Goodman Brown points out that nobody in his family had ever met with a mysterious man in the woods at night.

The man offers the staff to Goodman Brown, who refuses and begins to make his case for turning back toward home. The man also carries a large snake-shaped staff, which in the shadows of the forest seems to be alive. The man is ordinary and simply dressed, and might be mistaken for Goodman Brown’s father, though the man seems as if he could sit comfortably at the dinner table of a governor or in the court of a King. When the man asks why Goodman Brown arrived late, Goodman Brown replies, his voice trembling, that “Faith kept me back awhile.” Even so, he walks on until he encounters a mysterious man at a bend in the road. He imagines “devilish” Indians or even the devil himself hiding behind every tree. Goodman Brown also resolves, after this night, to stand by his saintly Faith and “follow her to heaven.”įear overwhelms him as he walks into the forest. But he dismisses the thought, certain that Faith could never tolerate even thinking about such a thing. Goodman Brown replies that his journey must happen that night, and Faith gives Goodman Brown her blessing as he heads out in the street.Īs he departs, he looks back one last time and sees Faith watching him, and has the feeling as if, through some dream, she might have figured out his plans for the night. She’s afraid of the bad dreams she’ll have if he makes her spend the night alone. Faith, wearing a cap adorned with pink ribbons, begs Goodman Brown not to leave her alone all night. At sunset in Salem, Massachusetts, recently married Goodman Brown steps from his house and kisses his wife, Faith, goodbye.

Short summary of young goodman brown