Write a response to a peer’s post that adds or extends to the discussion point of your peer by Friday 07/24/2020.
This week’s discussion prompt:
Explain how Faith in “Young Goodman Brown,” Georgiana in “The Birthmark,” and Elizabeth in “The Black Minister’s Veil” are use to reveal some truth about the central male characters in each story. Describe the similarities that you see among these women characters.
Peer’s Post:
-Emily Seide
In each of the three short stories, the female characters play a large role in the character development of the three male protagonists (Goodman, Aylmer, and Hooper). Throughout each story, the women leave a lasting impact on their significant other’s mentality of the world and perception of others. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown is faced with troubling sights that make him alter his point of view on his town and the townspeople. Brown was introduced to the true form of some nasty people, including his wife, Faith. When he returns home the next morning from a place of sinister evil, his encounter with Faith and his townspeople has made him a hardcore skeptic of anyone and everyone around him. Goodman Brown never trusted a soul after that night because he was forced to believe that evil resides in everyone. In “The Birthmark”, Aylmer goes insane trying to remove his wife, Georgiana’s, birthmark. Even after hearing how beautiful and well liked she is, Georgiana agrees to get her birthmark removed. Rather than seeing this as a perfect part of her, Aylmer sees the birthmark as a flaw that gives her an imperfect complexion. Later in the story, as the birthmark fades and she wakes up, she states that he should’ve admired what he had in the first place, then dies. This made Aylmer realize that he took time for granted, and now he lives a life without Georgiana due to his impatience with her already beautiful complexion. And finally, in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Reverend Hooper consistently wears a black veil that covers the majority of his face. Several people were afraid and intimidated by it, except for his fiancée, Elizabeth. After further questioning, she begins to fear the veil due to what it symbolizes- the sin in all human beings. Hooper’s plea for Elizabeth to stay reveals the extent of which he is willing to sacrifice, and the decision for him to continue to wear the veil reveals great sorrow; “Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever!” (Hawthorne, 36). In each of the short stories, each female character, always a love interest, is first skeptical of the main character’s choice of actions, then later comply. In each short story, a life lesson is learned for each male character.
Readings are attached!
