Quotes for Hawthorne

"My father never went into the woods on such an errand nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs; and shall I be the first of the name of Brown that ever took the path and kept."

This quote is expressing Goodman Brown's shock for being the first of his family to go into the woods. His father and his grandfather both never went into the woods. Goodman is the first man in his family to take a different path through life and keep to it. People shouldn't follow in their parents footsteps unless it is what they truly want. You should find your own path through life and follow that path. Let that path take you as far as it can, then when that path ends a new one begins.

"Prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and thoughts that she's afeard of herself sometimes. Pray tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year."

This quote is showing the wife of Goodman Brown, Faith, and her desperate atempt to have her husband spend just one more night with her before he leaves for his trip. She wants him to stay one more night with her and then leave in the morning. But he says that he must leave that night. Everytime someone you care about is leaving you want them to stay just a little longer even if they have to be somewhere, you just want that extra time to be with them. This quote shows how much she loves her husband and how desperate she is to just have one more night to be with him.