Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

The Dark Minister and His Followers

Bad guys don't get much badder than these. They commemorate evil, commit dark deeds, and corrupt innocent young women. (Yeah, Faith, we mean you.) All they're missing are bandit masks and black goatees.

But their relation to young Goodman Brown turns out to be pretty complex. Our protagonist wants to oppose these vicious fellows, but sometimes he gives into a wild, animalistic side that looks rather vicious itself. In the end, though, "Young Goodman Brown" turns into a battle of one against many. It's young Goodman Brown against a gigantic community of evil. As he sees it, it's his silent hatred against their sinister unity. Virtue has won a few battles, but unhappiness has won the war.