Since Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is an allegorical
story, the reader must find meaning within this context. For, it is Faith
who asks Goodman (whose name suggests
"everyman") to remain at home on "this night,...of all
nights in the year," the night on which the Black Mass in the primeval forest is to take
place. Faith does not wish for Goodman to place himself in the path of tempation by
attending the Black Mass; she would rather that he just continue to believe in his
Puritanism and remain with her rather than testing his
faith.
As it is, of course, in his sanctimony, his
"excellent resolve for the future," that Goodman feels "himself justified in making more
haste on his present evil purpose"; he feels that his faith is strong enough to resist
any temptations. So, he tells Faith to say her prayers, and no harm will come to him.
Significantly, this statement of Goodman's wife foreshadows what will happen. By leaving
his wife, Faith, Brown forsakes his belief in the godliness of
humanity.
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