Gabriel Lozada

Lozada 1

Egan ENGL0410 4/19/2013 Losing Faith: Gendering and the Nature of Sin in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Young Goodman Brown uses the strict religious adherence required in the Puritan society to remark on the inevitability of sin; throughout the story, the devil shows Brown the evil present in even the noblest members of society, those whom Brown most admires. Tied to this discussion of sin is a gendering of religious purity. Hawthorne makes particular note of the presence of sin in the women of the Puritan village, and goes so far as to set up Browns wife, Faith, as a proxy for religion. This expectation of women as devout by nature serves to heighten the stakes in Browns confrontation with the devil, especially upon the revelation that Faith herself is not pure. By highlighting the gendered social expectations of women in Puritan culture, as well as the inability of women to live up such standards, Hawthorne illuminates the inescapability of sin in society. Goodman Browns expectations of religious piety in women are first challenged when he and the devil encounter Goody Cloyse. As the woman approaches, Brown makes certain assumptions about her character based on her gender. He notes that, as she passes, she is mumbling some indistinct words and assumes they are a prayer, doubtless (Hawthorne 68). This assumption is based not only in her character as an agent of religion, but also as her status as a womannotably, he does not have the same expectation when he comes across Deacon Gookin. In Browns view, women have a special responsibility to maintain mildness: a woman of God does not walk alone at night, and, if so, she prays as she goes. The effect, then, of her acceptance of the devil, is more than to present her as a spiritual traitor. Interestingly, Goodman Brown genders her sin by contrasting it against the purity of his wife, Faith. In previous sections,

Lozada 2 Faith has been described as a blessed angel on earth whom twould kill to hear about Browns temptation (65). Browns expectations of Goody Cloyse, then, are partially formed as a result of his relationship with Faith: Faith is mild as a woman, so all women must be mild. When Brown refuses to go with the devil, he protests, What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devilis that any reason I should quit my dear Faith and go after her? (69). The comparison of wretched to dear sets up Faith as a standard for feminine morality by which other women can be judged; Goody Cloyse, in comparison, has failed not only her duties as a Christian, but also her duties as a woman of Puritan society. Ultimately, the gendering of Goody Cloyses sin raises the stakes of her failure. As a woman of God, her morality is governed by not one, but two separate judges: that of God and that of society. If she cannot live up to her role either as a goodwife or as a woman, then the temptation controlling her must be strong. The ability of the devil to turn mild old women wretched characterizes sin as omnipotent and subversive. Brown again confronts the association of religion and gender when he comes across the women of the blazing pines in his search for Faith; their presence at the fire further clarifies the inevitability of sin. When Goodman Brown arrives at the fire, he makes a catalogue of the people present, specifically lingering on the women in the crowd: There were high damesand wives of honored husbands, and widowsand fair young girls who trembled lest their mothers should espy them (72). The members of the group whom Brown points out are relevant because they are all members of society whose actions are dictated by a specific set of social norms and expectations. They are expected to be the pure women; they occupy the same high moral space as Faith. By drawing attention to the moral and religious piety with which women were expected to live, Hawthorne is then able to heighten the danger present in failing to uphold such a

Lozada 3 lifestyle. For instance, Brown describes Martha Carrier in specifically gendered terms-- she is the one who had received the devils promise to be queen of hell. A rampant hag was she (73). Carrier, who was hanged as a witch, here serves as representative of the fall pure women face in turning away from God. Carriers religious disobedience is in direct opposition to her role as a woman; where Puritan women are expected to be mild and humble, Carriers sin is ambitious and prideful. An interesting contrast to Carriers character is the vision Brown has of his parents as he approaches the fire: He could have well night sworn that the shape of his own dead father beckoned him to advancewhile a woman, with dim features of despair, threw out her hand to warn him back. Was it his mother? This description is a clear example of how religion and gender are inextricably bound to one another in Young Goodman Brown. The representation of Browns mother as the more pious of the two parents dictates the expectations of Puritan women and, additionally, puts the sins of the other women in the fire into harsher contrast. The argument that sin is omnipotent is made stronger by the fact that it undermines the female doctrine of purityif women can be compelled to sin, then evil must be in all things. The gendering of Faiths moral attributes, as well as the subsequent sexualization of her fall from grace, defies the expectations that Goodman Brown makes based on her gender; further, the association of gender with religion serves to prove the influence of sin in society. From the beginning of the story, Faith is established as a symbol of religious purity. Brown knows that he can cling to her skirts and be able to follow her to heaven her very name implies religious devotion (65). However, she simultaneously serves as a representative of perfect femininity. The pink ribbons Faith wears represent her adherence to social expectations of women; they lend themselves to a humble sort of beauty, one befitting a sweet, pretty wife. The ribbons also represent the innocence of Faiths relationship with Goodman Brown. When

Lozada 4 Brown explains that he cannot stay at home tonight, Hawthorne has written: Then God bless you! said Faith, with the pink ribbons, and may you find all well when you get back. There is a certain formality and chasteness to this goodbye which is highlighted by the presence of the pink ribbons. Faith loves Goodman Brown, but her love is appropriate for a woman of her place in society. By establishing Faith as a superior female as well as an exemplary Christian, Hawthorne can then heighten the tragedy of her presence and the bonfire and, ultimately, communicate the all-reaching power of sin. For instance, when Brown finds Faiths ribbon caught on a tree in the woods, he explodes in misery: My Faith is gonethere is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil; for to thee is this world given (71). First, the use of the ribbon, an object of femininity, to communicate Faiths capture ties her gender to her religion; the reader understands that, with the loss of the ribbon, Faith has lost not only her religion, but also her status as an exemplary woman. This duality is also represented by the pun on the word Faith; in losing his wife to sin, Browns loss is two-fold. Not only does he lose faith in the sense that he no longer believes in religion, he also knows that he has lost his wife, Faith, in the sense that her femininitythe trait which Hawthorne casts as central to her characterhas been compromised. This loss is confirmed when Brown encounters Faith at the fire. In the Devils speech to the two converts, the language is distinctly sexual. It shall be yours, he explains, to penetrate, in every bosom, the deep mysteries of sin (74). This explanation stands in contrast to the relationship between Brown and Faith before his entrance into the forest. Where Faith was before expected to be chaste in her interactions with Brown, she now takes on a sexual role in direct opposition to her status as a goodwife. This description is tragic because, beyond the implications of Faiths fall from religion, it is also a corruption of her femininity. Larger, then,

Lozada 5 this corruption speaks to the presence of sin in society; if Faith, the perfect woman and Christian, may be turned away from her responsibilities, then sin must be all-powerful. Hawthorne speaks to the inevitability of sin by joining the concepts of religion and gender, specifically in his representation of women. The story would be less effective were it cast with all men. By connecting the loss of religion to a simultaneous loss of femininity, Hawthorne is able to raise the stakes of submitting to the Devil and make more convincing Goodman Browns internal conflict of religion.

Work Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel, and James McIntosh. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales: Authoritative Texts, Backgrounds, Criticism. New York: Norton, 1987.