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A review by ilse
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
3.0
Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind.
(Woods at night - Desmond Raymond)
As my second foray into Hawthorne, this ambiguous morality tale struck me as equally ironic and even darker than [b:The Ambitious Guest|6993129|The Ambitious Guest|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365654447l/6993129._SY75_.jpg|17362403]. The gloomy darkness of the forest atmospherically mirrors the darkness of the human soul; a journey in quest of enlightenment and initiation leads only further away from the light and ends in despair and gloom. As evil is in the heart of man making a choice between good and evil is as futile as it is impossible - The fiend in his own shape is less hideous, than when he rages in the breast of man. One cannot live in happiness and veracity at the same time. Young Goodman Brown's eyes have been opened. The price to pay for knowledge is enduring, all-consuming bitterness, as he has lost his belief in the goodness of humanity - including his own - forever.
(Picture: Neil Ross)
This night has opened my eyes
And I will never sleep again.
*** ½
Thanks to the wonderful Short Story Club for making me read this story.
(Woods at night - Desmond Raymond)
As my second foray into Hawthorne, this ambiguous morality tale struck me as equally ironic and even darker than [b:The Ambitious Guest|6993129|The Ambitious Guest|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365654447l/6993129._SY75_.jpg|17362403]. The gloomy darkness of the forest atmospherically mirrors the darkness of the human soul; a journey in quest of enlightenment and initiation leads only further away from the light and ends in despair and gloom. As evil is in the heart of man making a choice between good and evil is as futile as it is impossible - The fiend in his own shape is less hideous, than when he rages in the breast of man. One cannot live in happiness and veracity at the same time. Young Goodman Brown's eyes have been opened. The price to pay for knowledge is enduring, all-consuming bitterness, as he has lost his belief in the goodness of humanity - including his own - forever.
(Picture: Neil Ross)
This night has opened my eyes
And I will never sleep again.
*** ½
Thanks to the wonderful Short Story Club for making me read this story.