Sample Student Research Project 2010
Essay
LITR
4232 American Renaissance
Sample Student Research Project 2010
Essay
Jeff Derrickson
The Exploration of Faith and Evil in Dreams:
Romance and Psychoanalysis in
Young Goodman Brown
A cursory reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
Young Goodman Brown reveals somewhat
obvious symbolism. The titular character represents the everyman in the story;
he finds himself engaged with a moral conundrum in which most readers can find
themselves. Faith represents religious faith, and perhaps Brown’s faith in his
fellow man. The traveler, of course, represents Satan, who seeks to manipulate
and tempt those who would resist him into his service. The allegorical structure
of the story cannot be denied, but a reader’s interpretation of the story’s
events can be explored and developed. The climax of the story finds Brown in the
heart of the forest at a witches’ Sabbath gathering.
It
is important to note that there is no concrete evidence as to where Brown’s
dream begins. There is a sharp scene of awakening in the forest portrayed in the
story’s climax, but the reader must conclude at which point the dream sequence
starts. The narrator’s increasingly romantic language serves as a sign that the
dream begins once
the “gloomiest
trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep
through…closed immediately behind [him].” Romanticism is a crucial element of
the text. The events of the story that take place in a forest at night signify
the presence of the gothic, which has its ties to Puritan schools of thought.
The wilderness acted as a passive partner to Puritanical beliefs, as it
represented an untamed and Godless area (Forrer, 1976, P. 616). To walk into the
forest without clear purpose was equivalent to walking into hell, itself a
gothic idea. Images associated with
the gothic recall the Christian visions
of hell, devils, and demons, with Lucifer as a dashing figure that is
proud, rebellious, attractive, and dangerous to know (White, 2010, n.p.).
Romantic ideas of evil lead Brown down the “darkened” and “dreary road,” just as
significantly as Satan. Brown leaves the arms of his wife of his own volition,
perhaps propelled by “the mystery of sin” that is proclaimed during the witches’
mass. “The forest, symbol of Brown’s retreat into himself, is associated with
images suggestive of evil,” (Hurley, 1966, p. 413). This retreat will lead Brown
into his own mind, because “the
indispensable feature of nearly
any gothic narrative is a haunted space
that reflects or corresponds to a haunted mind” (White, 2010, n.p.).
Further evidence that the title character is dreaming surfaces when Brown bids
farewell to his newlywed wife Faith, who fruitlessly pleads with him to stave
off his journey. A clue that the subsequent events of the story take place
within Brown’s consciousness lies in Faith’s statement that “a
lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she's afeard of
herself sometimes.” Brown reflects on the statement briefly as he parts, noting
that “Faith speaks of dreams, too,” and that perhaps she was warned by her own
dreams of Brown’s errand. The fact that he says “too” infers that his journey
may be the product of his own dreams, as there was no prior mention of a dream.
The
physical presence of Satan begins the motif of mirroring, or the doppelganger,
in Brown’s dream. Mirroring is a romantic literary archetype that authors use to
explore the dual natures of their characters (White, 2010, n.p). Satan is
described as an older man who bears a considerable resemblance to Brown, and in
fact could be taken as his father. Hurley (1966) observes that “this personage
is so curiously described that he is indisputably Goodman Brown’s own personal
devil” (p. 413). With the aid of mirroring, Brown’s dream begins the systematic
exploration of all the Goodman holds dear. Brown invokes his father and
grandfather as he laments that he will be the first of his family to follow in
the devil’s footsteps. Satan responds that he knew Brown’s father and
grandfather quite well, and aided them in various insidious acts. This
information acts as an introduction to the mirroring of Goody Cloyse, who taught
Brown his catechism. Brown “never pauses to consider the reality” of Cloyse’s
presence, which is not characteristic of a Puritan aware of hell’s influence
(Hurley, 1966, p. 414). This atypical behavior, combined with Cloyse’s sudden
disappearance, foster that Brown is dreaming. Though he is shaken by the
revelation of Cloyse, Brown forgoes the devil’s guidance and refuses to go on.
He then encounters doppelgangers of the deacon and minister of his church, who
reveal their alignment with the witches’ Sabbath. Brown’s faith in both his
family and his church has been tested, but it seems that he will continue along
on his own path to Heaven as long as he has Faith.
Faith, as well, is subject to mirroring, but her dual nature is more pronounced
than Cloyse or the church leaders. There is the physical character of Faith, and
her allegorical doppelganger that represents the abstraction of faith.
Faith is described as little, but she is
significant enough to keep Brown back a while from his evil errand. Brown sees
her as an angel on earth, and an untouched paragon of virtue that is
incorruptible; however, he makes the mistake of seeing Faith and her abstract
counterpart as commodities that can be “adopted and discarded at will” (Hurley,
1966, p. 412). The pink ribbons that adorn Faith’s cap have been said to signify
purity, sexual passion, a meeting point between the symbolic colors of red and
white, or Brown’s immature sense of faith, but Levy (1975) sees the ribbons a
mere physical link between the two paradigms of Faith (p. 384). Brown often
muses that he will be able to cling to Faith’s skirts and follow her to Heaven,
or sleep sweetly wrapped in Faith’s arms; alas, it is not the physical
representation of Faith that will lead him to salvation.
