The Importance Of The Veil In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Father Hooper, a character in The Ministers Black Veil, has put a wall up between himself and his parishioners with the simple adornment of a veil. The veil is symbolic of secret and sin the Father is trying to hide from the world. A secret so massive, it is not even to be removed by his Fiancee’, Elizabeth. While he, himself will not let his secrets be known until his earthly departure, it can be presumed that they carry the weight of infidelity. On his deathbed, Father Hooper described seeing a black veil on everyone he has met, perceiving that everyone has their own walls and

Whatever his reason for his odd clothing, Reverend Hooper's veil caused more than a physical separation from the people of his town. The people felt the veil was "the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them" (Hawthorne 256). Their fear and confusion of the minister's motives caused strange behavior and unnatural withdrawal from their spiritual leader.

Hooper was wearing the veil for so long. The church members at first and are scared of Mr. hooper. You can tell they are because in the story it said that they would usually invite him over for dinner but when he started to wear the veil they did not. Throughout the time he wore the veil he was the same Mr. Hooper and preacher for this reason the church members would keep asking why he is wearing the veil.

McCarthy also stated that “the veil is the manifestation of Christ’s efficacy over sin, of man’s urgent need of that efficacy, and of the perilous future without Christ’s efficacy”, which may give support that Hooper did commit a horrible sin. Because Minister Hooper though he is a man of God is wearing the veil to repent for his sins, but a more logical interpretation is that God forgives sins and that the future without God is not one with great satisfaction..

Mr. Hooper has an effect on people by wearing the veil and he uses it to express his original purpose. Everyone on Earth has sinned, “for the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil.” This shows that Mr. Hooper believed that sin is a part of nature and it is a natural thing to be sinners. Even Earth, His own creation, is hiding her secret under a black veil. Hawthorne says this to show Mr. Hooper’s point that people have an inborn sinful nature and it is not always represented by literally wearing a black veil. In other words, he says that even people who do not wear a black veil equally have secret sins, “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is a cause enough…and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” People hide their real self to prevent being criticized by society and because they are ashamed of what they have done. He pays a high price in the attempt of teaching society the nature of sins. The people who used to admire him are now afraid and confused so he is forced to live a lonely live. Following this further, he influences people to believe the moral lesson behind his decision of wearing the veil. He wants people to

In the short story The Minister's Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne is explaining how mankind is afflicted by the seven sins. The officer of the church is ring the town bell calling all the people of the village to church, when the church sexton sees Mr. Hooper leave his house he stops ring the bell. The people of the town don't like the Hoopers change in appearance they think that he has lost his sanity and no one walks on the side of the street he lives on. Later in the story the their is a funeral for a young woman and the town people think that's why Hooper is wearing the Black veil “for his own secret sins”. The young minister asks Hooper to remove the veil as Hooper is dying. Hooper is brought to his grave, “Many years pass, and grass

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil," Mr. Hooper, a Reverend in the town of Milford, surprises his parishioners by donning a conspicuous black veil one Sunday. The town is visibly spooked, yet still curious, about his eerie appearance and profoundly affected by his sermon on secret sin. "A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (2432). The parishioner's expect that Hooper will only don the veil for one day and then remove it, having used the visage to make his point on secret sin, but they are taken aback to

To the people the veil is an outward symbol of a sinful action that was committed, although they wanted to blame Hooper for commiting a grave sin, they were reminded of their own sin that they did not want admit. On the other hand, the veil could also symbolize the shallowness of the puritan religion at the time. Based upon this, the reader can conclude that the veil in fact symbolizes the denial of sin before God. This explains why the townspeople were so off-guard when they first saw Reverend Hooper with the veil, most people are not open about their sin but when they are it is easier for others to open up and make personal connections with them. Furthermore, when Hooper is on his deathbed and expresses that he does not want anyone to remove his veil until he is heaven that can also be connected to the judgement day when all of our sins will be exposed to

