Religious but Not Faithful

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This story struck a cord with me. Puritan society loved their appearance of religious piety. In much the same way, so does today's society. Hawthorne does a great job of portraying the duality that often defines people. Goodman is the prototypical "religious" man. He is more concerned about his appearance to others instead of his faith. The fact that he meets with the Devil would be severely frowned upon in Puritan society. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" is a prime example of the death and chaos that can come from even the slightest suspicion of devil worship.

Yet, Hawthorn takes it even further. Goodman still has faith in God but he is willing to take a step he thinks no one else will. Talking to the Devil inadvertently opens a door to Goodman's soul that leads to his own damnation.

He had a choice in the matter. Had he listened to his wife and stayed home he would never have faced the truth about his town. My question: did he actually witness what he did or was it all a vision meant to lead him astray?

I commented on Faith and Darby's post.

Comments

  1. Ethan LafontNovember 6, 2017 at 9:16 PM

    I wonder if he refused to accept what he did, and that might be why you have that question. Sometimes we all make bad choices and can refuse to se it for what it really was so we feel better about it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Phillip VoNovember 6, 2017 at 11:52 PM

    I agree, and especially note that Hawthorne is using this text to display the way he feels about the church and its hypocrisy within. It reveals one of the most glaring issues that the church faces today.

    ReplyDelete

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