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At sunset, the young man Goodman Brown went out to the street of Salem village, but he crossed the threshold and went back to kiss his young wife goodbye. And his wife Faith-the name is just right for her-put her beautiful head out of the door and let the wind play with the pink ribbon on her hat, calling Goodman Brown.
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Goodman means "good man" in English. The historical background of this story is the period when witchcraft prevailed in Salem, Massachusetts. In the story, the young man Brown and his wife converted to witchcraft. Later, the Salem incident happened here, and people who believed in witchcraft were besieged on a large scale. Please refer to the book The Plea of Alice Donne and its notes.
(2) Faith means "loyalty" in English.
"Dear," she put her lips close to his ear and said in a sad voice, "Please don't travel before sunrise tomorrow, and sleep in your own bed tonight. Lonely women have terrible dreams and thoughts, and sometimes they are afraid of themselves. Stay with me tonight, dear. I only ask you this night all the year round. "
"My baby, dear Faith," replied young Brown, "there is only one night all the year round, and I have to leave you. I'm going out this time, which is the trip you mentioned. I must leave now and come back at sunrise tomorrow. Why, my beautiful and lovely wife, you doubt me after only three months of marriage? "
"Then God bless you!" Faith, waving the pink ribbon, said, "May you see everything safe when you come back."
"amen!" Goodman Brown shouted, "Say your prayers, dear faith. Sleep after dark, and nothing will hurt you. "
So they broke up. The young man hurried to the church and was about to turn the corner. He looked back, but he saw that faith was still waiting and looked sad, although the pink ribbon was still flying.
"poor sharp silk!" He blamed himself, "I was ashamed enough to leave her for such a trip!" " She also mentioned the dream, and the way she spoke was so sad, as if a dream had warned her what I was going to do tonight. No, no, she won't live if she knows. Alas, she is really a paradise on earth. After tonight, I will never leave her skirt again. I will always follow her to heaven. "
Goodwill in the future has been set, and Goodman Brown feels that it is natural to accelerate the realization of the evil purpose in front of him. He set foot on a lonely path. The dark trees blocked the sun and squeezed each other, barely letting the narrow path meander through. Just as someone passed by, the branches and leaves blocked the path again, which looked desolate. Moreover, there is another feature of this desolation. Travelers can't figure out what is hidden behind countless trunks and thick branches overhead. Therefore, although the footsteps are lonely, they may pass by a large group of invisible people.
"There may be an Indian hiding behind a tree like a devil," Goodman Brown said timidly, looking back to himself. "What if the devil himself is by my side!"
When he turned the corner, he looked back. Looking back, I found a man sitting under an old tree, dressed simply and appropriately. As soon as Goodman Brown approached, the man stood up and walked side by side with the young man.
"You are late, Goodman Brown," said the humanitarian. "When I passed Boston, the clock of the old southern church just struck, and now it's been fifteen minutes!"
"Faith delayed me for a while." The young man replied, his voice trembling, because his companion suddenly appeared, although it was not completely unexpected.
It's dark in the forest at the moment, and the place they walked through is the darkest. They can only vaguely distinguish that the second traveler is about fifty years old. Obviously, he and Brown have the same identity and similar appearance, but his expression may be more like his appearance. But they may still be father and son. Although the clothes and manners of all ages are equally simple, there is a well-informed style between the expressions. If business needs it, the old man probably won't feel embarrassed if he has to eat at the same table as the governor or in the hall of King William. But the most striking thing about him is a crutch shaped like a black snake. After careful carving, a crawling snake is alive.
This is, of course, an optical illusion caused by dim light.
