Young Goodman Brown

"Young Goodman Brown"
Short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publication
Published inMosses from an Old Manse
Publication date1835 (anonymously) in The New-England Magazine; 1846 (under his own name) in Mosses from an Old Manse

"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story published in 1835 by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th-century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that all of humanity exists in a state of depravity, but that God has destined some to unconditional election through unmerited grace. Hawthorne frequently focuses on the tensions within Puritan culture, yet steeps his stories in the Puritan sense of sin. In a symbolic fashion, the story follows Young Goodman Brown's journey into self-scrutiny, which results in his loss of virtue and belief.[1]

  1. ^ Summary of Young Goodman Brown Archived 2017-11-19 at the Wayback Machine, articlemyriad.com; accessed December 23, 2014.