Young Goodman Brown's "Heart of Darkness"
Author(s): Paul J. Hurley
Source: American Literature, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Jan., 1966), pp. 410-419
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2923136 .
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YoungGoodmanBrown's"Heart ofDarkness"
PAUL J. HURLEY
IllinoisUniversity
Southern
CRITICAL CONTROVERSY WHICH HAS CENTERED on Hawthorne's
11"YoungGoodmanBrown"seemsto havereachedan impasse.
Hawembodying
Criticshaveusuallyseenthestoryas an allegory
thorne'ssuspicionsabout man's depravity.'This interpretation
impliesthattheDevil's wordsto GoodmanBrown-"Evilis the
natureof mankind. Evil mustbe youronly happiness."-echo
Hawthorne'sown attitude.R. H. Fogle, for instance,writes,
"GoodmanBrown,a simpleand pious nature,is wreckedas a
of the fixedpolesof his belief. His
resultof thedisappearance
cosmosdissolvesintochaosas churchand state,the twin
orderly
withtheirfoundations
arehintedto be rotten,
pillarsofhissociety,
Fogle says,"doesnotwishto propose
Hawthorne,
undermined."2
evil; ratherhe has a gnawingfear
flatlythatman is primarily
thatthismightbe true."3And HarryLevin has unequivocally
in thebenighted
wilderelders... meeting
"The pharisaical
stated,
righteousness."4
ness,are doingthedevil'sworkwhileprofessing
and W. B. Steinhave
On theotherhand,F. 0. Matthiessen
thatit is Goodman
consensus
and suggested
themajority
resisted
David Levinhas
seeks
for
who
evil.5
Recently
Brown
purposely
thatGoodman
to voidbothpointsof viewby insisting
attempted
to
Brownis misledby the Devil who conjuresup apparitions
but not
befuddlehis innocentvictim.6The idea is comforting
convincing.To takeguiltawayfromhumanbeingsin orderto
of the
explanation
powersis nota satisfactory
placeit on infernal
rHE
'Among them: Q. D. Leavis, in "Hawthorneas Poet," Sewanee Review, LIX, 179(April-June,1951); Harry Levin, in The Power of Blackness (New York, 1958);
and Roy Male, in Hawthorne'sTragic Vision (Austin,Tex., I957).
2 Hawthorne'sFiction:The Light and the Dark (Norman,Okla., 1952),
p. 79.
205
31bid., p. i6.
The Power of Blackness,p. 54.
in the Age of Emersonand
AmericanRenaissance:Art and Expresision
6 Matthiessen,
Whitman(New York, 1941), p. 283; and Stein, Hawthorne'sFaust: A Study of the
neitherof these critics
Devil Archetype(Gainesville,Fla., I953), pp. 6-7. Unfortunately,
offereda sustainedanalysisof his reading.
"Shadows of Doubt: SpecterEvidence in Hawthorne's'Young Goodman Brown,'"
AmericanLiterature,XXXIV, 344-352 (Nov., I962).
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Young Goodman Brown's"Heart of Darkness"
411
story.To the modernmind (and I suspectthatincludesHawwere
thorne's)eitherAbigailWilliamsand her Salemplaymates
littleliars,or MarthaCarrierand Goody
hysterical
irresponsible,
reallywerewitches.
Proctor
and we
is misleading,
David Levin'scontention
If I am correct,
"Askingwhether
totheoriginalargument.He writes,
mustreturn
forit leadsus beyond
thesepeoplewere'really'evilis impertinent,
I shall
diabolicalinspiration,
the limitsof fiction."7Confessing
becauseI am not convinced
takea chanceon beingimpertinent
dealingwithman'snatureand thehumanheartare
thatquestions
"beyondthelimitsoffiction."I believethereaderhas everyright
are actuallycohortsof the Devil.
to wonderif the townspeople
or
Afterall,if YoungGoodmanBrowndid nothavea nightmare
indicthas createda fearful
Hawthorne
hallucinations,
experience
mentofhumanity.ButifGoodmanBrowndid "dream,"thenthe
in Salemin I692, was the
reported
evilhe saw,likethewitchcraft
savethatsuppliedbyhis
ofhisownfancywithno reality
product
imagination.