"Let's go, Goodman Brown," urged his traveling companion. "The road is too slow. If you are tired so soon, just take my cane! "
"Dude," another man's slow steps stopped completely. "I have been here to see you, and now I want to go back. I still can't make up my mind about what you are familiar with. "
"Really?" The man with the snake stick smiled. "Then let's talk while walking. If I can't convince you, you can go back. Anyway, it's not far in this forest. "
"It's far enough! It's far enough! " The young man shouted subconsciously, and I went on to say. "My father didn't come to the Woods for this job, and neither did his father. Since the death of the martyr, my family has been loyal and upright for generations, and they are all devout Christians. Don't I want to be the first person in the Brown family to embark on this road, and it's the same ... "
"With such a person, you want to say." The old man made up for the interruption of the young man.
"Well said, Goodman Brown! I know your family and any Puritan family. I'm not familiar with it. Your grandfather was a policeman. Once he whipped a Quaker woman from one end of Salem Street to the other. I helped him. When you were at war with Philippe, your father set fire to Indian villages. Shall I hand him the turpentine torch or light it on my stove? They are all my good friends, and we have walked happily on this road many times together. Come back alive after midnight. For them, I am also willing to make friends with you. "
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Quaker is a sect of Christianity, also known as Quaker. The root of the English word Quaker means "trembling". It is said that GeorgeFox, the founder of the sect, called his followers "Trembleatthewordofthelord Oracle"! "Therefore, it is called Quaker School.
② Philippe (Mitakome Philip Metacomet Ryp1639? -1676): Indian chief, an American historical figure, once led the Indians against the white colonists, known as "the sword of King Philip" in history.
"It's really like what you said," Goodman Brown said. "I wonder why I haven't heard them talk about it themselves. But yes, it's not worth making a fuss about. Even the slightest rumor about it can drive them out of New England. We always pray to God. We do good deeds and accumulate virtue, and we cannot tolerate such bad things. "
"Whether it's a bad thing or not," said my traveling companion, leaning on a crooked cane, "I know many people in this part of New England. Many church deacons have had communion wine with me, and many town councillors have elected me as their chairman. Most people in parliament firmly support my interests, as do the governor and I-but these are state secrets. "
"Really?" Brown was frightened to disgrace and stared at his nonchalant companion. "Anyway, I have nothing to do with the governor and parliament. They have their own rules. I am such a humble plowman that I don't need to learn to look like a plowman. However, if I go with you, how can I have the face to meet the good people and old priests in Salem village?
Oh, I tremble at the sound of his voice, whether it's Sabbath or sermon day. "
The old man had been listening carefully, but he couldn't help laughing at this moment, shaking with laughter. Even a snake-like cane seems to respond and twist.
"ha! Ha! Ha! " He laughed and laughed, and then calmed down. "Well, go ahead, Goodman Brown, go ahead. However, please don't laugh at me. "
"Well, let's call it a day," Goodman Brown was annoyed. "My wife Faith wants to know about it. She is gentle and careful. I would rather be sad by myself. "
"Well, in that case," the old man replied, "Goodman Brown, go home. I don't want Faith to get hurt, even for the sake of the twenty limping old ladies in front of us. "
As he spoke, he pointed to a woman on crutches. Brown thinks this is a very pious and exemplary wife. When he was a child, she taught him catechism, and now she is her own moral and spiritual adviser with teachers and deacons.
"Strange, strange, it's getting dark, and this lovely crocodile is still running around in the wild." He said, "But, man, please allow me to cut through the Woods so that I can leave this Christian behind." Since she doesn't know you, she may ask me who she is with and where she is going. "
"That's it," said the companion. "You drill in the Woods, and I'll follow this road."
So the young man turned to one side, but still stared at his partner. I saw him walking quietly, only a walking stick away from the old woman. But she trotted at such an amazing speed at her age, muttering-needless to say, praying. The old man stretched out his crutch and touched the wrinkled neck of the old woman with the snake-like end.
"the devil!" Cried the pious old woman.
"So, does Goody Croce know any old friends?" The old man faced her with a cane.
"Ah, when it's really you?" Cried the kind old lady. "Hey, it's really you, just like my old buddy Goodman Brown, the grandpa of that silly boy Brown now. But-sir, can you believe it? My long broom has disappeared for no reason. According to my guess, it must be the damn witch Goody Gray who stole it, and it was when I put wild celery, Potentilla and aconite juice on my body "-
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In western folklore, witches always fly in the air with a long broom. The old woman in the story is also a witch.
