Essay On Dante In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne honors Dante in 'Young Goodman Brown'

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) wrote Young Goodman Brown in 1835 some 514 years after Dante Alighieri passing in 1321. It is a short story of only 10 pages of prose; yet, it captures the essence of the first three verses of La Divina Commedia. In fact I can say that his little story throw great light on the interpretation of these verses. Over the past seven centuries many great scholars have honed their talents to the text of La Divina Commedia but none seem so original as that of Nathaniel Hawthorne's. This does not negate those previous or subsequent commentator's insights for Dante work has many layers of interpretation. See Mark Musa translation below:

"Midway along

It is also the day one would take a bath not as it is today where bathing is a daily ritual. Dressed up in clean attire a young man, being his own master, is ready to 'paint the town red' as the saying goes.

It is surprising that he does not take the excellent advice that he gives to his wife, "Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee." It is interesting that this is the same model advice written in most almanacs of that period. Here he himself has the keys to salvation but consciously does not use them.

As Goodman Brown embarks upon his journey he knows that it is an evil mission he has embarked upon. This is in stark contrast to Dante finding himself in a dark wood. Dante knew not how he arrived in the woods. Being a neophyte in the ways of the world Goodman Brown questions, practically on the outset of his journey, what is behind the numerous trees of the forest he has entered. A new traveler through such a dark forest would not, of course, know these things. This is reminiscence of the Bushman of Africa who knows precisely what is behind every boulder, tree, and bush in his forest in contrast to the White Hunter that comes into his world scared out of his wit and would not take a step without the Bushman’s guidance. Young Goodman Brown even reflects, "what if the devil himself should be at my very

In a sense Virgil is the elderly Dante young Dante finds in the dark wood. It is after all the teachings of Virgil that caused Dante to be where he is. Virgil's teaching were basically pagan and in a sense has made Dante into his own image and likeness. Just as Virgil guides Dante through the ceremonial ritual of the baptism of fire in the Infernal and Purgatorial realms so to does the elderly Goodman Brown guide his younger self through the Saturday festivities of the Boston night life, which Hawthorne allegorically likens it to a meeting of the coven in the forest, where everybody is an equal. The meeting of the coven was to bring about the baptism of Goodman Brown into the secret mysteries of this fellowship of evil