depraved
My pointhereis that"YoungGoodmanBrown"is a subtle
a distorted
mind. I beconcerned
withrevealing
workof fiction
fromor
lievethepervasive
senseofevilin thestoryis notseparate
it is in and of him. His "visions"are the
outsideitsprotagonist;
nottheDevil'swiles. Goodand distrust,
ofhissuspicion
product
man Brown'sdyinghouris gloomybecausethe evil in his own
of sin.
bythedreariness
he seesa worlddarkened
heartoverflows;
has givenus everyreasonto readthestoryas a revelaHawthorne
"Young
afterall,is entitled
(thestory,
tionofindividual
perversion
aboutman'snatureor the
GoodmanBrown"),and speculations
talents
oftheDevilareoutofplace.
The talebeginswithan accountofGoodmanBrown'sdeparture
in
fromhishomein Salemvillagein orderto keepa strangetryst
theforest.He preparesto leave"at sunset,"an hourwhenthe
Faith,"as thewifewas
worldis abouttobe plungedintodarkness.
aptlynamed,"begshimto "putoff[his] journeytillsunrise";but
as thoucallestit,forthand back again,
he replies,"My journey,
mustneedsbe done'twixtnowand sunrise."Like RichardDigby,
the intolerant
religiousfanaticof "The Man of Adamant"who
7lbid., p.
351.
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412
AmericanLiterature
depthsof theforest"and was disap"plungedintothe dreariest
on thecotto fallpeacefully
continued
pointedthat"thesunshine
tages and fields...," GoodmanBrown'salliance with evil is
imagesof lightand darkwhichintimate
bycontrasting
suggested
betweengood and evil. These imagesof
opposition
a symbolic
shadow,dark,and gloombecomemorefrequentand persuasive
as thestory
continues.
makesclearat oncethatGoodmanBrown'spurpose
Hawthorne
on thisnightis an evilone. The factthathe is awareof thesinanybeliefwe mayhavein Goodman
fulnessof his tripdestroys
Brown's"simpleand piousnature."
he,forhisheartsmotehim. "Whata wretch
"PoorlittleFaith!"thought
am I to leaveheron suchan errand! She talksof dreams,too. Meas she spoketherewas troublein herface,as if a dreamhad
thought
warnedherwhatworkis to be doneto-night.But no,no; 'twouldkill
herto thinkit. Well,she'sa blessedangelon earth;and afterthisone
nightI'll clingto herskirtsand followherto heaven."
emphasison dreams,thepassageis
Asidefromtheinteresting
is
forseveralreasons. GoodmanBrown'sconscience
noteworthy
fromFaith. He realizesthatit would
troubled
by his departure
"kill her" if she wereto know the purposeof his trip,but he
fromfaith)will be only
assumesthathis absence(his departure
mistake
is toimaginethatfaith
GoodmanBrown'sfirst
temporary.
as faithin
(which,mostreadersare agreed,mustbe interpreted
one'sfellowmen as well as religiousfaith)can be adoptedand
in the
at will. The ironyofthepassageresidesprimarily
discarded
thatGoodmanBrownintendsto get to heavenby
implication
of faithratherthanby virtueof his own
clingingto the"skirts"
becomealmostplayor actions.The ironicimplications
character
resolveforthe
sentence:
"Withthisexcellent
fulin thefollowing
in makingmorehaste
GoodmanBrownfelthimself
justified
future,
on the
evilpurpose."DespiteFogle'sconcentration
on hispresent
meansus to
it seemsclearthatHawthorne
ofthestory,
ambiguities
be in no doubtthatGoodmanBrownhas alreadyhad somecontact
to renewthatcontact,
withtheforcesofeviland doesnothesitate
to thetemptations
which
becausehefeelsthathe willprovesuperior
mayassailhim.
withthecharconcerned
thatwe areprimarily
The suggestions
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Young Goodman Brown's "Heart of Darkness"
413
acterof Goodman Brown,with some secretconcerninghis mind
and heart,becomestrongeras he journeysinto the forest,which
functionsas a symbol of withdrawalinto oneself. Goodman
into
Brown'sisolation,his retreatfromnormalhuman intercourse
is intimatedby the
the strangedream world of the subconscious,
imagerywhich describeshis journey. He takes "a drearyroad,
darkenedby all thegloomiesttreesof theforest."GoodmanBrown
thereencountersthe man whom he has journeyedinto the forest
to find. The man appearsto be the Devil himself,and he expects
GoodmanBrown.
