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Reading the story, I reached a sentence which despite having understood whose meaning, I couldn't figure out how it meant that.
I would not for twenty old women like the one hobbling before us that Faith should come to any harm.
(I guess that 'the man' wanted to say something like 'I guarantee that Faith should come to no harm'.)
The underlined section has baffled me. Is there anything about the English of that time that I'm not aware of or is it that just a word has been dropped?
I am not doing as well as you, Rafee, because both its meaning and syntax baffle me alike.
But here's my attempt at understanding it:
The 'would' in there is really 'wish.' The Devil is saying that Goodman Brown should part ways with him if Goodman, and later his wife Faith, could not bear knowing about the wicked acts of his ancestors, one of whom tortured a Quaker woman, another committed atrocities against Indians. All because the Devil wishes no mental burdens upon Faith.
The '20 old women' is a verbal taunt (more cruel and ironic for being in the same breath with which he offers the benign wish) because it is a reference to another atrocity, the famous Salem persecution of 20 women as witches, that was committed by Mr.Hawthorne's ancestor.
The syntax is clearer with commas added like this:
I would not , for twenty old women like the one hobbling before us , that Faith should come to any harm
Someone please correct me if this analysis is not right.
Another intriguing mystery is why does Goodman suddenly volunteer his wife's name so thoughtlessly? Is it out of extreme anxiety for her safety, or because he subconsciously wants to offer his wife to the Devil?
Well to me it seems that he, Goodman Brown, is step by step telling the reasons why he shouldn't go there:
1. He doesn't have the impudence to meet the eye of their minister (To which the Devil laughs.).
Then he presents a stronger one:
2. He hates breaking his wife's heart.
But here, we could dig out a deeper layer of meaning: By doing that, he would break the little heart of his faith, something that actually happens during the events he experiences in the wilderness.
Besides, why can mentioning of his wife's name be risky, for 'people' who may have lots of knowledge without our telling to them? And how?
Again, beside that, later on we come to realize why the Devil wishes no harm for Faith; because she is already among them.
So his wife will be heart-broken if he goes ahead to the congregation instead of going home to her? That sounds right.
Second thought about the 'would'- It is past tense of 'to will' or to exercise mental power to make something happen, which fits the Devil better than 'wish.'
Coming to this discussion late—I'm catching up on a bunch of old posts—but I agree with you, RobertB, "would" is "want" in this case. Move the subordinate clause to the end and it's clearer: "I would not that Faith should come to any harm, no, not for twenty old women like the one hobbling before us."
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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