"Also mixed with finely ground flour and newborn oil?" Looks like the humanity of old Goodman Brown.
"Hey, sir, you know the secret recipe." The old lady giggled. "I said, everything is ready, except for the meeting. There are no horses I can ride, so I have to make up my mind to walk. I was told that a nice young man is coming to join the club tonight. Ok, sir, can you give me your arm? Give me a hand so that we can get there in a blink of an eye. "
"That won't do," her friend replied. "Candy Croce, I can't give you my arm. But you can borrow this cane if you need it. "
He threw his cane at her feet. When she got there, it might suddenly become a living thing because its owner lent it to a magician in Egypt. But Goodman Brown didn't see it clearly. He looked up in surprise, and when he bowed his head again, Goody Chloe and the snake-shaped cane disappeared without a trace, leaving only his former traveling companion, waiting for him calmly.
"The old woman also taught me Christianity." The young man said. A simple sentence means a lot.
The two men walked on. Old people urge young people to speed up and stick to this road. The reason is reasonable, as if it came from the listener's heart, but it was not put out by him one by one. Walking, he broke off a maple branch and began to peel the twigs of the branches exposed at night. Strangely, as soon as his finger touched the branch, it dried up, as if it had been in the sun for a week. In this way, they made rapid progress until they came to a place with a dark pit on the road. Goodman Brown suddenly sat on a stump and refused to go any further.
"Dude," he said stubbornly, "I've made up my mind that I won't leave for this job. Even though I thought the old witch was going to heaven, she was actually going to see the devil, there was no reason for me to leave my beloved faith and learn from her! "
"You will gradually change your mind about this matter," his partner said quietly. "Sit here and have a rest. When you want to leave, my crutch will help you! "
Without saying anything, he threw the maple branch to Brown, and suddenly he disappeared, as if melting into the boundless darkness. The young man stopped by the roadside for a while and praised himself. I'm thinking about how I can have a clear conscience when I meet the pastor for a walk tomorrow morning, and I don't need to avoid the eyes of the kind old deacon Mr. Kuching. What a pure and sweet night it is to sleep in Faith's arms! When I heard the sound of hooves coming from the road, these commendable ideas were turning into flattery. Brown thought it was best to hide in the Woods, and he felt guilty at the thought of the evil purpose that brought him here, although he was glad that he had just pulled back from the brink.
The sound of horseshoes, the rider's voice is getting closer and closer, like two serious old people talking. Mixed voices passed by, only a few numbers away from where the young people were hiding. Of course, that place is too dark for riders and their mounts to see clearly. Their bodies brushed the twigs on the roadside, but they didn't stop the light cast by the bright night sky for a moment. They must have passed there. Goodman Brown sometimes squatted down, sometimes stood on tiptoe, pushed away the branches, summoned up his courage and tried to stick his head out, but he still couldn't see anything. He was even more anxious, because he could swear that if there was such a thing, it was the voice of the priest and deacon Kujin he had just heard. They walked slowly, just like going to any ordination ceremony or church meeting on weekdays. I can still hear their voices. One of them stopped and broke a branch.
"Dear pastor," said the deacon's voice, "I'd rather give up the ordination party than miss the party tonight. I was told that some members are from falmouth or beyond, while others are from Connecticut and Rhode Island. In addition, there are several Indian wizards who practice witchcraft in their own way, comparable to the best among us. Besides, a beautiful young lady is coming to join the club tonight. "
"Great, Kujin!" The priest's old voice replied, "Beat the horse and run, or we will be late." You know, I can't do anything without me. "
The hoofbeat rang again, and the sound echoed strangely in the air, all the way through the Woods. There is never a church that meets, and there are no lonely believers to pray. So, where are these two saints going to enter this pagan wilderness? Young brown quickly hugged a tree, otherwise he would collapse to the ground. His hair is faint, his heart is heavy and he is in pain. Looking up at the sky, I wonder if there is really a kingdom of heaven overhead. However, the sky is blue and the stars are bright.