The forest,symbolof Brown'sretreatinto himself,is associated
and
of evil. "It was deep darkin theforest,
withimagessuggestive
deepestin thatpartof it wherethesetwo werejourneying."HawbetweenBrownand theDevilthornealso insistson thesimilarity
"the second travellerwas about fiftyyearsold, apparentlyin the
same rank of life as Goodman Brown,and bearinga considerable
resemblanceto him...." And we are informedthat"theymight
have been taken for fatherand son." Despite David Levin's remindersoftheDevil's wilesand powers,thispersonageis so curiousGoodmanBrown'sown personal
ly describedthathe is indisputably
devil.
GoodmanBrown'sfaithmaybe "little,"butit is notnonexistent.
His "devil" knows,just as Goodman Brown or any contemporary
criminalsubconsciously
knows,thatbeliefin the moralityof society
to
rationalizedaway, beforetotal commitment
mustbe destroyed,
man
is chided by his companion
evil is possible. When the young
he replies,"Faith
for his tardinessin keepingtheirappointment,
keptme back awhile"; but faithwas not,of course,strongenougn
to preventhis journey. Goodman Brown's "lonely night of the
soul,"his patheticstrugglebetweengood and evil,is dramatizedin
his dialoguewiththe Devil. At firsthe proteststhathe intendsto
returnat once to the village. "'Sayest thou so?' repliedhe of the
smilingapart." The Devil,it seems,knowshis victimwell.
serpent,
He urgesthe youngman to walk on, insistingthattheyare "but a
littleway in the forestyet";and Goodman Browngoes with him,
not realizinghow farintotheforestof his own evil he has already
traveled.
of Goodman Brown,but
The Devil thenbeginsa slytemptation
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4I4
American Literature
becausethe onlyrewardsGoodman
it is a puzzlingtemptation
hisneighbors,
caston hisfamily,
aretheaspersions
Brownis offered
questionthe
he acceptswithout
enough,
andhischurch.Strangely
is actuallya kindof
wordsof theFatherofLies. The temptation
interior
monologue,
a debatewhichGoodmanBrownholdswith
whosepurposeseems
himself.He askstheDevilseveralquestions
tonote,
it is interesting
tobe tokeephimfromevil. The questions,
the
thethreeinstitutions
obligated:
towhichmanis morally
suggest
"What
thechurch.GoodmanBrownasks,in effect,
family,
society,
say? How
wouldmyfamilythink? Whatwouldtheneighbors
wouldthechurchreact?" But theDevil (or psychicrationalizahisneighbors,
and theleadersof
tion)assureshimthathisfamily,
of sinthanhe.
hischurcharefarmorestainedbytheblackness
are projected
intovivid,concrete
formin the
Thesequestions
Goodman
visionswhichfollow. As theywalk on intotheforest,
BrownandtheDevilcomeupona womanwhomBrownrecognizes
and piousGoodyCloyse. Fearing(or pretending
as thevenerable
hisbeingoutso latein suchstrange
tofear)thatshewillquestion
advances
Goodmanhideshimself.The Devil,however,
company,
in
on her; sherecognizes
himand theyhold a shortconversation
whichtheold womanrevealsthatshe has longbeenon familiar
termswithSatan. The youngman neverpausesto considerthe
even thoughsuch consideration
realityof Goody'sappearance,
Puritancognizantof the
mightbe expectedof any well-trained
use of GoodyCloyseand her referDevil'spowers.Hawthorne's
enceto MarthaCarrierremindus thattheywereactualhistorical
That Goody
accusedbytwisted
"youngsters."
unjustly
personages
is partofGoodmanBrown'spsychological
selfCloyse'sappearance
in
the
followstatement
seemsclearfromHawthorne's
justification
to walk onward,whiletheelder
"Theycontinued
ing paragraph:
to makegoodspeedandpersevere
exhorted
traveller
hiscompanion
seemedrather
so aptlythathisarguments
in thepath,discoursing
by
to springup in thebosomof his auditorthanto be suggested
exhortation
to
Brown
the
of
Devil's
echo
biblical
The
himself."8
in the path"appearsto be
"to makegood speedand persevere
of thesituation
sinceit is thepath
ironicparodying
Hawthorne's
adheres.
