Ethan Brand

In the 19th century, multiple religious, philosophical, and artistic movements rose to prominence, especially within the literary world. These included the Romantic movement, a philosophical and artistic movement that largely explored humanity and its relationship with the divine and nature. Romanticism consisted of two sub-movements: Light Romanticism and Dark Romanticism.

Romanticism emerged as a response to Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, an intellectual and philosophical movement that swept across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment was characterized by a strong emphasis on reason, science, individualism, and secularism. By contrast, Romantic writers often critiqued the excesses of scientific rationalism and the unchecked pursuit of progress. For example, in Frankenstein (1818), the Dark Romantic writer Mary Shelley explored the ethical implications of scientific experimentation and the hubris of man's attempt to play God.

Transcendentalism is an example of a Light Romantic movement. Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that valued intuition, individualism, and a deep, spiritual connection to nature. It was also a highly idealistic philosophy that stressed the goodness of man and nature. Transcendentalism dominated American literature in the 19th century, exemplified by writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Louisa May Alcott. Dark Romanticism was a response to Transcendentalism but rejected its optimism and explored darker aspects of human nature and the supernatural. These aspects included death, moral taboos, the limits of human morality and knowledge, and the inborn sinfulness and destructiveness of the human mind and soul. Literary authors within the Dark Romantic movement included Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville.

While Hawthorne took an interest in Transcendentalism, he incorporated significantly more Dark Romanticism in his works. His stories frequently explore moral taboos and anxieties, especially in Puritan America, with characters who transgress prescribed social, moral, and natural mores, becoming the target of suspicion and disapproval. The theme of moral anxiety is illustrated in Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter and his short stories “The Minister’s Black Veil” (1836), “Young Goodman Brown” (1835), “Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1844), and “Ethan Brand.”

“Ethan Brand” uses Dark Romanticism to explore the Christian idea of the Unpardonable Sin, a sin so horrific that God will not forgive the transgressor for it, even if they are remorseful. Hawthorne uses nocturnal imagery, the symbol and motif of fire, and the macabre image of the human skeleton to show the sinful, dark aspects of humanity. The story demonstrates how far a person can descend into depravity if they allow their pride to dominate them.