The title “goodman” in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown" was a common title for male members of the Puritan community. ...

Beyond being a common form of address, the term "Goodman" is reflective of Brown's own hypocrisy regarding his beliefs about his conduct and behavior. 

Throughout the tale, Young Goodman Brown is given clear indications that he should not journey into the woods.  His wife, Faith, is concerned for his safety, and even he feels guilt for going forward with his errand.  Despite this, he continues.  Upon entering into the woods and meeting up with the...

Beyond being a common form of address, the term "Goodman" is reflective of Brown's own hypocrisy regarding his beliefs about his conduct and behavior. 

Throughout the tale, Young Goodman Brown is given clear indications that he should not journey into the woods.  His wife, Faith, is concerned for his safety, and even he feels guilt for going forward with his errand.  Despite this, he continues.  Upon entering into the woods and meeting up with the strange traveler, his feelings of guilt increase.  Still, he continues on.  Even when given clear proof that he is walking with the Devil himself, Brown persists.  While the traveler does at times use trickery to get Brown to continue, the impulse and desire toward sin comes from within Brown himself. 

Eventually Brown arrives at the hellish witch meeting in the woods.  Here he sees the revered members of his community congregating with groups thought to be less chaste (such as Indians and ostracized individuals) and takes a "final" stand, at which time everything disappears.  Afterward, Hawthorne presents the possibility that the entire experience was a dream.  However, from that moment on, Brown turned against everybody else in his community, believing them to be willing participants in the unholy communion in the forest.  He no longer trusted the minister, Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse, or even Faith.  He pointed the finger at everyone except for himself, believing that, among all of them, he was the "goodman." 

While it is unclear that any of the other members of the community were actually in the woods at all, Brown was- and he was there for the wrong reasons.  From the start of the story, he knew that he was doing something wrong and he did it anyhow, vowing to be good afterward.  His desire to commit sin, knowing he can be forgiven afterward, makes him more dastardly than those who simply commit sin with no forethought.  Beyond being a common form of address, Young Goodman Brown's name draws attention to his hypocrisy; like many in Puritan times who committed terrible acts under the guise of "goodness," Brown is unable to understand that he is not the "goodman" he believes himself to be.