Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown": An Interpretation
Author(s): D. M. McKeithan
Source: Modern Language Notes, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Feb., 1952), pp. 93-96
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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"YOUNG
HAWTHORNE'S
GOODMAN BROWN"
"YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN":
INTERPRETATION
93
AN
The majorityof Hawthornecriticsfeel that " Young Goodman
Brown" 1 is one of the verybest of Hawthorne'stales,but thereis
somewhatless certaintyas to its meaning. The themeof the story
has been variouslystatedas the realityof sin, the pervasiveness
of
evil, the secret sin and hypocrisyof all persons,the hypocrisy
of Puritanism,the results of doubt or disbelief,the devastating
effectsof moral scepticism,or the demoralizingeffectsof the discoverythat all men are sinnersand hypocrites.2
MarkVan Doren,in the fullestand mostrecentcriticism,
givesa
thoroughanalysisof the tale both as to its artistryand as to its
meaning. I quotebrieflyfromhis discussionof its meaning:
"Young Goodman Brown" means exactly what it says, namely that its
hero left his pretty young wife one evening . . . to walk by himself in the
primitive New England woods, the Devil's territory,. . . and either to
dream or actually to experience (Hawthorne will not say) the discovery
that evil exists in every human heart. . . . Brown is changed. He thinks
there is no good on earth. . . . Brown, waking from his dream, if it was
a dream, . .. sees evil even where it is not. . . . He had stumbled upon
that "mystery of sin" which, rightly understood, provides the only sane
and cheerful view of life there is. Understood in Brown's fashion, it
darkelnsand sours the world, withering hope and charity, and perverting
whatever is truly good until it looks like evil at its worst: like blasphemy
and hypocrisy.3
This surveyof criticalopinionis not complete,but it is all I have
are plauspace forin this briefnote. All of theseinterpretations
:Published in The New England Matgazine for April, 1835, and collected
in Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846.
2 See, among others, George Parsons Lathrop, A Study of Hlauwthorne
(Boston, 1876), p. 203; George E. Woodberry, Nathaniel Hauwthorne
(Boston and New York, 1902), p. 146; Frank Preston Stearns, The Life
and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Boston, 1906), p. 181; Newton Arvin,
Hawthorne (Boston, 1929), pp. 61-62; Austin Warren, Nathaniel Hauwthorne: Representative Selections (New York, 1934), pp. xxviii, lxix, 362;
Randall Stewart, Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography (New Haven, 1948),
p. 262.
3Mark Van Doren, Nathaniel Hauwthorne (New York, 1949), pp. 77-79.
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94
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, FEBRUARY, 1952
sible,and a good case mightbe made foreach. Some of themagree
which I presentbelow partly
essentially,and the interpretation
coincideswith some of them,thoughit points out certaintruths
so obviousthat I marvelat the critics'neglectof them.
At the end of ChapterVIII of The House of the Seven Gables
Hawthornediscussesthe effectson various types of mind of the
or suspicionthat" judges,clergymen,
and othercharacters
discovery
of that eminentstamp and respectability,
could really, in any
singleinstance,be otherwisethan just and uprightmen." But to
those criticswho thinktheyhave discoveredin this or in similar
passages the themeof "Young GoodmanBrown" I would suggestthatit wouldbe morelogical to look forthethemeof " Young
GoodmanBrown" in " Young GoodmanBrown" itself.One should
carefullyguard against reading into the storywhat is not there.
Moreover,elsewhereHawthornefrequently
said thatthereis evil in
everyhuman heart (thoughevil impulsesor desiresmay not lead
to evil deeds), but he does not, in his own person,say so in this
story,and that is not, I think,its meaning. The themeis Hawthorne'sfavoriteone: sin and its blightingeffects. Goodman
Brown'ssin is not identified,
but its horribleeffectsare most impressivelydescribed. At the end of the storyhe is full of cynicism
and moral scepticism;theyare not his sin but merelyits effects.
The distinction,
it seemsto me, is essentialto a correctinterpretation of the story.
Goodman Brown is everymanof average intelligencewho is
strivingto live the good life. For three monthshe had been
marriedto a lovelyyoungwomansymbolizing
religiousfaith. He
was not loyal to Faith, thoughhe fullyexpectedto be loyal after
just one moreindulgencein sin. At some earliertimehe had met
Satan and had promisedto meethim in the forestat night. It is
doubtfulthat he recognizedSatan at first,but he knew that his
journeywas an evil one,and his consciencehurthim becauseof his
disloyaltyto Faith. He had confidence
in his abilityto indulgein
the sin - whateverit was - once moreand then resistall future
temptations. He did not knowin advancehow far into the forest
he wouldbe persuadedto go or whatthe resultswould be.
