Sunday, October 30, 2016

What is the problem with the morality of the Puritans' beliefs in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"?

The problem with the Puritans' morality in this story is that they are total hypocrites.  The Devil says to young Goodman Brown, "'I have been as well acquainted with your family as with every a one among the Puritans; and that's no trifle to say.'"  He claims that he helped Brown's grandfather whip a Quaker woman in the street, and that he gave Brown's father a bit of fire with which to set fire to an Indian village.  Moreover, the Devil says that he is just as well acquainted with all the other Puritans as he was with Brown's forebears.  Thus, even though they always seemed pious and God-fearing to Brown, it is now made clear that they only appeared that way but were actually sinful and vicious.


Further, on the path in the woods, Brown sees the Devil speak with Goody Cloyse, the pious old woman who'd taught him catechism.  It turns out that she's good friends with the Devil.  He later sees the deacon and the minister, and they know the Devil well too.  Then, when Brown gets to the witches' Sabbath, he sees infamous sinners sitting with those people known in Salem for their "especial sanctity."  Therefore, the problem with the Puritans' morality is that none of them are, in fact, truly moral.  They all pretend to be righteous and pious, but it turns out that all these people who seem to be so good are really terrible sinners who delight in their sinfulness.

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