"Heaven is above, and faith is below. I still have to fight the devil and be firm! "
Goodman Brown gave a cry.
He looked up at the deep sky and raised his hands to pray. Suddenly, although there was no wind, a dark cloud rushed across the zenith and covered the bright stars. The blue sky remains the same, and only the dark clouds directly above the head quickly float to the north. High in the air, as if from the depths of the clouds, there was a suspicious noisy voice. At the moment, he felt that he recognized the voices of the villagers, including men and women, those who worshipped God and those who did not respect God. Many of them have met at the Eucharist table, and many have seen them drinking and partying in hotels. Suddenly, the voice became blurred again. Maybe what I just heard was a quiet and windless night, and the ancient forest was whispering. Suddenly, the familiar voice sounded like a flood. All this can be heard in Salem village in broad daylight, but it never sounded at night. Among them, a young woman was sad and crying, full of inexplicable sadness, as if begging for some kind of favor, and what she got might only make her sad. All the invisible people around her, saints and sinners, seem to be urging her to continue.
"Faith!" Goodman Brown cried in pain and despair, and the echo in the forest also cried derisively, "Faith! Faith! " It seems that many lost unlucky people are looking for her in the wilderness.
This cry of sadness, anger and fear pierced the night sky, and the unfortunate husband held his breath and waited for an answer. Suddenly I heard a scream, and then I was drowned out by more noisy voices, which turned into laughter that gradually disappeared. As the dark clouds cleared, a clear and lonely night sky appeared above Brown's head. But something fell from the air and hung on a branch. The young man caught it at once. It was a pink ribbon.
"My faith is gone!" He looked blankly for a while, and then shouted, "What good things are there in the world! Sin is just an empty name. Come on, devil, the world is yours. "
Despair drove him crazy. He laughed for a long time. Then he grabbed a crutch and walked forward. Shunzhong Haoer strode like a meteor, not like walking, but like flying. The road became more desolate and illegible, and finally disappeared, leaving him in a dark forest. With a mortal evil instinct, he rushed forward. The forest is full of terrible sounds-trees creak, wild animals howl and Indians cry. Sometimes the wind rustles, like the bells of a church in the distance; Sometimes it yells at Nightcrawler's left and right sides, as if the whole nature is scorning him and laughing at him. However, he himself is the protagonist of this horror scene, and refuses to retreat in the face of other horrors.
"ha! Ha! Ha! " When the wind laughed at him, he also smiled. "Look who we laugh louder! Don't try to scare me with your witchcraft! Come on, witch; Come on, wizard; Come on, Indian wizard; Come on, devil! My Goodman Brown is here, and you should be as afraid of him as he is of you. "
To be honest, nothing is more terrible than the appearance of Goodman Brown in this haunted forest. He waved his cane and ran wildly in the dark pine forest. Sometimes swearing, sometimes laughing, so that the whole forest aroused his laughter, as if all the trees around him had become demons. This incarnation of his own devil is not as terrible as his furious person. So, the devil running all the way, until he saw a piece of red light shining in the open space in front of him, as if all the cut branches and trunks were on fire, and the bright light went straight into the midnight sky. He stopped to drive away his inner impulse. I only heard voices in the distance. It seems that many people are singing a hymn, which is solemn and ups and downs. This piece of music is very familiar to him and is often sung by the choir of the village chapel. The song was deep and turned into a long harmony. This is not like a human voice, but more like the rumble of everything in the dark wilderness, which is terrible. Goodman Brown let out a cry, which was mixed with the cry of the wilderness, and he couldn't distinguish it himself.
