A Psychoanalytical Approach to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”

YU+Qiu-lan

【Abstract】Nathaniel Hawthornes“Young Goodman Brown” is a typical example of psychoanalytical novel. Based on theory of psychological analysis by Sigmund Freud， the protagonist Browns journey in the forest is a journey of heart in nature since the process is characterized by a series of psychological changes from curiosity to confusion and final disillusionment. Browns tragedy is due to his failure to see evil in himself and to hold on to his faith.

【Key words】Psychoanalysis； Hawthorne； Goodman Brown； psychological maturation

Nathaniel Hawthorne， a 19th century American writer of novels and short stories， is considered an important representative of Puritanism； symbolism and romanticism in American literature. He established his reputation as a writer with an inquiring imagination， a meditative mind and a strong interest in the ambiguity of mans being. He made every effort to expose the lonely and dark side of human nature and the necessity for man to look into his own soul. Throughout his life， he wrote many works， aiming at espousing the complexities and sense of guilt of human beings. Reading his works one cannot fail to be shocked by the black vision revealed in his works. Take his short story “Young Goodman Brown” as an illustration， Hawthorne aims at exploring uncertainties of belief that haunt Goodman Browns heart and soul. With the help of psychological analysis Hawthorne exposes the dark side of human beings and society and his sincere love of the world.

The story “Young Goodman Brown” can be seen in one sense as emblematic of the inner urge of the young to grow up and to get integrated into the adult world as reflected by young mans leaving his wife despite her repeated earnest pleadings not to leave her alone. He must go since it is decided by his human nature： it is a phase to go through. He must lose his innocence so as to discover about the evil that exists in life as well as in him， and only in this way can he reach maturity. In this sense， his journey to meeting is also a journey of maturation and a journey of life （Chang Yaoxin， 2001）. Through his journey， Brown becomes an adult in his community and he is fully initiated socially. This initiation results in a frozen emotional state as the young Goodman Brown becomes， overnight， an old and gloomy Goodman Brown， without hope through the end of his days. Browns psychological maturation is characterized by three phases： curiosity， confusion and disillusionment. Hawthorne has created a vivid and detailed psychological analysis in order to expose Browns psychological changes， of which the following parts will be devoted to.

Brown is a good husband with a strong sense of responsibility in nature， which is revealed at the beginning of the story： he still worries about his wife when they part with each other and he has made up his mind not to leave her again after this evening journey. He goes to the meeting deep in the forest out of curiosity and with least recognition of what kind of journey it will be. At the beginning of his journey he feels perplexed and his mind changes all the time since he cannot predict what might happen to him. Unfortunately， captured by inner curiosity he accepts the devils invitation. This signifies that his faith begins to shake. When he leaves the village， “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.” （1： 484）. At this time， he is on the road to desperation， feeling extremely lonely and losing his innocence unconsciously. He is isolated from the world， and his only companion is the devil from the darkness. He is late for the meeting， which indicates that he still feels hesitant as for whether it is right for him to attend the meeting and he wavers every now and then. Walking toward the evil communion， he feels as if he is committing a crime， senses that his action might lead to some dangers， and therefore wants to go back. But he cannot escape easily once he has met a dark figure of a man—symbolic of the devil. Out of control he resumed walking with the devil unconsciously， feeling so sorrowful and despondent that he exclaims “too far； too far.” （2： 484） when the elder person told Brown “I helped your father， the constable， when he lashed the Quaker women” （3：484） and his father “set fire to an Indian village”， he refuted， “We are a people of prayer， and good workers to boot， and abide no such wickedness.” （4：485） Brown did think that his ancestors were a race of honest men and good Christians. These remarks foreshadowed that his ancestors had done misdeeds and they would appear in the communion that was a heavy blow to Brown. After hearing the conversation between the elder person and Goody Colyse， Brown refused to go any further and he said，“My mind is made up， not another step will I budge on this errand.” （5： 485） From this statement we can still sense his faith in God and his refusal to get initiated into the grave and dark-clad company. However， the devil would not give up until he reached his goal； “there is my staff to help you along” （6：486）. With these words he disappeared and left a snake-shaped stick， an obvious sign of the evil that would guide Brown into the abyss of darkness. Brown was worrying about seeing the good minister and Deacon Gookin the next day， regretting not sharing a sweet night with his wife Faith， when he heard the hoof-tramps of those coming. No sooner had he recognized the minister and Deacon Gookin in the pitch-dark forest than he felt dizzy， sinking down on the ground. If those who were his spiritual advisers participated in the evil meeting， then what kind of advice would it be？ Brown was confused， could not help suspecting the knowledge he had learned from his advisers， and “doubting whether there really was a heaven above him” （7：486）. Now he has gradually lost faith in and distanced himself emotionally from his forefathers and the authority figures of his community since he perceived that all of his good Christian forefathers and all authority figures were devil worshipers and therefore hypocrites. He must decide whether to conform and join or to rebel.endprint

The hopeful and optimistic thought that his dearest Faith was waiting for him back at home gave Brown courage to fight with the devil and he cried out “with heaven above， and Faith below， I will yet stand firm against the devil！ （8：486）” His statement expressed his aspirations to refuse to get initiated into the “grave and dark-clad company.”

