From what I can see, you are referring to Faith, Goodman Brown's wife. In the story, Faith symbolizes piety, decorum, and innocence. In short, she represents everything that is noble and virtuous in Goodman Brown's life.
In everything he does, Goodman Brown thinks of his wife; she is his lodestar or guide. When he leaves for his appointment, he feels a little guilty. After all, he is keeping his fearful errand a secret from his...
From what I can see, you are referring to Faith, Goodman Brown's wife. In the story, Faith symbolizes piety, decorum, and innocence. In short, she represents everything that is noble and virtuous in Goodman Brown's life.
In everything he does, Goodman Brown thinks of his wife; she is his lodestar or guide. When he leaves for his appointment, he feels a little guilty. After all, he is keeping his fearful errand a secret from his beloved, trusting wife. He berates himself and calls himself a "wretch." To him, Faith is a "blessed angel on earth."
Later, when his companion accuses him of being fifteen minutes late, Goodman Brown asserts that "Faith kept me back a while." Here, Faith represents Goodman Brown's conscience. Deep inside, Goodman Brown suspects that his foolhardy errand will not end well. Yet, he moves forward with a perverse excitement that is foreign to him.
Later he comes to regret his foray into the woods. When he sees the esteemed members of his congregation engaged in witchery, Goodman Brown is inconsolable. Had he stayed home, he would have been "purely and sweetly" sleeping "in the arms of Faith." Goodman Brown is in for a shock, however, when he later spies his beloved Faith in the congregation of "fiend worshippers."
Because of his experience, Goodman Brown loses his trust in his religious leaders and begins to doubt even his beloved wife. The story reinforces the fragility of faith and the necessity of having a practical mindset about human nature.
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