In the silence, he crept forward until the flashing lights completely covered his eyes. I saw a spacious clearing surrounded by a dark forest wall. At one end of the clearing, a primitive boulder looks impressive like an altar or a bible reading platform. Surrounded by four pine trees, the crown is burning, and the trunk is not on fire yet. Just like lighting four candles at a meeting at night, all the leaves on the top of the boulder caught fire, and the fire went straight into the night sky, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and the open space was brightly lit. Branchlets and spikes hanging from the roots are burning. As the red light falls together, countless congregations are sometimes illuminated, sometimes disappear in the shadows, and sometimes emerge from the darkness, and the heart of the desolate mountain forest is temporarily lost.
"A group of expressionless men in black." Brown Road.
That's true. Light and shade alternate, and some people will appear in the state legislature the next day. Others stand on the local altar every Sabbath, looking up at the sky devoutly and looking down at the crowded congregation kindly. Some people will say that the governor's wife was there, at least some noble wives, celebrities' wives, a group of widows, a group of well-known old spinsters and young girls she knew very well. They are afraid of being discovered by their mother. Either Jeanblanc was dazzled by the sudden fire in the dark wilderness, or he suddenly recognized more than 20 particularly holy believers in Salem village church. The elderly deacon Kuching has arrived and is busy serving his venerable priest. However, with these solemn, respectable, pious and kind people, with the elders of these churches, chaste wives and pure girls, there are many self-indulgent men and notorious women who indulge in ugly deeds and may even commit extremely terrible crimes. Blame good people for not avoiding bad people, and sinners have no shame in facing saints. Among the white-skinned enemies, there are Indian priests or wizards, and their demon spells on their homes in the forest are more terrible than any known British witchcraft.
"Where is the faith?" Goodman Brown wants to know. But as soon as hope appeared in his heart, he trembled.
Another hymn sounded. The slow and painful melody sings the praises of pious love, but the lyrics express all the crimes that human nature can imagine, vaguely implying more crimes. Mortals really can't understand the mystery of the devil. One hymn after another, during this period, the voice of the wilderness is like a huge organ, making deep music and getting louder and louder. With the last roar of this terrible hymn, there came a voice, such as whistling wind, rushing stream, howling beast and all the voices in the wilderness, all mixed with evil voices, paying tribute to the Lord of all things. Four burning pine trees raised a higher flame, and in the smoke above this evil gathering, terrible figures and faces were blurred. At the same time, the flame above the boulder emits red light, forming an arc of light at its lower part. At this point, a man appeared here. To be respectful, this man is very different from any solemn priest in New England, regardless of his clothes and manners.
"Take the converts!" A voice echoed in the clearing and rolled into the forest.
When Goodman Brown heard these words, he walked through the shadows and approached the congregation. He has a hateful friendship with these people, and this friendship comes from all the evil thoughts in his heart. He could swear that the image of his late father looked down from a cloud of smoke and nodded to him. A woman with a blurred image held out her hand in despair to warn him to back off. Is it the mother? However, the priest and deacon Kujin grabbed his arm and pulled him to the boulder under the fire. He can't take a step back. He doesn't even want to resist. At the same time, a slim figure with a veil came along, sandwiched between devout catechists Goody Croce and Martha Carrie. The latter accepted the devil's promise and became the queen of hell. She was a crazy old hag. Under the canopy of fire, stood a large group of reformers.
"Welcome, my children." The evil figure said, "Welcome to the gathering of compatriots. You know your nature and destiny at such a young age. Look back, children! "
When they looked back, the fire flashed, revealing the true face of devil worshippers, with sinister faces but welcoming smiles.
