Dark Romanticism is a literary genre that emerged in 19tl1 century America from the Transcendentalist Movement. While Transcendentalists believed that perfection, divinity, and the natural world were keys to life, the Dark Romantics believed that humans are inclined to evil and self-destruction. One can see that both of these themes are evident in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories, such as "The Birthmark" and "Young Goodman Brown." In his criticism of "Young Goodman Brown," literary critic, Paul J. Hurley, argues that Hawthorne has created a dream sequence so realistic that it has caused Brown to become resentful towards his Puritan Community resulting in him living his life in complete fear and mistrust. In depth research will support Hurley's claim that Brown's nightmare in the forest was, in fact, a dream, demonstrating the evil within Brown's subconscious.

In his short story, Hawthorne prepares his audience for the ambiguous context to come through setting. He chose a time period notoriously memorable to the Puritans, which was the time in which the Salem Witch Trials were being held. This time period is very important to the setting because it demonstrates the great state of religious oppression that the people of Salem were in which led to the accusations of innocent people taking part in witchcraft.

Hawthorne begins the short story at sunset with Brown telling his wife Faith that he has to run an important errand and that he will be back the next day. Hawthorne's symbolism through setting starts here with Faith telling her husband, Brown, to go during the day and not at night. Immediately, readers begin to infer that the darkness has an evil layer to it and that something is not quite right. This leads to Hawthorne's depiction of the forest. One way that shows Brown's entire experience was merely a dream is the setting of the forest. The way Hawthorne displays the forest as a "gloomy and sinful environment filled with ciphers of evil," really helps in creating a dream-like atmosphere (Keil 17). While reading the description of the forest in the short story, it does not feel like reality, rather, a world of nightmarish elements. As one can see,

Hawthorne's depiction of the setting supports the claim that Brown's experience in the forest was a dream.

In addition to the setting, the supernatural elements Hawthorne includes in the short story also add to the claim that Brown was in fact dreaming in the forest. One of these supernatural elements involves the ironic encounter Brown makes in the forest. While walking in the forest in fear, Brown remarks, "There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree ...What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow" (Hawthorne 1). This is considered supernatural because all of a sudden, an old man appears right by Brown in the forest next to a tree, who later is revealed to be the devil in disguise.

Another supernatural element Hawthorne demonstrates in the story is regarding the serpent-shaped staff of the old man/devil in the forest. Through the character of Brown, Hawthorne describes that the staff "bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 2).

Brown also experiences this in the encounter with Goody Cloyse, as "the devil throws her his serpent-staff as it comes to life and vanishes Goody Cloyse into the depths of the dark forest" (Flanders 3). This image of the staff being a terrifying serpent that seems to be alive adds to the idea that Brown is dreaming because it is something so bizarre and out of this world. It seems like something that cannot be a part of reality and rather something experienced only in nightmares or vivid dreams. From this, it is clear to see how the supernatural elements experienced by Brown in the forest can allow one to conclude that Brown was, in fact, dreaming.

Along with supernatural elements, Ergot, commonly known as rye, can also support the claim that Brown was dreaming. Ergot is a poisonous fungus that grows in rye and other grains.  It thrives in warm and damp temperatures. According to George Wong, an associate professor  of botany at the University  of Hawaii, consumption of the poisonous ergot fungus can result in muscle spasms, hallucinations, and delusions. Researchers have also found out that during the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the Ergot fungus was very common in both America and Europe. It was so common that many people just thought that the fungus was just part of the plant (Luchessi 2). Therefore, the ergot fungus was believed to be a cause for all the unnatural actions that people in Salem believed to be witchcraft. Because of the poisoning, it led people to accuse others of witchcraft, which sparked the beginning of all the trials. As said, the poison grows in areas that are warm, swampy, and damp, such as the forest that Brown was in during the night. It is very likely that Brown was just poisoned and was hallucinating the entire time, since the forest is a sustainable environment for the ergot to grow in. This is another reason which supports Hurley's claim that young Goodman Brown's experience was merely a nightmare.

Some people may say that young Goodman Brown was not dreaming and that everyone in the town was a devil worshipper. The argument is made that everyone in the town acts normally the next day in order to not raise any suspicion to the events that occurred the night before. However, this is not the case. The behavior of the townspeople the day after Brown's experience in the forest also demonstrates Hurley's argument that Brown was, in fact, dreaming.

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