Nathaniel Hawthorne

Young Goodman Brown

“It was strange to see, that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints.”
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I had the strangest sense of deja-vu while reading this.

Although it turns out this was not due to some creepy devilish trick, but (more predictably) because I had previously read this story in a collection called 
  American Midnight: Tales of the Dark
 a few years ago. And I must say, I enjoyed it now for all the same reasons as I had enjoyed it then.

Hawthorne builds a great sense of foreboding in the space of a few pages, creating a very creepy and enjoyable experience despite the very heavy handed religious symbolism (Is it still symbolism if it is shoved into your eyeballs? I mean, a man who reluctantly takes a midnight stroll alongside the devil in darkness, worried about leaving his wife Faith at home. Something doesn’t feel so subtle here.)
Temptation of straying from the good. Guiltily, but knowingly choosing the devil despite the protestations. And criticizing the hypocrisy of the society while mocking the performative piousness all in the same breath. We got it all in this gem of a story.
It’s entertaining, it is atmospheric, and it is surprisingly easy to read considering when it was written. Very nice all around.

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Young Goodman Brown

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