What is the symbolic importance of the character Goody Cloyse in “Young Goodman Brown?”

Answer

What is the symbolic importance of the character Goody Cloyse in “Young Goodman Brown?” [NU: 2015, 21] ★★★

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s (1804-1864) “Young Goodman Brown” (1835) is full of symbols. One of the strongest is Goody Cloyse, the old woman of Salem. She is Goodman Brown’s childhood teacher. Her actions in the forest expose Puritan hypocrisy and symbolise hidden corruption in religion.

Teacher of Religion but Secretly Evil: Goody Cloyse once taught Brown his catechism. He respected her as a guide of faith. But in the forest, she greets the traveller, calling him the Devil. Brown cries, 

“That old woman taught me my catechism!” 

This shock shows betrayal. Symbolically, she stands for religious hypocrisy because a woman of faith secretly joins evil.

Representative of Salem’s Hidden Sin: Goody Cloyse is not just one woman. She represents the Puritan community. Outwardly, she is holy. She prays, she teaches. But in the dark forest, she prepares for the witches’ meeting. She even speaks of witchcraft tools. Her double life symbolises the hidden sin of Salem village.

Guide into the World of Evil: Goody Cloyse also has symbolic importance in leading Brown further into despair. When he sees her fall into evil, he begins to doubt all religion. Later, he hears the Minister and Deacon Gookin. But Goody Cloyse is the first shock. She is the symbol of how faith can collapse when trusted figures fall.

Goody Cloyse symbolises the false holiness of Puritan society. She shows that even a religious teacher can secretly serve evil. For Goodman Brown, she is the turning point. Through her, Hawthorne symbolises hypocrisy, betrayal, and the loss of faith in mankind.