Faith urgedhim to postponehis journeyuntil the next day,but
he said it had to be made betweensunsetand sunrise. His heart
smotehim and he called himselfa wretchto leave her on such an
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"YOUNG
GOODMAN BIROWN"
95
errand;be believedit would kill her to knowwhat workwas to be
done that night-and it would have appalled him too if he had
known. He thoughtof her as a blessed angel on earth and said,
"<Afterthis one night I'll cling to her skirtsand followher to
heaven." This "excellent resolve" did not preventhis making
haste " on his presentevil purpose." It is clear thatbeforeBrown
had any suspicionsconcerningthe sincerityof supposedlypious
people-that is, beforehe had enteredthe forest-he was himself
deliberatelyand knowinglyindulgingin sin, thoughwith the intentionof reforming
soon.
In the bodyof the storySatan is the main speaker. In two disguises-firstas the man with the serpentstaffand second as the
priestwho presidesat the meetingof sinners-Satan poisonsthe
mind of Brown and destroyshis belief in virtueand piety. But
thereadershouldnotmakeBrown'smistake:he shouldnot suppose
thatSatan alwaysspeaksthetruth-nor needhe supposethat Satan
alwaysexpressesHawthorne'sown opinions.
Satan deniesthe existenceof virtueand pietyin the world. It
is a consequenceand a punishmentof Brown'ssin that he believes
Satan and thusbecomescynical. Hawthornehimselfbelievedthat
evil impulsesvisit everyhumanheart,but he did not believethat
mostmen are mainlyevil or that mostmen convertany considerable proportionof theirevil impulsesinto evil deeds. In Fancy's
Show-Boxhe said:
It is not until the crime is accomplished that guilt clinches its grip upon
the guilty heart, and claims it for its own. . . . In truth, there is no
such thing in man's nature as a settled and full resolve, either for good or
evil, except at the very moment of execution.4
In short,Hawthornehimselfdoes not share the black pessimism
that finallycame to GoodmanBrownas a resultof his sin. Hawthornegreatlyadmiredmanypeoplewithwhomhe was personally
acquainted,and manygood charactersare picturedin his tales and
romances.
GoodmanBrownbecamecynicalas a resultofhis sin and thought
be saw evil even wherenone existed. This is not a storyof the
thatcomesto a personwhenhe discoversthatmanv
disillusionment
supposedlyreligiousand virtuouspeople are really sinful; it is,
' See Austin Warren, op. cit., p. 62.
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96
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, FEBRUARY, 1952
rather,a storyof a man whosesin led him to considerall other
people sinful. Browncame eventuallyto judge othersby himself:
he thoughtthemsinfuland hypocritical
becausehe was sinfuland
hypocriticalhimself. He did not judge themaccurately:he misjudgedthem. The ministerof Salem village,Deacon Gookin,Goody
Cloyse,and Faith wereall good in spite of what GoodmanBrown
eventuallycame to thinkof them.
Moreover,it is not necessaryto choosebetweeninterpreting
the
storyliterallyand takingit as a dream. " Young GoodmanBrown"
is an allegory-whichis whatHawthornemeantwhenhe suggested
that it mighthave been a dream-and an allegoryis a fictitious
storydesignedto teachan abstracttruth. In reality,Browndid not
go into a forestat night nor did he dream that he did. What
Browndid was to indulgein sin (representedby the journeyinto
the forestat night-and of course the indulgencemight have
lastedmuchlongerthana night: weeks,months,evenyears) under
the mistakennotionthathe could breakoffwheneverhe wantedto.
Instead of breakingoffpromptly,he continuedto indulge in sin
longerthan he had expectedand suffered
the consequences,which
werethe loss of religiousfaithand faithin all otherhumanbeings.
What Brown'ssin was at the beginningof the storyHawthorne
does not say, but it was not cynicism:at that time he was not
cynical,althoughhe was already engaged in evil dealings with
Satan. Cynicismwas merelythe resultof the sin and came later
and gradually. By not identifying
the sin Hawthornegives the
storya widerapplication. Whichsin it was doesnotgreatlymatter:
what Hawthorneputs the stresson is the idea that this sin had
evil consequences.
D. M. MoKEITIIAN
University of Texcas
LE CHANDELIER
ET L'OPINION
1848-1850
DE LA CRITIQUE,
I. Representationdu 10 aouft1848 au THUATRE HISTORIQUE.
Paul de Musset dans Le National (14 aofut1848) donnele ton de
la critique. En generalon loue la piece,on fait des reservessur la
representation.
" que de toutes
L'oncle,commeil se nomme,affirme
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