Given the fact that stories Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner can be thought of as such that sublimate the particularities of authors Romanticist worldview, it would be logical, on our part, to expect strongly defined Gothic elements being present in these stories, as Romanticist perception of surrounding reality implies the existence of dark, supernatural forces, which affect peoples existence, even though that people often do not even realize this fact. In his article The Gothic Other, Ron Burton is making a good point when he says: One of the most intriguing aspects of American Romanticism is the Gothic element. Darkness and isolation from society or self, creates a terrifying experience within the reader a fear of the unknown and great danger lurking at every corner plagues the Romantic hero and heroine (Butrton 2008). The reading of Hawthorne and Faulkners stories substantiates the validity of this suggestion,
because these stories main characters do not only find themselves being affected by existential negativity, but they come to realization of the fact that they actually radiate such negativity. In its turn, this unmistakably points out at both authors subconscious belief in the duality of human nature (one of the most characteristic traits of Romanticist literature). This is the reason why, even though that both stories main characters Emily Grierson and Goodman Brown are being initially described as people with rather acute sense of virtuousness, by the time stories end, readers get to recognize Emily Grierson and Goodman Brown as essentially dark, gothic individuals, capable of adopting evilness as the essential part of their identity. In this paper, we will aim at identifying both stories gothic elements of narration to a further extent, while revealing them as such that represent Hawthorne and Faulkners strong affiliation with the ideals of literary Romanticism.