Brown
to
Goodman
which
ofself-righteousness
8 Italicshere as elsewhereare mine.
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Young Goodman Brown's "Heart of Darkness"
415
the Devil seems
When Brownfinallyrefusesto go any further,
by the news: "'You will thinkbetterof this
entirelyundisturbed
by and by,'said his acquaintance,composedly."Sittingby himself,
Goodman Brown experienceshis second "vision." He imagines
and Deacon Gookin,as they
thathe hearsthevoicesof theminister
ride by,talkingaboutthe devilishcommunionwhich theyplan to
attend. Goodman's reason for believingwhat littleevidencehis
sensesaffordhim is evenless good in thisinstancethanit had been
in thepreviousone:
spot,neither
to thedepthofthegloomat thatparticular
owingdoubtless
brushed
thetravellers
northeirsteedswerevisible.Thoughtheirfigures
it could not be seen that theyinterthesmallboughsby thewayside,
cepted,even fora moment,the faintgleam fromthe stripof brightsky
athuwart
which they must have passed. GoodmanBrownalternately
and thrusting
and stoodon tiptoe,pullingasidethebranches
crouched
forth
hisheadas faras he durstwithoutdiscerningso muchas a shadow.
Fogle has alludedto thispassagetoo as evidenceof Hawthorne's
ambiguity,but thereis no ambiguityin the fact that Goodman
he stands"doubtBrownactuallysaw nothingat all. Nevertheless,
him."
Goodman
a
ing whethertherereally was heaven above
Brown makes one last desperateavowal of his resistanceto evil:
"'With heavenabove and Faith below,I will yetstandfirm....'"
But he has alreadydepartedfromFaith. Goodman Brown then
thinksthathe hears the sound of voices: "The next moment,so
indistinctwere the sounds, he doubtedwhetherhe had heardaught
but the murmurof the old forest,whisperingwithouta wind."
Hearing "one voice of a youngwoman," he immediatelyassumes
it is his wife,and he criesher name. Suddenlyhe catchessightof
down throughthe air; he clutchesit and disan objectfluttering
coversit is a pink ribbon. Associatingit at once with the ribbons
his wife had worn thatevening,he shouts:"'My Faith is gone!'
...
'There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil;
for to thee is this world given.'" Goodman Brown acceptshis
wife'sguiltwithouteverhavingseen her.
to severalcritics. F. 0.
Faith'sribbonshave provedbothersome
Matthiessenobjectedto thembecause theyseemed too literaland
concrete;theyappearedto him out of keepingwith othersugges-
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4I6
AmericanLiterature
Foglehas notedthat
tionsthatBrownis havingan hallucination.9
of the
threetimesin theopeningparagraphs
theyare mentioned
theribbon
story,
andhe feelsthat"ifGoodmanBrownis dreaming
maybe takenas partand parcelofhisdream."'0At anyrate,"Its
in viewof the
temporary""
(a peculiarstatement
impactis merely
GoodmanBrown
appear,at last,to convince
factthattheseribbons
ofman'sdepravity
and so "color"therestofhislife). Hawthorne
on
and theireffect
concentrates
on Faith'sribbons,
so insistently
thatone may,assumetheywere
GoodmanBrownis so devastating,
as an important
thatFaithis
symbol.If we remember
intended
itself.Goodman
an allegorical
figure,
an answersuggests
primarily
Brown,we recall,intendsto get to heavenby clingingto Faith's
of ritual
skirts;in otherwords,he feelsthatthemereobservation
willinsuresalvation-good
workshaveno placein his (as theyhad
no place in Calvinistic)theology.Faith'sskirtsand her ribbons
withtheirsugthesamefunction.The ribbons,
fulfilsomewhat
and ornamental,
the ritualistic
represent
gestionsof thefrivolous
observance.GoodmanBrown,it seems,has
trappings
of religious
in theformalobservances
placedhisfaithandhishopesofsalvation
in
the
purity
ofhisownheartand
worship
rather
than
ofreligious
is supported
soul. Thisinterpretation
bythefactthatwhathe has
and DeaconGookin,
seenandheardofGoodyCloyse,theminister,
as
can hardlybe
eventhoughit maycondemnthem individuals,
faith.GoodmanBrownaccepts
ofreligious
usedas a condemnation
as reality-just
Faith'sadornment,
as he has
themetonymic
ribbon,
as a meansofsalvation.
