Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Clarke Manning and Nathaniel Hathorne, is a highly regarded American Renaissance writer. Educated in Maine at Bowdoin College, Hawthorne wrote to make sense and beauty out of the human experience (Poetry Foundation). This is especially true in his interest in colonial American pre-history and his history as a descendant of John Hathorne – a leading Judge in the Salem Witch Trials. His notable works include The Scarlet Letter, “Young Goodman Brown”, and The House of Seven Gables. His writing is a testament to the American Renaissance literary era, incorporating the natural landscape of America, Indigenous references, and origin stories such as the Puritans(Tuttle). In a period where literature became an avenue to explore what it meant to be an American – to face moral and political identities – Hawthorne’s work exemplifies literature’s power in redefining a nation’s mood.
“Young Goodman Brown”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835, is set in 1600s Puritan Salem, Massachusetts, harkening back to America’s colonial pre-history. Hawthorne’s allegorical short story follows a young Puritan, Goodman Brown, who must leave his doting wife, Faith, and journey into the dark woods on an unknown, perhaps evil, task. Encountering many questionable figures in the woods, Brown begins to question his entire community. As his piety faces its ultimate test, he holds on to the unshakable convictions of his wife for refuge until that foundation, too, is broken. True to an allegorical structure, this story operates on two entirely different levels – the literal being a young man leaving his wife to attend a witch meeting. Yet, the symbolic level rises above as we can look at the strategies Hawthorne employs to make his much greater critique of the Puritan faith. Specifically, this notion of doubt and a deeply troubled society obsessed with rooting out evil and questioning everyone’s faith.
"Hawthorne indeed produces the very essence of that wild and heathen forest, for I, too, remember the shaking of faith that desolate wilderness inspires with savage creatures lurking and howling in the cover of night. The path of those turning away from the glory of God and heaven above must then face the consequences of a snarled and evil road. As Heb. 3:12-13 reads, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” I only hope one’s readers take its truest meaning away from this dark tale – never dare to abandon one’s Puritan beliefs and the harmony of its community, for pre-destined are we each, and thou can never be too doubtful." - Mary Rowlandson, author of A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
"I am proud beyond belief to read such a thrilling, well-crafted, and cautionary tale. While my great-grandson must have changed the spelling of our name to avoid the excess of fame following wherever he went – as I cannot think of any other reason – he is right to look back on our family’s involvement in this dark hour of Salem. Indeed, this story shows the true level of darkness I encountered as I swiftly and relentlessly strove to oust Satan’s work as the highest court of the colonies and return that community to God. Some say I showed no remorse for those who dared to doubt my and God’s authority; I say look to Hawthorne’s description of that vital Puritain realization. With that dubious and ominous night that young Goodman Brown was initiated into the very heart of our religion – that those all aroud us may harbor the true nature of a foul and wicked sinner." - Judge John Hathorne, great-grandfather of Nathaniel Hawthorne & leading judge in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692
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