I think the central preoccupation is what we do when we discover that people are not perfect, that they may not live up to our expectations of them. We actually do not know what happened in the woods, and are left to suspect that nothing may have happened and that it might have been a dream. The fact that we do know is that the Brown who leaves the woods can no longer look at his townsfolks with the same acceptance as he once did; in fact, he becomes isolated from his wife, Faith, and his faith in the goodness of the townfolk, and this leads him to live a miserable life and die an unhappy man.
Stated briefly, Hawthorne's central preoccupation is with accepting the ambiguity that is part of life; there is good and bad in everyone and everything and we have to accept it or be as miserable as Brown.
There seem to be a number of central oppositions that are explored by Hawthorne in this short story. Good vs evil is an obvious central theme. Some aspects of this story can be viewed as allegorical, and certainly the trip into the forest seems to assume a greater significance than just a trip. The fact that Brown only has to do it once suggests that this might be viewed as a spiritual quest that all humans have to undergo at somepoint in their lives: an exposure to evil. However, Brown is unable to live with the truth of humanity's fallen nature. Faith, his wife, on the other hand, is able to welcome Brown back with open arms. There is a contrast then between his reaction and her reaction: Brown's absolutism and the absolutism within Puritanism at large is shown to be a moral cancer that saps the joy out of life and leaves nothing but suspicion and distrust.
What is Hawthorne's point in "Young Goodman Brown"?
This is an interesting question. You could probably answer sufficiently by choosing a theme from the story and providing an analysis and support of the theme. The answer is undoubtedly subjective. Consequently, different readers could think that Hawthorne has a different main point. Personally, I think that a main point of this story is about hidden sin. This should make sense because Hawthorne has written other pieces that focus on hidden sin. The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil" both have a strong emphasis on hidden sin. "Young Goodman Brown" shows readers the hidden sins and secrets of a town through Brown's encounter with Satan, when he sees that the people he thought were most faithful were actually in league with the Devil. While I don't think that Hawthorne is trying to tell readers that everybody is in league with Satan, I do think he is making a point of telling readers that even the most pious are incapable of being 100% good.
What is Hawthorne's point in "Young Goodman Brown"?
If you are referring to the main idea or the lesson to be taught from Young Goodman Brown you can conclude that Hawthorne wanted to send...
See This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
a message to those who call themselves "holier than thou".
Evil is a capacity that everyone has. Everybody has the potential of committing sin, to be led into temptation, and to turn into something they never thought they would.
In Young Goodman Brown, a man who always followed the right path is diverted by a strange man in a dark forest in which he encounters those very people whom he once considered "good" turned into creatures of evil. This, Hawthorne would argue, is what happens when you deviate from your faith (Faith is also the name of Goodman Brown's wife, whom he left to go into the forest).
Therefore, the morale of the story is that our souls can be corrupted no matter what, and that no matter how much you want to claim your kindness and purity. We are nevertheless human, and human only.