ofreligion
accepted
the"skirts"
Has GoodmanBrownreallybeen subjectedto visionswhich
of evil? Has the faithof a good
prevalence
implytheuniversal
of theworld'ssinfulness?It
manbeendestroyed
by a revelation
wouldseemnot. If one acceptsthefactthatHawthorne
givesus
no valid groundsto believein the realityof GoodmanBrown's
as Fogledoes,thatHawvisionsandvoices,he musteitherbelieve,
of theworld'sevil; or he must
thornefearedhis own knowledge
which
fromBrown'ssubconscious
treatthoseeventsas emanations
do
the
of
own
mind.
Brown's
the
intimate corruption
young
Why
man's visionsof evil concernonlyGoody Cloyse,the minister,
9 AmericanRenaissance,p. 284.
10Hawthorne'sFiction,p. i8.
"lbid., p. I9.
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YoungGoodmanBrown's"HeartofDarkness"
417
Deacon Gookin,and his wife? One answer,of course,is thatthey
in
representan exceptionalpietywhich makes theirparticipation
evil dramaticallymore effective.But if Hawthorne'stheme conof human sinfulness,should we not see a
cernsthe universality
of thatevil? The only scenein whichsuch a
widermanifestation
occursis the Devil's communion,but thattakesplace
manifestation
afterGoodmanBrownhas declaredhis loss of faith;and the scene
of thatvision,Hawthornetellsus, was "in the heart of the dark
wilderness,"a settingwhose significanceis so inescapable that
JosephConrad would laterecho Hawthorne'swords (unknowingly?) in thetitleof one of his novels.
A moresignificant
reasonforHawthorne'schoiceof thosefour
charactersoccurs to us if we returnto a considerationof their
relationshipto Goodman Brown. They are the four people in
Salem village to whom he is morallyresponsible. Goody Cloyse
"had taughthimhis catechismin youth,and was stillhis moraland
spiritualadvisor,jointlywith the ministerand Deacon Gookin."
of the forcesof
His wifeis an even moreimportantrepresentative
moralityand virtue. It seemsobviousthattheyare thefourpeople
must be destroyedbeforeGoodman Brown
whose respectability
can fullycommithimselfto a beliefin thewickednessof theworld.
The remainderof the storycontinuesto emphasizeGoodman
Brown'ssurrenderto evil. Rushingthroughthe forest"with the
instinctthatguidesmortalman to evil,"GoodmanBrown,theman
who has lostfaithin his fellowmen,"was himselfthe chiefhorror
of the scene." "The fiendin his own shape,"Hawthornetellsus,
remindingus of the similaritiesbetween Goodman Brown and
theDevil,"is lesshideousthanwhenhe ragesin thebreastof man."
