Nathaniel Hawthorne Books

In the opening chapter, ‘The Custom-House,’ I allow myself to step forward as both narrator and participant. I recount my experience as a surveyor in the Salem Custom-House—a place steeped in monotony and slow decay, its officers relics of an earlier age. Amid that lifeless space, I discover a bundl...

From The Scarlet Letter: A Romance

When Hester Prynne steps forth from the prison door, she carries both her infant child and the visible brand of sin upon her breast—the scarlet letter ‘A.’ What transfixes the crowd is not only her crime, but the dignified composure with which she bears its punishment. She stands upon the scaffold, ...

From The Scarlet Letter: A Romance

Innocence often looks strongest just before it is tested. At the start of “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne presents a newly married couple whose names carry symbolic weight: Goodman Brown suggests an ordinary, respectable Christian man, while Faith is both a loving wife and a living emblem of spirit...

From Young Goodman Brown

Temptation becomes most persuasive when it looks familiar. Deep in the forest, Goodman Brown meets a traveler who resembles him, only older, calmer, and more experienced. This is one of Hawthorne’s most unsettling inventions. Evil does not appear as a monstrous outsider. Instead, it arrives as a pla...

From Young Goodman Brown

Some places in literature are not locations so much as states of mind. In “Young Goodman Brown,” the forest is the most important example. It stands in sharp contrast to Salem’s ordered streets, homes, and meetinghouses. If the town represents public religion and social control, the forest represent...

From Young Goodman Brown

Disillusionment often begins with overheard fragments rather than full proof. As Goodman Brown moves deeper into the forest, he hears familiar voices and recognizes respected members of Salem society making their way toward the same dark destination. Among them are religious leaders and the pious Go...

From Young Goodman Brown