However， it is a great pity that the actual facts always made fun of him. The deacons words “there is a goodly young woman to be taken into communion” （9：486） hinted that Faith also would be involved in the evil. After a while Brown heard the voices of the villagers and crying of Faith. He was astonished and shouted in a voice of agony and despair to Faith. There was no response but the falling pink ribbon. His last good hope-Faith shattered and he was completely broken. “There is no good on earth； and sin is but a name， come， devil； for to thee is this world given.” （10：486） This is the climax of Browns mental change. From then on he lost his faith； trapped in spiritual and psychological torment； and stepped closer to the devil. Brown， maddened with despair， running， seemed to be flying on the road which was described as “grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced； and vanished at length” （11：487）. The road even indicated that Brown would head for his spiritual doom. In a chorus of all the sounds of wilderness and mysterious red light， Brown sometimes laughed boisterously， and sometimes spoke crazily， seeming as if a skeleton was dancing violently“with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil” （12：487） in the horrified forest. Hawthorne created the vivid image of a man who was tortured with all kinds of suffering. Browns contradictory psychological activities were fully portrayed. On one hand， he was manipulated by the magical power and， on the other hand， was inspired by the faith in his heart. These two sides mingled and struggled intensely.

Then Brown came to the meeting where he saw grave， reputable and pious people of the state council， the church-members of Salem village， and his elders and betters in the past. The scenery was appalling： a pulpit was surrounded by four blazing pines， their tops aflame， their stems untouched， like candles at an evening meeting. The mass of foliage was on fire， blazing high into the night and fitfully illuminating the field. As the lurid light arose and fell， the congregation alternately shone forth and then disappeared， in shadow. The apparition quivered to and fro between gloom and splendor. The descriptions reinforced the horrifying circumstances. Everything was enveloped in the visionary and gloomy atmosphere beneath which there gathered many hideous souls. Hawthorne made an uncertain dreamy situation in which the spirit of the human being was probed. In front of the altar： “the good shrank not from the wicked， nor were the sinners abashed by the saints” （13：488）. From the dark figure Brown realized： “How hoary-bearded elders of the church have whispered want on words to the young maids of their households； how many a woman， eager for widows weeds， has given her husband a drink at bedtime， and left him sleep his last sleep in her bosom； how beardless youths have made hate to inherit their fathers wealth and how fair damsels-blush not， sweet ones-have dug little graves in the garden， and bidden me， the sole guest， to an infants funeral，” （14：488）. The ugly nature of humanity was thoroughly exposed. Brown penetrated the hypocritical characters of the decent people and hideous behavior concealed by the “marvelous” excuse. Nothing was good throughout the world， and “the whole earth one stain of guilt， one mighty blood spot，” （15：488）. Seduced by the fiend， Brown stepped forth from the shadow of trees， and behaved as if he was in the charge of the devil. But at this moment， Brown still hesitated， since he did not forget warning faith against the evil.“Look up to heaven， and resist the witched one，” （16：489）. The cruel fact smashed all the good expectations of Brown， and he lost trust in everything. Many essential changes had taken place in him when he returned to the lives as they used to. Brown shrank from the good old minister and Goody Cloyse as if he wanted to avoid anathema. Even to his lovely wife Faith， he looked sternly and sadly into her face， and passed on without a greeting. Observed by Brown， all the sacred were infected by the evil germ. He could not listen to holy psalm on the Sabbath day because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain， and the ministers holy speech was not instructive but rubbish. He always woke up at midnight， scowled and muttered to himself. He became depressed and extremely suspicious， his brain became addled day and night， and he ended the rest of his life in sorrow. Brown changed from good into evil， sinking into the abyss step by step. Hawthorne portrayed the exquisite psychological development of the hero vividly， revealed the contradictory spiritual agony of Goodman Brown， and exposed the moral levels of the human being.

With respect to all the above， we can have a glimpse of Hawthornes talents in employing literary technique as reflected by Young Goodman Brown. On the basis of the psychological analysis， Hawthorne reveals his heros mental conversion， makes this simple story reputable， and shows his genius as a remarkableAmerican short story writer of this time. In this century， William Faulkner and some Gothic novelists clearly show their indebtedness to him. If his reputation is still rising， it is indeed as it should be. As Henry James put it， “among the men of imagination he will always have his niche.” （Chang Yaoxin， 2008）

References：

[1]Chang Yaoxin.The Survey of American Literature[M].Nankai University Press.2008.

[2]The Makers and the Making：Volume I[M].St.Martins Press，New York，1973.

[3]ZhuGang.Twentieth Century Western Critical Theories[M].Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.2001.

【基金項目】安徽省教育廳高校優秀青年人才支持計劃一般項目（gxyq2017028）、安徽省教育廳人文社會科學研究重點項目（皖江歷史文化基地項目）（SK2016A0561）。

作者簡介：余秋蘭（1980-），女，安徽潛山人，安慶師范大學外國語學院講師，碩士，研究方向：英美文學。