The Resulting Madness
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The Resulting Madness
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charlotte Perkins Gilman are two authors that successfully convey symbolism in their work. Symbolism is used in literature to expand an authors idea or meaning, without making the work lengthy. We see symbolism throughout Hawthornes “Young Goodman Brown” and Gilmans “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and these elements have similarities as well as significant differences. Both stories introduce characters that are driven to madness through events and circumstances that are out of their control.
In “Young Goodman Brown,” we see the struggle of a man to come to terms with reality. As his journey progresses within the forest, he comes across characters and symbolic items that later bring the entire story to a devastating close. We are initially introduced to Browns wife Faith, being the first major symbolic element. “Faith” is used to give us insight into the innocence that Brown possesses. He states “after this one night, Ill cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven.” (Hawthorne, 385) Him saying this shows that he knows that his “Faith” will get him to Heaven, and longs to be with his wife, Faith, for the rest of his life. A second prominent and symbolic character is the old man whom Brown sets off to meet. Although his identity is not revealed, readers can assume that he is the Devil. This character represents the evil force that is within the world, influencing people to take “dark” path. His walking stick is described to being like a “a great black snake,” (Hawthorne, 386) showing his dark, deceiving persona.
Gilmans “The Yellow Wallpaper” is also a story of struggle, both physical and mental. The main character, whose name is not revealed, is the narrator of the story allowing for personal insight into the life of the woman. She is diagnosed with a mental condition, and is prescribed the “rest-cure.” Her husband, John, is a physician and limits the woman to little physical activity, thus driving her insane. John, is a force of opposition, much like that of the “devil” character in “Young Goodman Brown.” He does not allow her to travel down the path that she desires, which is to write in her journal and work in the garden. The relationship between the narrator and her husband is negative, unlike that of Brown and his wife Faith, however both share a common factor. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator keeps secrets from her husband about her writing in her journal and the hallucinations in the wallpaper. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Brown hides why he is making his journey from Faith.
Both stories conclude tragic and without closure. After witnessing many towns people participate in a strange cult-like ceremony, Goodman Brown seems to awake from that of a dream. He is left feeling confused and bitter towards those people that he trusted and respected. His looses his wife and family, and his life ends in misery. When the time comes for him to die, Hawthorne explains that, “His dying hour was gloom.” In a literary review by Juliet Byington, it explains, “because Brown cannot