Young Goodman Brown and Other Hawthorne Short Stories Summary

My Kinsman, Major Molineux

Robin, a youth of barely eighteen, arrives in colonial Boston by ferry one evening. In search of his relative, Major Molineux, Robin ventures through town inquiring about his kinsman’s whereabouts, but is met by hostility and derision from all the townspeople, who imply that he is unwelcome and should return home, their responses laced in threats.

Offended by what he deems an incompetent and impolite reception, Robin continues on, meeting, throughout the night, a number of curious characters that demonstrate a multiplicity of faces, attitudes, and voices. He is told by a devil-faced man to wait beside a church for his kinsman to pass. While waiting, Robin is joined by a kind stranger who keeps him company and…

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