Nathaniel Hawthorne “Young Goodman Brown” is a rich allegory of sexual repression. By psychoanalyzing the main character, we discover that "Goodman Brown" is not simply a fight between good and evil, but also a fight of a more sexual nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The short story begins with an image of Brown's wife, Faith, and "the pink ribbons of his cap" (Hawthorne 67). Throughout the story, the image of pink ribbons is brought up several times, suggesting that they are more than just a pretty thing to tie one's hair up with. Obviously, there's more to ribbons than that. The fact that they are pink shows the femininity of the woman. Their tying or securing of Faith's hair symbolizes Brown's inability to escape his predetermined role as a Puritan husband. The ribbons constantly remind him of his “faith”. Consciously or unconsciously, it is the woman's ribbons that refuse to release him. Faith, Goodman Brown's "pretty young wife," whose "hair is tied up with pink ribbons," practically begs him to stay at home, threatening him with "disturbing thoughts." " would bother her if he left (67). Brown, instead, asks Faith to "be a good little girl, say her prayers and go to bed" (68). By saying this, he manages to keep her “appointment” in the forest, thus allowing her to avoid conflict and in return to control her emotions. This is an attempt to put her back in a position that her masculine ego can accept, without. consciously recognizing his sexual advances could also mean his refusal to engage in normal sexual relations because he viewed them as sinful, thus causing emotional conflict that he could not cope with. Goodman's experience. Brown in the forest reveals to him the sexual nature of people. Brown's observation of this is curiously devoid of revulsion. This would suggest that he is rationalizing his own repressed sexuality and thus assuaging his feelings of guilt by projecting his own deeply repressed identity onto him. the most respected city dwellers. Brown's own insecurities lead him to notice that even Goody Cloys, his Sunday school teacher, seems to be disappearing with the help of Satan's staff. Using a witch image to describe Goody also signifies the evil side of women that her superego refuses to see under normal circumstances. The man Brown encounters in the forest is undoubtedly Satan, who almost universally represents the opportunity to realize repressed desires and break free. the identifier. Further discussion with the Satan-like figure reveals that he had a relationship with all of Brown's ancestors, claiming "they were my good friends...we took many pleasant walks along this path" (69). The man tries to reassure Goodman Brown that his feelings are completely normal. The figure of darkness even goes so far as to recall some of the more unsavory behavior of Brown's ancestors, such as the whipping of a Quaker woman on the city streets. The information that Satan is in contact with everyone Brown respected, up to the governor, suggests that Brown has no moral idols to emulate. This condition prevents him from continuing to repress his dark side through hero worship. Satan's staff "which looked like a great black serpent" is another sexual symbol (68). Goodman Brown rejects the idea that he can't look away from the man's "remarkable personnel" by saying it "may have been a deception.