The People in Goodman Brown's Life
The Character’s in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Famous Short Story
Nov 22, 2008
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of his allegorical tales where each person serves a specific function and represents a specific aspect of humanity.
Young Goodman Brown
When reading Hawthorne’s work, it is important to realize that the names are often chosen with a specific purpose in mind. Brown is a very common name, which seems to indicate that Hawthorne meant for him to be viewed as an ‘everyman’ character. Goodman and Goody were polite terms of address at the time that were commonly used in Puritan society. However, the idea that Brown is a good man is very important in this story. And obviously, Hawthorne wants us to realize that Brown is young and inexperienced by including the term ‘young’ in the title of the story.
Brown is on an evil journey at the beginning of the story, we do not know why but we do know that he feels that it is a necessary journey. We soon learn that Goodman Brown believes that he can leave the events of the night behind and remain faithful to his wife after this one night. The story takes place at a pivotal point in his life and because he doesn’t know what his wife chooses, he spends the rest of his life a bitter and morose man who trusts no one and who, when he dies, is not given an inscription on his tomb because he was a grim man whose death signified nothing.
The Devil
Goodman Brown’s journey is to meet with the devil. The devil not only resembles Goodman Brown
But also resembles his father and grandfather both of whom were involved in notorious crimes of persecution. When Brown first meets with the devil he bemoans the fact that he is the first of a line of honest men who ever did such a thing and kept such dubious companions. Some critics see in the devil a manifestation of the dark side of Brown’s nature. Other critics find in it a representation of Hawthorne’s own guilt regarding his own ancestors who participated in similar crimes. In addition to the persona taken by the devil, it is important to note his snake-like staff, which Hawthorne mentions frequently throughout the description of that dark night.
Faith Brown
Faith Brown is Goodman Brown’s wife. We are told that Faith is appropriately named. We also discover that the two have been married for three months. Faith represents more than just Brown’s young wife in this story, she is also an allegorical representation of Brown’s faith. When Brown arrives late at his appointment with the devil, he excuses himself by saying that “Faith kept me back a while." She is a physical manifestation of all that is good in the world and in his life. As a result, when he believes that his wife has gone to the devil, Goodman Brown cries out “My Faith is gone' and embraces his dark side and hurries to join the gathering.
Faith wears pink ribbons, a fact, which is mentioned three times in the story. Hawthorne mentions them at the parting of husband and wife. They are highlighted when, alone in the wood, Brown hears the voices of people from his village coming from a dark cloud. As the cloud disappears, a pink ribbon floats down and so he believes that Faith is in partnership with the devil. When he returns home Faith waits at the window wearing her pink ribbons.
Some critics believe that the pink ribbons represent her innocence others feel they represent feminine sexuality.
Goody Cloyse, the Minister, and Deacon Gookin
These three characters are representative of the duality and hypocrisy Goodman Brown finds in a world, he thought he knew. Virtuous Puritan villagers by day, the night’s events (if they can be believed) reveal these three people as worshipers of Satan. Unlike the rest of the participants in this story, Goody Cloyse and Deacon Gookin were real people who participated in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
Martha Carrier
Martha Carrier is an evil woman who is reputed to have made a bargain with the devil who agreed to make her queen of hell. She and Goody Cloyse lead the veiled form of Faith out to the satanic ceremony. The fact that a reputedly virtuous woman accompanies a woman who is thought to be purely evil highlights the uncertainty Hawthorne creates regarding the virtue and motives of all characters in the story.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown and Other Stories. Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0 14 60.0094 3
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