Romanticism uses optimism, experimentation, escapism, and even the use of terror and fear to tell a

story that may contain a commentary upon society. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young goodman Brown”
begins at sunset in Salem village. Goodman Brownis bidding his wife, Faith, farewell. Her ribbons echo
the pink of the sunset. Three times Hawthorne mentions the ribbons in those first few lines, one for each
month that the pair had been married. Hawthorne writes goodman Brown’s first name in lower case
letters suggesting he is neither as good, nor as special, and perhaps even a lesser man, than he believes.

The romantic setting “appeals to the imagination,” as Paul P. Reuben explains in “Romantic Attitudes in
Early Nineteenth Century and Romanticism.” A love story stirs our “emotions and feelings” (Reuben 2);
and yet, there is foreboding as Faith implores goodman Brown, “softly and rather sadly” to delay his
journey (Hawthorne 620).

“My love and my Faith,” he responds, “dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months
married!” Hawthorne implies that love and faith are often coupled with doubt, especially if one holds
the religious beliefs of Puritans who, like the Pilgrims, had “accepted John Calvin’s view that God freely
chose (or “elected) those he would save and those he would damn eternally” (Norton 13). The tale
suggests that religious faith can create doubters, instead of believers. And those we doubt first and most
critically are often those closest to us.

In the story, Hawthorne rapidly introduces a sense of anticipation and dread: “Brown felt himself
justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose” (Hawthorne 620). Here we have an innocent,
Faith, being told to say her prayers “and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” (Hawthorne
620); and yet, her husband is involved in something that may bring danger.

Goodman Brown is anxious as he hurries along. He nervously thinks, ‘What if the devil himself
should be at my very elbow!” (Hawthorne 620). Soon, Goodman Brown encounters “a man, in grave and
decent attire” (Hawthorne 620). The use of the word “grave” has a dual meaning; the reader or listener
conjures up an image of death, the grim reaper, and the devil. Romantic Attitudes use “the ‘willing
suspension of disbelief’” (Reuben 2). No one meets the devil; but in the interests of a good yarn, we
suspend disbelief, at least for the duration of the story, and accept the “personal narrative” (Reuben 2) of
goodman Brown.

The old man carries a “staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake” (Hawthorne 621). This
could symbolize the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where the snake represented
the devil. The staff could also represent the ceremonial staff borne by popes and bishops; Puritans and
Pilgrims “agreed with Martin Luther that no pope nor bishop had a right to impose any law on a Christian
without consent” (Norton 13). We see goodman Brown struggling with a decision and being drawn into
a situation without his full consent.

The old man, or Satan in disguise, says that he knows goodman Brown’s family well: “I helped your
grandfather…, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem” (Hawthorne
621). Hawthorne’s great-great-grandfather, William Hathorne (1606-1681) “had ordered the whipping of
a Quaker woman in Salem” (Hawthorne 621).
Goodman Brown proclaims that “With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the
devil!” (Hawthorne 624). This could be a call to our “Romantic Attitudes,” a “stress on our emotions and
feelings rather than reason,” a call to “optimism” (Reuben 2) – and yet, closer analysis of that sentence
sees us wonder, what precisely does he mean by “Faith below”? Is this a reference to the subordinate
nature of women? The most common sexual position of a woman (missionary style)? Or does it suggest
that Faith is part of the netherworld, Satan’s kingdom?