"There," said the black figure, "are people you have respected since childhood. You think they are more sacred than you. As soon as you compare their decent lives and pray devoutly, you are afraid of your own sin. However, they all came here to attend my church party. Tonight, you will be allowed to know their ulterior secrets: how the gray-bearded church elders poured obscene whispers into their young maids' ears; How many women are eager to put on the widow's mourning clothes and give her husband a glass of poisoned wine before going to bed, so that he can sleep in his arms for the last time; How can a brat be eager to inherit his father's property? Beautiful girls-lovely girls, don't blush-how to dig a small grave in the garden and invite me, the only guest, to attend the funeral of an illegitimate child. Through human's natural sympathy for sin, you will smell that crime is everywhere, whether it is church, bedroom, street, field or forest. You will be delighted to see that the whole earth is a stain of sin and a huge blood stain. It's more than that. You will gain insight into the hidden evil in everyone's heart, the source of all evil tricks, and find that people's hearts are sinister and have endless evil thoughts, which are more and more manifested through actions than human power-my greatest power. Now, my children, look at each other! "
They looked at each other, and in the light of the fire of hell, the poor young man saw his faith, and his wife also saw her husband, shivering in front of the blasphemous altar.
"Look, children, you are standing here," the man continued, with a deep and serious tone, despair and fear, almost sad, as if his once pure nature could still feel pain for our poor human beings. "You believe in each other's conscience, thinking that virtue is not all a dream. Now you should understand that sin is human nature and sin is your only happiness. Children, welcome you to this party again. "
"Welcome." The followers of the devil repeated in unison, giving a desperate and proud response.
They stood there, only this pair of men and women are still hesitating on the edge of evil in the dark world. There is a natural pit on the boulder, which is filled with fire, blood or liquid flame? It was here that the evil incarnation soaked his hands, ready to leave a mark of baptism on their foreheads, so that they could share the secret of evil. From then on, they are more aware of other people's secret sins than themselves. The husband looked at his pale wife, and the wife looked at him. If they look at each other again, they will find out how corrupt they are and how afraid they are of their exposure and discovery!
"faith! Faith! " The husband cried, "Look up to heaven and fight evil!" " "
He doesn't know whether his faith is obedient or not. As soon as I opened my mouth, I found myself alone in the quiet night, listening to the wind, walking through the forest and disappearing silently. He stumbled and fell on the rock, feeling cold and wet, and a hanging branch sprinkled cold dew on his face.
The next morning, the young man Goodman Brown slowly took to the streets of Salem village. Looking blankly at the kind old priest walking around the cemetery to stimulate his appetite for breakfast, thinking about the content of the sermon and wishing Goodman Brown a blessing when he passed by. He cringed before the saints, as if to avoid an extremely hateful villain. The elderly deacon Kuching was attending church at home when his sacred prayer came from the open window. "Who knows what god this wizard worships?" Brown thought. Goody Cross, an excellent old Christian, stood at the lattice window in the morning light and explained her teachings to the little girl who brought her a pint of milk. Brown pulled the little girl away as if to save her from the devil. Turning the church, I found Faith wearing her pink ribbon and looking around anxiously. When I saw him, I was ecstatic and ran happily, almost not kissing her husband in front of the villagers. However, Goodman Brown gave her a serious and sad look and walked straight past without saying hello.
Did he just doze off in the forest and have a strange dream of a witch party?
If you think so, suit yourself. But alas! This dream is an ominous sign for young Brown. Since the night he had this terrible dream, he has become a sad, suspicious and thoughtful person, although he has not become a hopeless villain. When the Sabbath came, the congregation sang hymns, but he didn't listen, because the evil hymns were pounding his eardrum loudly, drowning out all the blessed poems. The priest stood on the pulpit and talked with Kan Kan, putting one hand on the open Bible, preaching the sacred truth of our religion, the life of saints, glorious death, future blessings and unspeakable sufferings, and so on. At this moment, Goodman Brown will lose color, fearing that the roof of the church will collapse on the heads of the white-haired blasphemer and his audience. He often wakes up in the middle of the night and pushes Faith away. In the morning or evening, when his family knelt down to pray, he would be full of doubts, mutter to himself, stare at his wife severely and turn away. He lived to a very old age, became a corpse with beautiful hair, and was carried into the cemetery, followed by an old woman of faith, her children and grandchildren, and many neighbors. People have never carved any hopeful poems on his tombstone, because he was unhappy until his death.