Chanlyvong 1 Nadia Chanlyvong Professor Weatherly English 1102 2022 April 24 Common Themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales Terror, mystery, and misery were the moods of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories. Hawthorne was an American short story novelist in the 1800s. He mainly wrote dark romantic stories that focused on the dark, evil side of mankind. As a dark romantic writer, multiple of his stories would include the same grim messages. Human nature to sin, isolation, and guilt would be the common themes Nathaniel Hawthorne would use in many of his works. A theme Hawthorne showcases in his stories is how humans are inherently sinful. One of Hawthorne’s texts, “Young Goodman Brown”, talks about a man named Goodman Brown who meets the devil, learns of the evil around him, and loses his faith in God and humanity. When Goodman Brown joins the dark congregation, the devil states, “Now are ye undeceived! -Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness” (p.349). Everyone in the congregation is informed of the evil of mankind and how people’s purity is just an act. John Timmerman, a critic of Hawthorne's stories, interprets that “Young Goodman Brown” is about the wilderness being the devil’s playground and how the world is “irrevocably evil”. He sees how Brown tries to maintain faithful to God after meeting the devil, but ultimately, he gives in to sin and joins the dark congregation (Timmerman, p.79). This shows that Hawthorne believed that faith cannot save you from sinning, it is truly inevitable. Another Hawthorne story that focuses on the same theme is “The Scarlet Letter”. In this book, the main character, Hester Prynne, commits adultery with a man named Dimmesdale. This crime is considered a sin she must live with for the rest of her life which is symbolized by the scarlet letter on her chest. Her act of adultery Chanlyvong 2 displays the reoccurring theme of human nature to sin. This theme is used numerous times in multiple of Hawthorne’s works and proves how much he wanted to display the evil humans have. Additionally, Hawthorne uses isolation as a common theme in many of his works. His dark romantic stories were very obscure and often presented his characters in depressing isolation. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Prynne was exiled from society after they knew of her crime of adultery. This can be shown when the text says, "130 Every gesture, every/131 word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere…” (pp. 130-131). The whole town ignored her, and from their silence, she knew she was secluded from everybody. “Young Goodman Brown’ also indicates the theme of isolation because Goodman Brown would separate himself from everyone after learning of the world’s evilness. When being with his family, Brown “shrank from the bosom of Faith, and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down in prayer, he scowled, and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned away” (p.350). Goodman Brown no longer had any faith in God and his family. He can’t trust anyone after being deceived by their goodness and detaches himself from everyone. Although he is with them physically, he is mentally no longer a devoted father or husband. Critics express that “the tragedy of Brown lies in the fact that he had so very much to be grateful for: a lovely—and faithful—wife, many children and grandchildren, friends. Yet, given his revelation of evil, he cannot live in common with them. He is the willful isolation” (Nathaniel Hawthorne's Preoccupation…p.83). This proves that Brown had so much goodness in his life, but knowing of such evil in the world, he chose to live in isolation and die a sad lonely death. Hawthorne repeatedly leaves his characters in isolation due to their sin and it is a shared theme in his books. With isolation, many characters in Hawthorne’s stories also experience guilt. Hawthorne specifically liked to write about the imperfections of humans. As his characters go through sin and isolation, they feel guilt for their wrongdoings. At the beginning of “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown felt Chanlyvong 3 guilty for leaving his wife alone while he goes off on a trip. The character claims, “What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight’” (p.342). Brown states that his wife might know he’s doing something immoral on his trip which foreshadows the events later in the story. His guilt for leaving her shows the dark side of humanity as he does something he knows he shouldn’t do. Brown ultimately regrets his decision as he meets the devil and learns of the evil of the world. He becomes suspicious of his family, friends, and even himself. At the end of the story, Goodman Brown feels guilt, again, for succumbing to the devil’s ways and losing faith in God. Moreover, in “The Scarlet Letter”, the theme of guilt is found also. Committing adultery with Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale feels immense guilt for his wrongdoings, especially since he is a minister. His intellect, emotions, and morals are in a “preternatural” state from guilt (p.219). Somehow, the people view him as more holy and open since he’s more emotional. However, it’s ironic they think this way when he feels the complete opposite. At the end of the story, Dimmesdale confesses his sin to the town as he feels like he was dying from shame. In both of Hawthorne’s stories, it can be seen how he commonly used the theme of guilt. When reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, it is generally found that he uses the themes of human nature to sin, isolation, and guilt. With these themes, they display how much he wanted to showcase the imperfect, dark side of humanity. These grim themes show how he was an exquisite dark romantic writer. Sin, guilt, and isolation are all things we experience as humans. It’s gloomy but realistic which is what his writing is all about. Through his texts, we can recognize the dark flaws within ourselves and accept them for who we are. Chanlyvong 4 Works Cited Page Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 2020. Roberts, Edgar V., Robert Zweig, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. “Young Goodman Brown.” Essay. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 6th ed., 342–50. Pearson, 2015. Timmerman, John H. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Preoccupation with Unpardonable Sin The Dramatization of Ethical Action in His Short Stories. 1st ed., The Edwin Mellen Press, 2013.
