On the other hand, Hawthorne speaks of a minister, a deacon, and a teacher of catechism so this could lead one to believe this might be a story about a man on a religious journey. ... He could have meant that his wife, Faith, kept him back or his newly found religious faith kept him back; this could be interpreted either way. ...
This quote contrasts a situation found in Young Goodman Brown. ... Good old deacon Gookin had arrived, and waited at the skirts of that venerable saint, his revered pastor.... Two places where this is expressed include the final paragraph of Young Goodman Brown and an instance found just a few pages into The Ministers Black Veil. ...
Though he kept trying to deny what the devil was telling him about his community and his family ("I have been well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans;" and "The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wine with me;"), he was finally forced to believe these truths when he saw three devout citizens of his town making their own evil ventures through the woods. ... What would have happened if he went right up to Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse, or his wife, Faith, and said "Hey, what the hell was going on last night?" ... Even if he truthfully confronted those ...