The communionscene in the forest,which Roy Male finds"essentiallysexual,"seemsto me to be entirelytheproductof a dream
a blasphemousparodyof a religiousservice. In this"grave
fantasy,
and dark-cladcompany"Goodman Brown, his faith totallydefanciesthathe seeseverypersonhe has everknown. When
stroyed,
a call is made to bringforththeconverts,
"GoodmanBrownstepped
forthfromthe shadow of the treesand approachedthe congregaof
by thesympathy
tion,withwhomhe felta loathfulbrotherhood
all thatwas wickedin his heart." When the convertslook upon
each other,Goodman Brown at last sees his wife. They are told
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418
AmericanLiterature
that"Evilis thenatureofmankind.Evil mustbe youronlyhapto thecommunion
of your
piness. Welcomeagain,mychildren,
justas theyare
race." Butas if in denialof theDevil'sassertion,
of sin,"GoodmanBrown
aboutto be baptizedinto"themystery
criesout: "'Faith! Faith!'...'look up to heaven,and resistthe
wickedone.' WhetherFaithobeyedhe knewnot." Goodman's
"He staggered
againstthe
crybreaksthespellofhishallucination:
rock,and feltit chilland damp;whilea hangingtwig,thathad
hischeekwiththecoldestdew." That
beenall on fire,besprinkled
or dreaming
hallucinations
GoodmanBrownhasbeenexperiencing
the rockand the
The detailsconcerning
seemsunquestionable.
twigare surelyintendedto signalGoodmanBrown'sreturnto a
stateofmind.
"rational"
The moststriking
qualityof the paragraphwhichdescribes
to thevillageof Salemis its tone. No
GoodmanBrown'sreturn
of theweirdand incredible.The
are
there
any
suggestions
longer
in theforest
is replacedby
dreamlike
qualityofBrown'sadventure
narration.Lifeproceedsin the
directand forthright
purposefully
villageas it alwayshas. OnlyGoodmanBrownhas changed. If
of
theeventsof thenightbeforehad beenreal,or evensymbolic
in somewaya shared
haveindicated
wouldnotHawthorne
reality,
whomhe
GoodmanBrownand thetownsfolk
between
knowledge
has toldus thatBrowndid notknowwhether
sees? Hawthorne
he
his wifeobeyedhis cryto look up to heaven. Nonetheless,
a greeting
whensherunstomeethim. His own
passesherwithout
and suspicionhave assuredhim thatshe is sinful,even
distrust
as Hawthorne
is carefulto note,she is wearingthepink
though,
he had graspedfromthe
ribbons
whichGoodmanBrownthought
seeksto
air. Noris thereanychangein anyoneelse. The minister
blessGoodmanBrown,but the youngman shrinksfromhim;
DeaconGookinis praying
and eventhoughGoodmanBrowncan
he stillthinkshima wizard.
hear"theholywordsof hisprayer,"
a younggirl,and GoodmanBrown
GoodyCloyseis catechizing
of
snatches
thechildfromtheold woman'sarms. The corruption
GoodmanBrownseesevilwherever
hismindandheartis complete;
he looks. He seesit becausehe wantsto seeit.
thatthe eventsof the
If Hawthornehad wishedto intimate
us withsuggestions
nightwerereal,it wouldhardlydo to confuse
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Young Goodman Brown's "Heart of Darkness"
4I)
method
thiswasHawthorne's
aboutdreams(unless,as Foglethinks,
ofhisowninsightintoman'sdepravitheimplications
ofescaping
of the
of the ambiguity
ty). A moreacceptableinterpretation
inthattheincredible
suggestion
storyis to see in it Hawthorne's
fantasy,
cidentsin theforestweretheproductof an ego-induced
of a diseasedmind. It seemsclearthatthese
theself-justification
theywerewilled. The important
werenotexperienced;
incidents
hasaccepted
Goodman
Brown
themas truth;
is
that
however,
point,
ofevilas thefinaltruthaboutmanhas turned
and theacceptance
a distrustful"
human
a sad,a darklymeditative,
himinto"a stern,
being. GoodmanBrowndoesnotbecomeawareofhisownkinship
butonlyin others.
in himself
withevil;he doesnotsee sinfulness
is hismostawfulsin. He has lostnotonlyfaithin
That,perhaps,
hisfellowmenbuthiscompassion
forthem.And so it is that"On
weresinginga holypsalm,
the
congregation
theSabbathday,when
ofsinrushedloudlyuponhis
he couldnotlistenbecausean anthem
nevertellsus
earand drownedall theblessedstrain."Hawthorne
as it musthavebeen,everreached
loudandfearful
thattheanthem,
theearsofanybutyoungGoodmanBrown.
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