Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown is a Puritan, as mention in the story. Puritans are people who believe very strongly in God and who look down at people who have fun at the expense of not worshipping correctly. The story also takes place in Salem which is a coincidence since Salem was the setting for the Salem witch trials. The Salem Witch Trials a time when innocent business women were accused by young girls and hanged by these false accusations. These hangings finally stopped when the governor’s own wife was accused of being a witch. So anyway, Goodman was summoned for a meeting supposedly but he doesn’t know what it is about. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses some Gothicism in his writing style.
He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.
Gothicism often focuses on the darker and negative perspective of life. It is the complete opposite of Romanism. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses words such as dreary, darkened, and gloomiest. This words all make a somewhat reference to darkness, which is a trait of Gothicism. He also uses words such as solitude and lonely two times throughout this quote. Characters who are often portrayed in Gothicism are often characters who are alone, thus again making a reference to Gothicism. The reason he uses Gothicism is to emphasize the evil that awaits a good Puritan like Young Goodman Brown.
Another concept that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses is that Young Goodman Brown wife’s name is Faith.
So they parted; and the young man pursued his way until, being about to turn the corner by the meeting-house, he looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after him with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons.
An important factor is the Puritan religion was Faith. Faith was a strong concept because they needed faith to undertake a long journey from home. They also needed faith to strive for their own right. They also need faith if they want to be one of the few chosen ones. Nathaniel Hawthorne probably named her Faith due to her strong devotion not only to God but to her husband as it seems that she is very worried about him. Another factor that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses with Faith is that he always mentions her pink bows. Pink is very different from black which is the key color of Gothicism. Pink on the other hand symbolizes love and innocence which is a key factor of Romanism. This, Nathaniel Hawthorne makes it an irony. By also using that Faith uses bows he is bestowing her childlike innocence which is also another factor of Romanism.