Faith in a
Christian God is central to the worldview of the eponymous . With that faith comes an emphasis
on virtue and piety, which are mentioned in this story and feature heavily in Hawthorne's work.
Brown sees Faith, his wife, as embodying these qualities. She also serves as his inspiration to
resist the devil in favor of God. For these reasons, Faith is aptly named.
Brown addresses his wife as "dearest heart" before he departs, suggests she
would die at the thought of his transgression, and believes he will "cling to her skirts
and follow her to Heaven." How Brown views his wife comes into focus early in the story,
and it is easy to see why he has faith in her.
Faith functions as more of an
idea than person in this story. Each time Brown is explicitly tempted, he cites Faith as his
reason for resistance. At the first such occurrence, he won't even entertain the
notion:
"Well, then, to end the matter at
once," said Goodman Brown, considerably nettled, "there is my...
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