Young Goodman Brown

Though I did not enjoy this story as much as I did the other Gothic shorts, I still have to recognize the Gothic nature of the story. While there is a lot of stereotypical elements that provide to the strangeness and darkness of Gothic literature I feel like the element that plays the strongest role is isolation. Off the top of my head there is the association with darkness and mystery, of the night time woods near Salem, which in themselves are a scary place to be in. The theme continues however as young Goodman continues on his night time venture with the mysterious old man, who is literately the devil, and as they encounter members of Goodman’s community on the road. These are not merely neighbors however but high ranking religious members who Goodman believes to be most pious and religious. He quickly discovers that they are in fact devil worshipers  and that includes his beloved wife Fate. The strong sense of isolation comes not necessarily from the physical isolation but the spiritual in that Goodman feels abandoned and alone in his belief in God where everyone else has turned to the Devil.