Theme Of Darkness In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Descending into Darkness

The unknown and the depths of one's own mind are frequently represented by darkness. Darkness is a potent symbol of the human psyche, representing the unknown and the mysteries of one's own mind, which can cause stress, concerns, and fears that may not actually exist. "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a tale, in Puritan New England, following the journey of Goodman Brown into his own mind. Goodman Brown, who leaves his wife, Faith, to meet with someone in a dark woods, sees a multitude of people, including his own wife, who he understands are all engaged in a satanic ritual, and he ultimately wakes up in the woods but is portrayed to have disillusioned in the good of humanity. Faith, Goodman Brown's

She represents Brown's own moral and spiritual struggles, as well as his final mental collapse.

Faith, like her name, is a manifestation of Goodman Brown's own purity. Faith is renowned in the beginning of the story for living and being near to Brown, especially as a loving woman who would stay with Brown forever. When Brown departs for his trip, he describes his wife as "Poor little Faith!" and a "blessed angel on earth," whom he would accompany to Heaven (Hawthorne 155). Brown refers to his wife as impoverished and little, which alludes to his impression of her as sensitive, brittle, or naive. This emphasizes Brown's regret and remorse for abandoning his wife to pursue his own self interests. By personifying Faith as a fragile and innocent character, the phrase reinforces the concept that the narrator's desertion of his wife is a betrayal of his own beliefs and trust in the goodwill of others. Furthermore, Brown's search for Faith, during the ritual, serves as a continuation of

Brown gradually loses confidence in the people he previously trusted, and eventually loses credence in the notion of morality overall. When he asserts "there is no good on earth" and "sin is but a name," he indicates his uncertainty regarding the basic roots of his beliefs. His acceptance of the devil symbolizes his moral decline and diminished trust in mankind, and also reveals how Brown's journey altered his outlook, transforming him into a skeptic who has lost hope in decency and virtue. Moreover, as Brown journeys further into the forest and confronts his own doubts and anxieties, he encounters Gookin leading a group of proselytes, including Goody Cloyse and Martha Carrier. Additionally, when Brown finds Gookin, he is leading a party of proselytes that includes Goody Cloyse and Martha Carrier. These people are depicted as pious and virtuous members of the society until it is discovered that they have forged a devilish pact and have congregated beneath a "canopy of fire" to worship Satan. This image represents the corruption and hypocrisy that Brown sees in the society around him. It also demonstrates how the people in his life who formerly symbolized purity and integrity have been corrupted by the same evil that he now faces within himself and his wife. Ultimately, this encounter reinforces Brown's disillusion