The Depths of Allegory in Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"

Abstract

The following is a literary criticism centered on the historical, psychological and religious perspectives combined for a more comprehensive view of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". Sources are drawn upon to prove the historical and religious Calvinistic and Puritanical beliefs that become important to the work, as well as Hawthorne's own life as an exemplar of historical basis in fiction. Finally, the psychological aspect of "Young Goodman Brown" completes the picture of a journey in which Man's Fall is inevitable. The story is literally and metaphorically a journey of a newlywed man who is walking toward spiritual crisis, hand-in-hand with the Devil himself. Set in Salem about the time of the Salem witch trials, it provides the backdrop to an eerie journey into the dark forest and the darkness of man. Goodman Brown makes a decision, ambiguous to readers, and reveals his new insight into his fellow townspeople and his new wife. Hawthorne warns of the dangers of religion 'out-of-control', and uses his symbolic inferences to develop these ideas. The research seeks to prove that a comprehensive, multi-pronged critical approach to "Young Goodman Brown" is needed in order to fully comprehend the many layers of allegory Hawthorne communicated so masterfully.