PsychologicalApproachtoYoungGoodmanBrown

楊秋仙

Compared with other literary approaches we have studied， I think the psychological approach is most suitable for analyzing Yong Goodman Brown written by American romanticism writer Hawthorne. Because psychoanalytical criticism， which is based on Sigmund Freuds psychoanalysis mode， aims at uncovering the working of the human mind--especially the expression of the unconsciousness. Professor Jiang point out in his article Hawthornes Aesthetic Modernity that “Possibilities include analyzing a text like a dream， looking for symbolism and repressed meaning， or developing a psychological analysis of a character”（17）. And Yong Goodman Brown just fits the last possibility， mainly displaying Browns psychic changes and tries to explore the reason of his loss of faith and hope， his feeling of alienation and solitude.

Freuds division of three aspect of human psyche： the conscious， the pre-conscious， and the unconscious. Moreover， Freud divides the mental processes into three psychic zones： the id， the ego and the super ego. The id is the instinct and impulse of human being. Freud explains this “ obscure inaccessible part of our personality” as “a chaos， a cauldron of seething excitement with no organization and unified will， only an impulsion to obtain satisfaction for instinctual needs， in accordance with the pleasure principle”. （qtd. Guerin， A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature， 129.） The ego is governed by reality principle. That is to say， the ego is the rational governing agent of the psyche. “it regulates the instinctual drives of the id so that they may be released in nondestructive behavioral patterns.”（130） The superego represents values and standards.First， lets look at Goodman Browns psychological development. At the beginning of the novel， we know he is a very innocent and happy man who has just married with his beautiful wife Faith. However， regardless of his wifes dissuasion， he still can not resist the temptation to go to the dark forest one night. “ ‘My love and my Faith， replied young Goodman Brown， ‘of all nights in the year， this one night must I tarry away from thee， My journey， as thou callest it…must be done twixt now and sunrise.”（Hawthorne， Yong Goodman Brown，15） He succeeds in satisfying his impulsion， however， he lost himself and his Faith. Once he loved his Faith very much and believed all her village fellows were good people. Once he was proud of his ancestors and was content with the life. But now， such good man Brown never returns. He becomes depressed， doubtful and cynical. He doesnt believe his wife as well as country fellows any longer. He becomes mentally ill. From the text at the end of novel，“ often， awaking suddenly at midnight， he shrank from the bosom of Faith； and at morning or eventide， when the family knelt down at prayer， he scowled and muttered to himself， and gazed sternly at his wife， and turn away…for his dying hour was gloom”， we know not only did he lost his wife Faith， but he also lose his faith for life. Then what is faith？ Faith is just the firm belief that all the God has said are true. When God says that something is in existence， although you have not seen it personally， faith would make you feel that it really exists. If God says that He will bless you， you would believe by your faith that you are already blessed. When God says that something is going to happen or that He will accomplish something for you， you would believe in Him or His words if you are faithful. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”（Hebrews11，1） Faith always makes people to believe God and His omnipotence to fulfill his promises only through His words. But Goodman even dont believe God， so he fails to be salivated even when he dies. Such psychological change can be observed with the help of the psychological criticism. After reading the novel， you will obviously find that Browns journey from the village to the forest represents his psychological journey of experiencing evil. It is in the forest， a place of darkness and unknown terrors， that Brown meets the Devil. Also he realizes his father， grandfather and his village fellows are evil there. Whats more， going to forest to experience evil is Browns deep desire. So the forest represents Browns id. On the other hand， the village， as a place of social and moral order is analogous to Freuds superego， conscience， the morally inhabiting agent of the psyche. People there behave according to their conventions and tradition， they get on well with earth other and love each other and they learn to control their unreasonable wants. As mediator between these opposing forces， Brown himself resembles the poor ego， which tries to affect a healthy balance， but he fails to do so， then he becomes psychologically ill. Because he was so innocent before that he had no knowledge of himself and the world he lives in， in addition， he was so weak-minded yet curious to experience evil. Unfortunately， he can not overcome the evil but evil haunts him， he is not able to pull himself back to the normal state till he dies.

Yong Goodman Brown is not the only case， all of us are probably becomes Goodman Brown if we are not able to keep balance in our mind. In order to make our mind as healthy as our body， we should learn to regulate our mind， to pay more attention to our inner world， to understand ourselves and the world we live in.

References：

[1]Wilfred L.Guerin，A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature，Oxford：Oxford University Press，1999.

[2]Nathaniel Hawthorne，Young Goodman Brown，Wildside Press，2005.