Nathaniel Hawthorne's dark romantic views are expressed in many of his works. Abby Werlock has written about how her stories often acknowledge mortal beings' ability to sin. Nathaniel Hawthorne can be characterized as the opposite of a transcendentalist. He is also a Puritan, believing in the good and evil nature inherent in man. Some beliefs he may share with other "anti-transcendentalists" include that, contrary to the transcendentalists' belief that man is born good, every child is born with the infamy of the original sin; it is only through experience and good deeds that he will find God and the goodness of his soul. They also believe that man is one of the most eradicating forces of nature and that there is no universal truth. Through themes and symbols, Nathaniel Hawthorne is able to demonstrate his point of view in some of his short stories, including Young Goodman Brown, The Birthmark, and Rappaccini's Daughter. Young Goodman Brown tells the story of a man who, one night, leaves his wife and his village to meet a mysterious individual deep in the dark forest that surrounds his home. As Brown and his enigmatic companion travel further and further, it becomes clear that their goal is to participate in an immoral ritual for the mysterious man, who is in fact the devil. As they move forward, Brown discovers the disturbing truth from several of his fellow villagers. He tries to turn around, thinking of his wife, whose voice he then hears somewhere in the woods. He realizes that he lost her to the devil and decides to continue the meeting. As the ritual takes place, he suddenly finds himself alone. The next day, when Brown returns to his village, he finds himself face to face with Faith, and the doubt... middle of paper...... they are all very similar to each other according to Abby Werlock, in the way of that they are influenced by his puritanical views and have common concepts of morality, good and evil, perfection, guilt and pride. All of these themes and symbols are involved in these three stories. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these themes and symbols to represent his views in terms of dark romanticism. These three stories all have this character who becomes the victim of another character who is unable to accept and understand the presence of humanity. Nathaniel Hawthorne has puritanical views and beliefs almost opposite to those of a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists believe that every child is born intrinsically good and that everyone will go to heaven if they have not sinned in their life. People like Nathaniel Hawthorne believe the exact opposite, and this was reflected in his writings..