First of all, I imagine that Mr. Hooper wears the veil for his own personal sins for many reasons. For an example, the first article says, “the sin that Mr. Hooper admonished himself over was the temptation or dalliance with a female.”. Meaning, that Mr. Hooper feels

Hooper wears the veil to symbolize his mourning for the secret sins of many of the Puritans who fear the severe punishments for transgressions and live as hypocrites become apparent in the denouement of Hawthorne’s story”. This represents Mr. Hooper taking responsibility and bearing the burdens the townspeople. Article 3-line 5 quotes “Build ups ruin their souls and the only way to find peace is through repentance through God”. The closest the townspeople ever got to God was confronting the minister with their sins. As time progressed and Mr. Hooper was ceasing, many would come to the minister so he can take as many of the peoples burdens with him to be buried when he also is entombed in the

The meaning of the veil revolves around religion and humanity. The first level to understand is that you can't hide your sins from God. It is known in religions that God knows your plan and knows everything you do. This could be a reason why he wore the veil because he committed a sin that he cannot hide from God and he wears the veil as a symbol of a sinner. The second level is that the minister is almost acquirable for the people and the sins that they commit. As a minister is his job to lead people and he might have taken the responsibility to carry the sorrows of the sins that the people committed just like Jesus died for our sins. The third level is the importance of taking ownership of the sins you commit. The sin of humanity as a whole is very intriguing because society always tries to hide and ignore the fact that they commit sins each day. Mr Hooper might have been trying to show the greatness of humanity, sin by wearing the veil and showing the darkness and mystery

Clues about the veil’s meaning are given in Mr.Hooper’s last dying words. He said, "I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil”(Hawthorne 246). By this Mr.Hooper meant that he saw a black veil on the faces of everyone around him. The black veil represents the secret sins that all people carry in their hearts and hide from their friends. Instead of focusing on what is behind their own veil people focus on what is behind Mr.Hooper's veil. He has chosen to make his black veil visible while others choose to hide their sins in their

In this essay, we will discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil." There are many secrets that are found in this dark story. These secretive aspects are not just centered on the main actor, the minister, but on all the people in the town as well. The story begins with Mr. Hooper and he is a well respected and appreciated. The conflict arises when Mr. Hooper is seen wearing a black veil. People around the town are astonished. For that reason, they point, stare, and laugh at Mr. Hooper as if he was a stranger. Immediately Mr, Hooper's social privileges is rejected. Mr. Hooper didn't want to tell anyone why he was wearing the mysterious black veil. The majority of the townsfolk isolated Mr. Hooper because he wore a black veil. His fiance, Elizabeth begged him to take off the black veil, but he refused to take it off.

If we take “The Minister’s Black Veil” as a horror story, it leads us to certain conclusions about the nature of the veil and Hooper’s refusal to take it off. If horror is something that centers upon the horrifying or macabre, especially concerning the supernatural, one can see that this story could belong. Hooper never divulges the exact nature of the veil, and we are left to speculate about what it could possibly mean. Several possibilities present themselves if we think of this story as a horror story; it could be that the veil is covering Hooper’s face to be a constant reminder to his congregation and all who see him of secret sin. It seems that the idea that he could possibly know someone’s secret sin is terrifying to the townspeople. Indeed, this veil does give Hooper “awful power over souls that were in agony for sin” (943). Sinners fear him, because they feel that the black veil is a reference to their own personal secret sins. And the veil gives him an association with the dead and ghostly qualities; after the girl’s funeral at the beginning of the story, one woman remarks that she thought she saw Hooper walking hand in hand with the ghost of the dead girl. Such things would not have been imagined if he had never donned the veil.

The black veil brings up confusion and interest to the Puritan society because everyone has a different view as to why Mr. Hooper is walking around with his face covered with a veil. To the townspeople, Hooper’s veil is a clear sign that he is trying to atone for a grave sin. “There was but one thing remarkable about his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things” (Hawthorne 369). Although Hooper identifies the veil in a different manner, the townspeople use the veil to focus exclusively on Hooper’s sinfulness because, deep