examination of his writing reveals his obsession with religion and the fault of humans. “Young Goodman Brown”, originally published anonymously, is an allegorical story that addresses the subject of faith. (Ryken) (Keil). It has been examined by critics for over 150 years and continues to evoke questions. Questions include the following: Was it all a nightmare? What are the true meanings of the events? And what is Hawthorne’s message? Nathaniel Hawthorne’s upbringing in a largely Puritan dominated culture is clearly mirrored in this work.

The short story of “Young Goodman Brown” is a retelling of a young man’s horrific nightmare where he is uncertain if what he saw was real or if it was just an illusion made by his twisted ethos. The synopsis of the tale is this; a man goes on a walk into the forest to meet an old man who symbolizes both the devil and a relative; perhaps a father or grandfather. (Cherry) The sense that the devil is familiar and foreign to Brown is Hawthorne’s words early in the story “bearing considerable resemblance to him…they might have been taken for father and son.” While in the woods Brown does his best to avoid anyone he might know but fails to do so. Instead of being humiliated by the rest of his village he sees everyone else’s wrongdoings in the forest. The village invites him to join their devil worship. He rejects their offer while running away. When Brown awakens in his bed; he is wary of the rest of humanity for the rest of his life. During his journey, Young Goodman Brown experiences gullibility, guilt and hypocrisy despite the clear realization that he is with the devil which is exhibited when he refuses to take the staff saying”” I have scruples touching the matter thou wor’st of”. However, the evidence that humans are easily persuaded is highlighted when Goodman Brown finally allows himself to freely talk to the devil in disguise. It is shown that eventually, after being coaxed, Brown no longer is worried about falling into the hands of the devil; somewhat because he resists the devil several times- not taking the staff, sitting and refusing to follow at one point. Eventually, he does follow the devil into the woods and despite his best efforts instead embraces the dark situation. “On he flew among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied gestures, now giving vent to an inspiration of horrid blasphemy, and now shouting forth such laughter as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around him. The fiend in his own shape is less hideous than when he rages in the breast of man.” He has taken the devils staff by this point and now runs wild with him.

Eventually, Brown meets other towns folk in the woods engaged in these ghastly acts, sinning and ignoring the consequences. Hawthorne’s obvious and direct use of irony is clear. The sight of others in the village at this strange Satanic setting does not ease Brown’s concern. Brown is still guilt ridden. Guilt and shame plague Young Goodman Brown throughout the story from the first passage where he thinks “What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand!” to moments where he is called as a convert in the ‘dark-clad company’ of villagers. (Keil) After he wakes up from the nightmare, Brown feels extremely guilty of his last interaction with the devil. Hawthorne writes that Brown became “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream.” The words there showcase that he mulls over his actions long after he’s completed them and becomes obsessive over his faults. This remorse eventually leads to his loss of faith. “On the Sabbath-day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen, because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear, and drowned all the blessed strain.” This quote illustrates the effect the guilt has taken on his life. After the forest incident, Brown loses his faith because he feels gullible, guilty and hypocritical for his actions. . Finally, the theme of religious hypocrisy takes affect with this quote, “My Faith is gone! . There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name.” shows Brown’s loss of trust in humanity despite him doing the exact same types of behavior. He comes to believe that all of humanity is bad and that no one can be trusted despite previously assuming all of those of Puritan faith were good people. This highlights the hypocrisy of Puritanism which has the main belief that a person is either all good or all evil, no in-between. It’s also important to note that in the Puritan belief system it is speculated that the Devil hides in the woods. Goodman Brown, who actively tries to make sure no one knows he plans on entering the woods, still acts shocked to find that others are also in the forest and judges them on that as if he too wasn’t there as well doing the same thing as them.

Hawthorne throws this ironic symbolism in into the face of Brown with the loss of Faith’s ribbons. (Levy) Furthermore, as D. M. McKeithan states Brown did not judge the villagers accurately; he judged them by himself. He thought of them as sinners; but somehow considered himself above them. (McKeithan). The loss of Young Goodman Brown’s faith is a result of his inability to understand his own nativity, his culpability in his actions with the devil and finally his own piety. Simply put he discovers he can be gullible, guilty, and hypocritical. Brown represents everyman, he might even mirror Hawthorne’s family in some ways. Hawthorne has noted by Levy presented Brown with the realization that faith is “unreliable and unpredictable.” (Levy). Despite the numerous opportunities Brown had to not proceed on the journey or go home, he continues to follow the devil. He proceeds even though guilt tortures him along the way. Decisively, he faces the fact that all of his villagers even the minister had faults. Virtue is not easily obtained, mankind is bound to fall, and Hawthorne recognizes man’s limitations and through stories like “Young Goodman Brown”, which attempts to share that no (wo)man is perfect and a person’s faith is often experienced in different ways.