In a world where religion is not longer the root that controls society, there’s a need to preserve what was before known as a long-lasting faith. The distance from motherland England and the New World allowed the separation of oneself from religion.
These individuals were finding themselves reaching and getting deeper into the wicked woods. Now that the community is no longer depended of their beliefs, there was this need of forming a new religious chain. Thus, reconverting the fading Puritanism into a discipline Calvinism.
In the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” the characters are used to illustrate the both sides of the Calvinism mind and their impure characteristics.
Once the faith of those individuals in America came to an approximate end due to how their self-interest came first before religion, the sacred world needed a new religion and fast. This led John Calvin to introduced Calvinism. Clearly following the footsteps of Puritanism with a twist.
Calvinism reflects on who God sets a plan for everyone and is the base of everything that’s good. However, humanity is unholy. Their curiosity of exploring the wicked forest led to their corrupt and sinful ways.
They prove to be responsible of their damnation to hell; to be saved and to deserve to be deeply condemned by the justice of God.
Young Goodman Brown was clearly the image needed for the understanding of the confidence of Calvinist. A confidence that relays on the idea that having a prosper life guarantees a staircase to heaven.
For there’s nothing worthier than being chosen by the Almighty. Clearly these new ideals follows those of the dim Puritanism. Thus, Young Goodman Brown understand that he is a chosen one and he won’t suffer from damnation. Yet, he neglects Faith claiming that being married for three months must be enough.
Although part of him wants to beg Faith and led her guide him to heaven, another part of him is aware that “Faith kept me back for while”. The believes of a Calvinist as well as their Puritans foundations demonstrated to have a gap where more than often their impurity as believers is preserve.
A gap that often present the separation in the Calvinist mind. For when they claimed to be as pure based on being the chosen ones, to have the most flourish lives and to highly rely on the idea of having a divine status, there also remains their hollow part.
In every religious community or in any standing religious community that has been preserve for centuries, there’s the lack of a fully pure believe. The hypocrisy and the way a church turns to a shadow in order to hide their malicious desires has life and remained equally to their beliefs.
There’s always two sides in any religious group including Calvinism. Even the more conservative mind has secrets and an inner self that is fill with the most impure actions. As reflected in Hawthorne’s illustration of a community in which the most faithful individual (lady’s name) was greeted by the Devil as an equal.
This leads to Young Goodman Brown seeing how an evil dark shaped greets them by saying. “Welcome my children… to the communion of your race”. Before he wasn’t aware of the clear division that was in front of him.
The weed coming from the words and that kept growing. Is not his lack of sense but rather the evil that was in him that blind him from the obvious.
However, in Nathaniel’s short story there’s Faith. A certain individual that will not only guide and provide for those that decided to follow her but who also falls into the division of the Calvinist mind. Faith was presented to the audience as a what a pure religious individual must be.
Yet, her images was disturbed after Young Goodman Brown finds himself doubling his town. He discovered the impurity within him and Faith. She was not longer the innocent and kind wife that every Calvinist once. Someone they would happily go to heaven with; an elite that shared the same blessing of prosperity.
Faith as many others were not exactly what they appeared. A part of her contain exactly what everyone was fearing. Although her image gave the idea that she was an excellent resemblance of what a true pure being is, there clues she wasn’t what every believed. As seen through her “pink ribbon”.
A color that is a mix of white which is the color of pureness and red the color of danger. The division present in the symbol of Calvinism. Those given the opportunity to flourish and to be under God’s guidance not often are exactly how they are needed to be.
For when there’s absolute affirmance that there’s no other salvation rather than the one God gives, there’s no need to avoid sinning. When there’s no punishment, there shouldn’t be a fear of disobeying.