It becomes apparent that Brown is
analyzing his psyche in his dream, because the metaphor of Faith’s ribbons and
skirts signify that his faith is dominated by the ornamental elements of
religious worship rather than from the purity of his innate self (Hurley, 1966,
p. 416). This misplacement of faith is what leads Brown into accepting that
there is no good on earth after he discovers a pink ribbon in the forest. Brown
does not need to see Faith in the forest to confirm her loss, and his fragile
faith is shattered. Brown characterizes the unknown with threats that are
symbolized by familiar images such as darkness, demons, or the innocent
imperiled, a motif dominated by the gothic (White, 2010, n.p.). The segment of
the falling ribbons is rife with language that flourishes, but the language
serves to disorient the reader as well. Brown’s descent into madness is
reminiscent of a significant nightmare of uncharacteristic behavior,
indiscriminately juxtaposed images, and terrifying imagery. Brown is described
as “the fiend in his own shape, which is a reminder to the reader of Brown’s
twinning with Satan. As Brown gleams the idea that Faith and her representation
of his own faith have abandoned him as frivolously as he had at the story’s
beginning, Brown’s mind wages war against itself. Brown’s representation of the
everyman serves well in this instance, as many readers who find themselves in a
crisis of faith might find themselves ranting, raving, and questioning the
significance of everything they hold dear.
If
the text is viewed through a psychoanalytical lens, Brown’s ego and superego
struggles with his id for much of the story (Levy, 1975, p. 379). According to
All Psych Online (2004), the id considers only what feels good in the moment,
and does not consider the ramifications of obtaining what is wanted (n.p.).
Brown’s id is in control when he begins his journey, and after seeing the pink
ribbon in the forest, establishes itself as dominant over the ego, which cries
out to be saved (Levy, 1975, p. 379). The ego wants to cater to the needs of the
id, but it is checked by the reality that impulsive selfishness may do harm to a
person (All Psych Online, 2004, n.p.). Brown engages in a tirade of blasphemy
and rage that leads him headlong into the witches’ Sabbath. In his dream state,
Brown’s id is free to indulge in the allure of evil, because his faith is rooted
in those who surround him. Brown’s fledgling faith which resides in ornaments
and the physical can be seen as his ego, which is under duress throughout the
story. His ego holds the id in check as long as he has Faith, Cloyse, and the
deacon and minister, and he feels that he can remain on the pious path; however,
when he sees these people and other neighbors he once thought of as Godly
attending the black mass, he can’t help but to feel “a
loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart,” and
the ego is overrun by the id. The corruption of his wife, teacher, and spiritual
leaders leads Brown to fully commit to the evil in his heart, and he no longer
resists (Hurley, 1966, p. 417).
Both Hurley (1966) and Levy (1975) refer to Roy R. Male’s
description of the black mass as a euphemism for sexuality. The dark minister’s
language certainly alludes to this claim, as he makes reference to “a mighty
blood spot,” which could refer to the loss of virginity; the “penetration” in
every “bosom,” which carry those obvious sexual avatars; and “the fountain of
all wicked arts,” which could refer to male and female genitalia, neither of
which can ever be truly and fully sated. The “deep mystery of sin” may also
refer to sexuality, as sex can be seen as a mystery by the curious virgin. An
obvious blasphemous parody of the Catholic “mystery of faith,” the words are
fueled by such a potent energy that a reader can’t help but to be tempted to
wonder what truly entails the “mystery of sin.” Male sees the communion of the
mass as sexual, which is congruent to the Brown’s rampant release of his id, and
that “Brown qualifies for it by his marriage” (Levy, 1975, p. 381). That Brown
is released from the dream after this communion may refer to two possibilities:
that Brown is absolved from his sexuality through his marriage to Faith, or that
there is an unknown illicit sexual connection to Faith, i.e. the “mystery of
sin.” The former would lead to redemption of sorts for Brown and Faith, but the
latter configures into the story’s themes of the knowledge of evil and lack of
faith. The presence of Faith at the witches’ Sabbath lead the reader to question
her untouched purity just as Brown has, upon seeing her ribbons in the forest.
Levy (1975) believes that Faith herself has made a covenant with Satan just as
Brown had, a thought he refers to “as sinister as anything to be found in
Once he sees the ribbon-less mirrored abstraction of Faith at
the black altar, Brown’s faith is restored, and he pleads with her to resist the
dark one. This manifestation of Faith, the renewed abstraction of faith, can be
seen as Brown’s superego, “whose task is to punish the ego for its defections
and, as the voice of conscience, to repress the satisfactions of the instinctual
[id]” (Levy, 1975, p. 379). The advent of the superego quells the uprising of
the id, and empowers the ego once more. Brown never hears her reply, as he
“wakes” back into reality. Brown’s renewed ego essentially ends his experiment
with evil because it cannot tolerate the negative effects that would have
resulted with the completion of the ceremony (Levy, 1975, p. 379).
Brown’s awakening is characterized by clarity of descriptions
and standard narration in contrast to the romantic devices
References
All Psych Online. (2004).
Freud's Structural and Topographical
Models of Personality. Retrieved from:
http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html
Forrer, R. (1976). The
Puritan religious dilemma: The ethical dimensions of God's sovereignty.
Journal of the
Hurley, P. J. (1966).
Young Goodman Brown's 'Heart of
Darkness'. American Literature, 37 (4), 410-419.
Levy, L. B.
(1975). The problem of Faith in 'Young
Goodman Brown'. Journal of English and
Germanic Philology, 74 (3), 375-387.
White,
C. (2010).
American
Renaissance & American Romanticism: The Gothic.
Retrieved from:
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/Whitec/LITR/4232/research/termsthemes/gothic.htm
