Psychological Analysis of Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne

In “Young Goodman Brown”, after his journey into the forest, Brown changes his entire outlook on life. He has lost his faith and has taken on a life of darkness and unrest because he is never sure whether the events of what happened in the forest were reality or imagined. From that point on he is never at peace because he is always expecting evil. And he is then depicted as a man who never has happiness with his beloved “Faith”, that is his wife and his actual faith in God, or in any other thing in his life. Brown becomes a victim to the nature of evil and the effects that it can play on the

Another part of the psyche that is critical in controlling the impulses of the id is called the superego. With the superego our innate tendencies of the id are properly restrained. When Goodman Brown questions the traveler's advice to continue the journey, he is allowing his superego to take charge. This is shown when he confidently declares, "I have scruples, touching the matter thou wot'st of" (Hawthorne 274). Goodman Brown also shows signs of his fighting superego when he firmly asserts, "My mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this errand..." (Hawthorne 276). In the story, Brown is frequently stopping and reconsidering his commitment to the traveler, which is comparable to what an id and superego would do. The superego focuses on moral standards to justify decisions. An example of this is when "Goodman Brown sat himself down at the stump of a tree and refused to go any farther" (Hawthorne 276). For Goodman Brown to stop this way, his superego must have had just enough doubt to cause him to want to stop in his tracks.

8. Whether Goodman Brown’s experiences were real or dreamt could be interpreted either way. The way the beginning starts so abruptly could easily lead you to belive that it was a dream. When the wife, says fretful for his well being and she mentions having bad dreams it could have been a clue from Hawthorne. Also Hawthorne, didn’t explain why Goodman Brown was entering a forest all of the sudden, and how he has come to be acquainted with the devil. These sudden events are a typical setting of a dream, because a dream doesn’t have to make sense. Regardless of whether it was a dream or not it doesn’t change what happened in the story. Goodman Brown's new point of view and decisions are still the same either way. Hawthorne left this question open to the readers because it didn't make a difference to what happened to Goodman Brown. He would still think and act the same way he would if he was dreaming or awake.

In the two short stories, “Young Goodman Brown” and "The Yellow Wallpaper, ” both protagonists, Goodman Brown and Jane’s obsession over an idea ultimately leads to their realization of their ‘failed’ judgement and the formation of a new opinion, which consequently results in the deterioration of their mental well-being. To begin, in “Young Goodman Brown,” Brown’s beliefs are tested to the fullest extent when he discovers that his wife, Faith has succumbed to the involvement of witchcraft. Brown’s obsession over Faith, and what he originally believed to be her undoubted piety, is what causes Brown to form a new perspective after he learns that he can no longer blindly trust and turn to the person that had once been the most important

“Poor little Faith!” thought he, for his heart smote him. “What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But, no, no! 't would kill her to think it. Well; she 's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I 'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven.” (7) He is now unlawful, whether or not he actually meets the devil or simply dreams their meeting. Whether the meeting happens, matters less than how Goodman Brown feels about giving in to his dark side. Quoted, "On he flew, among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied gestures, now giving vent to an inspiration of horrid blasphemy, and now shouting forth such laughter, as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around him. (53) In "The Young Goodman Brown" it does a great job describing the struggles Goodman is facing. Although, the ending wasn’t implied. I believe, he is teaching us a moral lesson. Teaching us people are not what they seem. Looks can be deceiving and their can also be good or evil in things/people.

Many events led up to him losing his faith and being consumed with self-doubt, but the one that finally pushed Goodman Brown over the edge to call onto the devil was when he could not find his wife Faith. The line “‘But where is Faith?’ thought Goodman Brown; and, as hope came into his heart, he trembled.” shows

      Growing up as a dedicated puritan, Young Goodman Brown was raised under strict religious guidelines that he must obey wholly according to his religion. He married a lovely woman named Faith within his deeply religious community. Faith is Young Goodman Browns dear wife, but also serves as a symbol for his commitment to the puritan religion. In Freud

“Of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise” (Hawthorne). I believe that this line that Goodman say’s to his newly married wife, is saying that he needs to become something in order for her to be proud of him. He needs to go on this journey and prove to himself that he is strong and will be able to find fulfillment in himself. Goodman Brown is a character, which has many problems within himself. His quest for internal greatness was shattered by his inability to accept who he was and get over his past. This eventually led to a life controlled by the devil.

It is possible to assume that Goodman Brown had placed a majority of his spiritual faith in his wife Faith. Even the story explains that Faith

Finally, Goodman Brown arrives at the initiation ceremony only to be confronted by the image of his wife at the unholy altar. Although Hawthorne never offers any true evidence that Goodman Brownâs experience in the woods was anything more than a dream or hallucination, the Puritan passes judgment on Faith, and forever doubts her goodness. By allowing his audience to internally assess Faithâs guilt or innocence, Hawthorne forces his reader into a role of complicity with Goodman Brown (McFarland 37). Thus, Hawthorne has created a troubling character with both light and dark facets.

One can question whether it is his lack of experience as a married man or his inability to handle his wife's sexuality that drives Goodman into the forest. They are rightfully married so he has done no wrong. Yet, his guilt is so great that he leaves his Faith to go on this errand. It has been argued in the past that Brown can not accept his own sexuality. "Brown is prevented from developing into his sexual elder because of sheer sexual adolescence or personal idealism." (Loving 223) The key word here is adolescence. Brown is still young, not mature enough to accept these repressed feelings.

Hawthorne relates his own experience to share the life of Brown, and he also uses internal conflict to explore Young Goodman Brown’s identity crisis. In the beginning there was a conflict between the husband and wife. There is a slight conflict between the husband and wife as Faith fears danger and does not want Young Goodman Brown to leave her during the night, and this causes the distance between them. It then escalates into a conflict between the good and evil in the world when Young Goodman Brown meets the devil in the forest.

“Young Goodman Brown” is full of allegorical content relating to the Puritan religion. The names of the characters in “Young Goodman Brown” are the most profound examples of allegory influenced by Puritanism. The protagonist, Goodman Brown, has a name that suggests far more than just a name. “Goodman Brown” for example, is a name that presents the character as a good moralistic man that at all costs resists temptation. Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith, has a name that assists in illustrating the downfall of Goodman Brown. After seeing Faith in the forest, Goodman Brown cries, “My Faith is gone!”(323). His wife, Faith was gone along with his spiritual faith. We first see Goodman Brown as a moral Puritan man, and after loosing his faith he becomes the opposite.

Goodman Brown represents anyone; he is basically any and every man. When the symbolism started at the beginning of the story Brown was first described as young and newly married. His wife Faith, whose name and character bears much significance, represented many different ideas. Goodman Brown can symbolically be viewed as a believer and a follower of God. Brown and “Faith’s” relationship is still being established, he does not completely cling to faith.

Goodman Brown’s conflicts of interest are represented throughout story through the characters. All his evil desires are his id and his reason for avoiding his sin such as the views that his society will have on him is his ego.  Levy said in his essay “The Problem of Faith in “Young Goodman Brown””, “His submission to evil suggests that the demands of the id have overtaken the ego” (379). When the highly respected people in his