Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that all of humanity exists in a state of depravity, except those who are born in a state of grace. Hawthorne frequently attempts to expose the hypocrisy of
Puritan culture in his literature. In a symbolic
fashion, the story follows Young Goodman
Brown's journey into self-scrutiny, which results
in his loss of virtue and faith. Plot summary The story begins at dusk in Salem, Massachusetts, as young Goodman Brown leaves Faith, his wife of three months, for an
unknown errand in the forest. Faith pleads with
her husband to stay with her, but he insists that
the journey must be completed that night. In
the forest he meets an older man, dressed in a
similar manner and bearing a physical resemblance to himself. The man carries a black serpent-shaped staff. The two encounter Goody Cloyse in the woods, who complains about the
need to walk and, evidently friendly with the
stranger, accepts his snake staff and flies away
to her destination.