What Is The Choice Of Faith In Young Goodman Brown

The Choice Between Two Different Faiths

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel Young Goodman Brown, first published in 1832, the character Faith embodies many things to her husband, including God and the idea of female purity or innocence that pervaded society at the time, which may still exist to a degree today. The idea of “having faith in God” in Christianity and the wife of Goodman Brown, who Hawthorne intentionally names Faith, serve as an entertaining and thought-provoking play on words in the novel. Throughout this dark tale, Goodman Brown is tempted by the devil to leave his faith, or his religion, while his wife Faith, who he believes to be an innocent woman devoid of evil thoughts, is ironically tempted by the Devil herself. Goodman Brown

While Faith serves as a reason for Goodman Brown to want to flee from walking with the devil further into the forest, she is also the reason he continued on his way towards the Witches’ Sabbath. To clarify, after deciding to turn away from the devil midway on his path towards the Sabbath, Goodman Brown thinks he hears the voice of Faith and catches sight of her pink ribbon floating down from the sky. Whether or not this was a deception set up by the devil, Goodman Brown becomes so angry at the idea of Faith being in danger that he ironically continues on his path towards the Devil. “My Faith is gone! …There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name,” cries Goodman Brown after seeing the ribbon. After this climatic scene, Goodman Brown will never look at his wife again as an entirely pure person, as he is soon to learn that she was seduced by the devil when he meets her at the Witches’ Sabbath. In other words, he has not only lost his faith in the goodness of God, but also in the goodness of his wife, who he used to view as a perfect being that is incapable of sin, much like a God. However, Goodman Brown soon regains his faith in God and turns toward Heaven, while ironically leaving his faith in his wife Faith