Young Goodman Brown

“‘There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,’ said Goodman Brown to himself; and he glanced fearfully behind him, as he added, ‘What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!’”

This quotation reinforces the Puritan belief that the Native Americans were faithless and agents of the devil. It also foreshadows the characterization of the elder traveler as the devil.

“You are late, Goodman Brown […]. The clock of the Old South was striking, as I came through Boston; and that is full fifteen minutes agone.”

The traveler acts as if he has been waiting for Brown to arrive, though Brown does not seem to know the man. Most importantly, the quote provides one of the first clues to the traveler’s supernatural essence. As Boston is roughly 25 miles from Salem, the revelation that the elder traveler arrived at Salem Village after only 15 minutes suggests he holds supernatural powers.

“‘Faith kept me back awhile,’ replied the young man, with a tremor in his voice, caused by the sudden appearance of his companion, though not wholly unexpected.”

The line can be read on a literal level to suggest that Brown’s tardiness is because his wife Faith hesitated to see him off on his errand. Figuratively, the line suggests that Brown’s hesitance to enter the forest is because his faith, in this case religious conviction, kept him from questioning his beliefs.

“‘Too far, too far!’ exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk. ‘My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs. And shall I be the first of the name of Brown, that ever took this path and kept—’”

Brown is reluctant to continue his journey at several moments in the story. At this point, Brown refuses to go further as he is reminded that his family came from good Christians who never entered the woods.

“‘Ah, your worship knows the recipe,’ cried the old lady, cackling aloud. ‘So, as I was saying, being all ready for the meeting, and no horse to ride on, I made up my mind to foot it; for they tell me, there is a nice young man to be taken into communion to-night. But now your good worship will lend me your arm, and we shall be there in a twinkling.’”

This passage quotes Goody Cloyse and confirms her allegiance with the devil. First, the quote reveals that she is on her way to the witch meeting and foreshadows that Goodman Brown is the “nice young man” who will be converted. Second, the passage shows Cloyse’s willingness to join the traveler to get the ceremony faster. That she calls the traveler “your worship” is another indication that he is (or is connected to) the devil.

“‘Friend,’ said he, stubbornly, ‘my mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this errand. What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil, when I thought she was going to Heaven! Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith, and go after her?’”

Goodman Brown denounces Goody Cloyse’s choice to join the devil and decides not to continue his journey. While he realizes that he can no longer trust those individuals who represent his religious beliefs, he reassures the traveler that Cloyse’s choice is no reason to abandon his faith. If the traveler is indeed a manifestation of the devil, then this passage is laced with irony, as Brown is already with the devil.

“‘Of the two, reverend Sir,’ said the voice like the deacon’s, ‘I had rather miss an ordination-dinner than tonight’s meeting. They tell me that some of our community are to be here from Falmouth and beyond, and others from Connecticut and Rhode-Island; besides several of the Indian powows, who, after their fashion, know almost as much deviltry as the best of us. Moreover, there is a goodly young woman to be taken into communion.’”

This passage is one of the most significant in the entire story. It confirms that the deacon is aware of the nature of the ceremony taking place in the woods. He tells the reverend that he would rather miss a church function than the witch meeting and suggests that he and the reverend know even more about deviltry than the indigenous tribes.

“‘Mighty well, Deacon Gookin!’ replied the solemn old tones of the minister. ‘Spur up, or we shall be late. Nothing can be done, you know, until I get on the ground.’”

When the minister replies to the deacon, he suggests that the ceremony cannot begin until they arrive. In this case, it suggests that the deacon and the minister are presiding over the ceremony and so they are as deeply involved in this evil ritual as they are with the church’s affairs.

“‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! for to thee is this world given.’”

This passage conveys Goodman Brown’s realization that his Faith is gone. The meaning is twofold: His wife Faith is given to the devil, and his religious faith is in tatters due to this experience. His statement that the world is given to the devil and that there is no good on earth substantiates the story’s main themes.

“The road grew wilder and drearier, and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, still rushing onward, with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil. The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds; the creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians; while, sometimes the wind tolled like a distant church-bell, and sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveller, as if all Nature were laughing him to scorn. But he was himself the chief horror of the scene, and shrank not from its other horrors.”

This passage serves two purposes. First, the gloomy description of the forest is one of the most vivid in the story. The description reinforces the evil perception of the woods and the unknown that it holds. Second, the passage positions Goodman Brown as the ultimate evil entity. As the “chief horror,” all the other evil in the forest seems less threatening.

“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.”

Once Goodman Brown hears Faith’s voice in the woods, he accepts the traveler’s staff and uses it to quickly travel to the ceremony in the clearing. The passage suggests that this moment is when Brown falls to the devil’s grip, and all the demons around him laugh in victory.

“By the sympathy of your human hearts for sin, ye shall scent out all the places—whether in church, bed-chamber, street, field, or forest—where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty bloodspot. Far more than this! It shall be yours to penetrate, in every bosom, the deep mystery of sin, the fountain of all wicked arts, and which inexhaustibly supplies more evil impulses than human power—than my power at its utmost!—can make manifest in deeds. And now, my children, look upon each other.”

One of the central teachings in Puritan religion was the individual’s duty to seek out evil within the community. This passage serves as a nod to Puritanism by asking people to seek out evil and look to each other. Rather than banish evil, however, the congregation is instructed to “exult” it. By inverting the original belief, Hawthorne gestures to the Puritans’ hypocrisy, as they resorted to immoral and unjust acts in their quest to root out evil.

“Hardly had he spoken, when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind, which died heavily away through the forest. He staggered against the rock, and felt it chill and damp, while a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew.”

There is a drastic shift in Brown’s environment at this point in the story. The passage directly follows the loud and fiery celebration where Brown and Faith are to be converted. The shift to the chill dampness of the rock and cold dew on the tree branch suggests that the events in the forest were a dream.