“Young Goodman Brown” and Women
What are the attitudes of the young Puritan husband Goodman Brown toward women, of the author toward women, of other characters in the story toward women? This essay intends to answer that question.
Randall Stewart in “Hawthorne’s Female Characters” states that there are three types of female characters in Hawthorne’s writings: (1) “the wholesome New England girl, bright, sensible and self-reliant;” (2) “the frail, sylph-like creature, easily swayed by a stronger personality;” and (3) “the woman with an exotic richness in her nature” (98), and that “Young Goodman Brown” has in Faith “cheerfulness, prettiness, and a simple-minded domesticity” (99). So this categorizes her under type (1).
In Salem village that fateful night when the young Puritan husband was departing home for the night, he exchanged “a parting kiss with his young wife.” From this we can conclude that he had a basic respect for her feelings(?) The wind was playing with “the pink ribbons of her cap.” Literary critic Wagenknecht surveys some of the critical interpretation relative to these ribbons:
Mathews finds the pastel of infancy in pink, but since pink is a color intermediate between red and white, William V. Davis prefers to take it as suggesting “neither total depravity nor innocence” but “the tainted innocence, the spiritual imperfection of mankind,” a view shared, up to a point, by Robinson. . . . (62).
So the critics would have us believe that the author is making a statement here: that seemingly good Faith is not all that good, based on the author’s placement of pink ribbons on her cap. She whispered, “Dearest heart, prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep...
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc.,1959.
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Leavis, Q.D. “Hawthorne as Poet.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Martin, Terence “Six Tales.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1965.
Stewart, Randall. “Hawthorne’s Female Characters.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
Both Alcott and Hawthorne provide brilliant examples of feminists and both, though different, are perfect for showing the complexities of American women. While many women make their cause global, many others contain their goals locally, and both are worthy of supporting feminism. Zenobia and Hope stand as examples of inredible characters that provide a Victorian era with a view of womanhood not often noticed.
Many would say he targets women without justification. Therefore, a reader may interpret him to be a misogynist. In the story " Rapaccinni's Daughter" uses Beatrice as a carrier of a deadly poison. In " Young Goodman Brown" he targets Faith as the character who is lost to the Devil. In the stories "Rappaccini's Daughter," and "The Birthmark," Hawthorne also uses the word "Sunday.
The primary use for all castles, in general, is defense. They were often built on hills, cliffs, islands, swamps, etc. to limit the probability of a siege or uprising, and motte and bailey castles were no different. The motte and bailey castles were first used to protect the nobleman of the Norman fleet, and followed a fairly basic design. Mottes, according to Dr. Reginald Allen Brown, medieval historian with vast knowledge and experience in this field, were artificial mounds constructed by piling consecutive layers of earth and stones. The stones created stability throughout the motte and also helped with drainage. The sides of the motte were often covered with a layer of clay...
Casting a circle is one of the most basic magickal acts that a Witch does. Circles are used for rituals and sometimes magickal workings. A circle does a number of things. Most importantly, it protects the practitioner(s) from spirits, negative energies, and other nasty things out there. With that in mind, please be sure to practice with extreme care and be sincere in what you are doing. Abide by the Wiccan Reed* and you should be fine. The circle also serves as a sacred place in which to do ritual workings like sabbat celebrations and certain spells. The circle keeps the energy in a contained area so that it can be concentrated and strengthened as much as possible before it goes out to do its job. So without “further ado” here is how...
Lang, H.J. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
The story is set in seventeenth-century Salem, a time and place where sin and evil were greatly analyzed and feared. The townspeople, in their Puritan beliefs, were obsessed with the nature of sin and with finding ways to be rid of it altogether through purification of the soul. At times, people were thought to be possessed by the devil and to practice witchcraft. As punishment for these crimes, some were subjected to torturous acts or even horrible deaths. Thus, Hawthorne’s choice of setting is instrumental in the development of theme.
III. Comparable aspects of Hawthorne's characterization in The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables
Edmund Fuller and B. Jo Kinnick in “Stories Derived from New England Living” state: “’Young Goodman Brown’ uses the background of witchcraft to explore uncertainties of belief that trouble a man’s heart and mind” (31). It is on that one night of the year when witches have their coven in the deepest woods that the young husbandman, Goodman Brown, takes leave of his wife, Faith: “YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife.” The reader receives a premonition of the impending evil intrigue with Faith’s staement of her foreboding, troublesome dreams:
Colacurcio, Michael J. The Province of Piety: Moral History in Hawthorne's Early Tales. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984.
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us (54).
Essential oils, even if diluted, should never be used directly on a cat. This is because a cat will try to lick the substance off, and ingesting the oils can result in extreme toxicity.
Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Prentice Hall Literature, The American Experience. New Jersey: Oscar F. Bluemner, 1915. 266-67.
Motte and bailey castles were the first castles built in Great Britain (McCulloch). These particular castles were brought to England by the Normans and used to oversee the native population (Motte). The design of the motte and bailey castle was simple and consisted of only earth and wood (McCulloch). The motte portion of the castle would be raised off of the ground with a wooden tower built atop where the lord would be stationed (McCulloch). The bailey part of the castle was the area of land around the motte. It was believed that the best site for a castle was atop a hill. This gave the lord an advantage such as being able to see oncoming attackers (Stokstad). This was the only benefit of the motte and bailey castles. The specific design for this type of castle did not endure very long because the wood used to build the tower on top of the mound would rot away or catch fire quickly, causing the castle to become unprotected and open for attacks (Hull).