The American Renaissance was the period that gave birth to a number of notable authors, among which Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe can be found. The use of “deliberate ambiguities that allowed readers to speculate about divergent meanings” (Gibert 217) made Hawthorne one of the most important writers of this time. Furthermore, Poe, who was considered the inventor of the science fiction tale by Jules Verne, and whose “literary work was undoubtedly rooted in his suffering” (Gibert 282), applied the Gothic tradition, and its characteristic use of supernatural, fantastic, and bizarre features, which made readers wonder all the time.
Oftentimes after reading a story, readers believe they manage to foresee not only the ending but also anything that occurs in it. Yet, this is not always possible. Developing a chain of suspense, a feeling of unease, a sense of curiosity, and a considerable number of surprises is the way Nathaniel Hawthorne constantly manipulates our sentiments. Oppositely, employing the “unity of effect” that covers a vast variety of emotions was Poe´s main achievement to make the “Masque of the Red Death” unambiguous for us; hence, there is never a doubt of what this is about. On that account, can these stories be deemed predictable?
It is not clear to us if what “Young Goodman Brown” sees in the forest is actually real or just a dream from his subconscious. Faith refers to Brown's "journey" but neither she nor Brown is more specific about it, Faith is fearful of being left alone with her nightmares and is concerned that he is going away on this night in particular: "Pray tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year."(9-10). What is so worrisome about this night? Brown and Faith evidently know something readers do not. Hawthorne never explicitly states what the "journey" is about, or other elements that leave readers ambiguously wondering, as the allegory about Faith certainly does refer to his wife´s name but it often refers to his doubtful faith as a Puritan.
As Dr. Gibert states, “[…] Readers may wonder why, if Prospero tried to elude physical death, he represented it in the last chamber […] although Poe himself did not provide any clues, we may conclude that the “Red Death” was not a mere plague, but death itself, inseparable from life and shared by all humanity […]” (287). Even though Poe comes up with some surprises, for instance, the way Prospero is going to die, we can perceive that the author wants us to comprehend every step and symbol as well as the moral at the end: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all" (14), conveying that eventually, death comes for us all, even for the rich, poor, and powerful. Therefore, by not using ambiguity, Poe wants to send a message and makes it straightforward for us.
In brief, predictability, uncertainty, suspense, and surprises can be found in both works, but with different approaches to developing, and ending them. Since “Young Goodman Brown” is based on the fact that everyone has a dark side, finding corrupted people in it is deemed predictable. Nevertheless, prediction decreases again with a final twist that leads to an open ending. On the contrary, Poe´s foreshadowing devices predict a terrible outcome. However, those hints do not allow readers to foreknow it, which makes suspense raise. Had not the tic-tac of the “gigantic clock of ebony” been ticking, would we have interpreted the author´s intention?
Adryana Memmo
Works Cited
Gibert, Teresa. American Literature To 1900. 2nd ed., 8th reprint, Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces, 2020, Madrid, Spain.
Gibert, Teresa. A Study Guide for American Literature to 1900. 1st ed., 6th reprint, Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces, 2019, Madrid, Spain
