The Minister’s Black Veil – Solitude Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories are strongly developed around his unique and powerful use of physical setting. Often the location and the time of day of the story speak as much -- if not more -- of the plot, giving a deeper meaning then just the outside world. However, this emphasis on the physical setting is not always present, as in “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Instead, Hawthorne here used primarily the psychological setting of the characters (and most of all with Parson Hooper) to create this masterpiece work that creates just as much an impact - if not more so -- than any physical setting could ever achieve. Hawthorne’s gift as a writer who knew the power of darkness is evident in his short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”.

After the initial onset of the black veil, the minister was alienated from himself. After performing the wedding, he caught a glimpse of himself in the looking-glass, and "the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others" (Hawthorne 256). He would no longer look in a mirror at himself because "his antipathy to the veil was known to be so great" (Hawthorne 258). The veil which isolated his face from the sun and rain also kept him from his deepest fears and regrets. Reverend Hooper could no longer face himself and decided no one else alive would be allowed to face him either. The only people who seemed to see his face and understand him were lifeless corpses. As Mr. Hooper paid his last respects to a deceased young maiden in her casket, "the veil hung straight down from his forehead" (Hawthorne 255), and a superstitious woman claimed "the corpse had slightly shuttered" (Hawthorne 255). When the minister placed the black piece of cloth over his face, he intended to keep himself from the sight of his face also.

In Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper loses human connection after he bounds himself to wear the black veil as a representation of human nature to hide sinful actions. Mr. Hooper’s refusal to remove the black veil causes the townspeople to distance themselves from him because they found his behavior odd and unnatural, including his fiancee. During Mr. Hooper and his fiancee’s argument, she continually presses him for a reason for wearing

The story starts off by describing people’s adverse reactions toward Mr. Hooper’s black veil, showing their fear. The mirroring effect is best at work in the story when the narrator says, “Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, [feels] as if [Parson Hooper has] crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and [discovers] their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought.” Because of the reflection of their secret sins, people feel especially uneasy when facing the veil. Thus, people add their sins onto the veil, turning it into the symbol of terror and evil. Moreover, this example provides a connection to “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator experiences the strongest anger and fear when he sees the old man’s eye. Likewise, the townspeople in “The Minister’s Black Veil” undergo the most extreme anxiety when they face the black veil, feeling Mr. Hooper’s eyes under the veil fixed upon their secret sins. One important motif of Gothic literature is humans’ capacity for evil, which can lead to

The final story shows that lack of communication can push people away leaving an individual alone and forced to live with the consequences of their actions. “The Minister’s Black Veil” shows how separating yourself from others without explanation pushes the most beloved away. Mr. Hooper puts the veil over his face and leaves the townspeople bewildered by his purpose of doing this. “‘ I do not like it, ‘ muttered an old woman. . . ‘He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.’”. This woman's comment alone shows the confusion people have for Mr. Hooper's apparel change. He did not explain to the people why he wore the black veil over his face, and the communication failure separated the people and their minister. None,

“When man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin” - The Minister’s Black Veil. There are many things that are wrong in this world, living a life full of secret sins that you can’t hide from God. “The Minister’s Black Veil,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows such a way of living, at the end, no one knows the secret sin. This magnificent story was inspired in the era of romanticism ,during this time, people wrote stories of life, tragedy, clueless answers, and much more. Nathaniel, on the other hand, wrote about the life full of secret sins and was left unanswered in the story, but you can still put it together to find that secret sin.

Many years later,“His health began to fail … experiencing slowness of thought. For months, he refused to seek medical help and died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, at Plymouth, New Hampshire” (Biography.com). All the obstacles Hawthorne had gone through in his life influenced his writing. He created his characters with a sense of alienation and guilt. The character’s alienation reveals much about the surrounding community.

Hooper saw the sin everyone committed and that was judgement. As he begun the message through the veil he continued through, message going to pride, reminding everyone he could not change their

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, there are many literal and metaphoric secrets. These secretive features are not just aimed at the minister himself, but at all the people in the little town. Secret sin is the most important aspect of this story. The minister's entry of sin in his life seemed to ruin him more than if he had merely told his fiancé about his struggles. “There is an hour to come…when all of us shall cast aside our veils” (Hawthorne 8). Elizabeth does not understand his

The townspeople featured in the parable of “The Minister’s Black Veil” possess the Theories of Guilt conveyed in modern applications of Hawthorne, as they are influenced and controlled by their guiltiness and by those who present their culpability to them; in this case, the Minister and his black veil. Reverend Hooper uses his veil to initiate the presence of guilt and gives the townspeople insight to how “‘like any other emotion, guilt can be controlled and manipulated to influence others.” Since the characters are somewhat “controlled” by the black veil and its correlation to sin; their previously apparent easygoing personalities have become introverted. They now live in fear, hoping that whatever previous sin that they committed will not come back to haunt them. At the beginning of the “The

  The Minister's Black Veil begins with a young pastor, Mr. Hooper, arriving at church with an ugly black veil covering his face. The people are all dismayed, and wonder why he is wearing a black veil. They are further dismayed and confused, when he refuses to take it off--ever. There is only one person who is not horrified by his black veil--his wife-to-be, Elizabeth. She comes to him and says, "there is nothing terrible in this piece of crape, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil: then tell me why you put it on." (Heath 2143) Mr. Hooper smiles and replies, "There

Though the townsfolk are regretful of the minister's assumed crime, they negate this by partaking in sinful behavior themselves, on account of their own curiosity, and ultimately, their own fear. Hence, the minister’s veil not only changes the minister, but it changes the townsfolk as well, “each member of the congregation...felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought” (2). Thus, the entire congregation fears the very sight of the minister’s veil, and the man of which used to win their admiration now has sinister implications surrounding himself. The aforementioned fear makes it apparent that every townsperson has dark secrets they would even try to hide from themselves.

Commitment can be one of the hardest things that someone has to face. Whether that is commitment to a person, a job, or- as in the story- an ideal. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the main character- Minister Hooper- decides to teach a sermon all the while with a black veil on his face that covers everything above the mouth. The strange thing that happens shortly after is what sets the whole foundation for the story- Mr. Hooper does not remove the veil. In fact, even to the grave Parson Hooper continues to conceal his face from everyone he loves. Even though there are negative repercussions in his private life, his public one- that of a minister- thrives beyond expectation. Mr. Hooper wears the veil to make a point and impact his ministry. His success is evident in the story and makes his sacrifice seem worth it to the diligent reader.

This story depicts a minister who was ridiculed his entire life over a veil he used to represent individuality. Hawthorne uses the super natural within the story to show how the unforeseen can be burdensome.

French designer Philippe Starck once claimed he“ like[d] to open the doors to people’s brain.” Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” reflects this principle in which the author deliberately creates ambiguities to open the possibilities of interpretation. More specifically, Nathaniel Hawthorne employs commonplace symbols to present the ambiguity of sin and secrecy through a psychological lens in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. This short story also reflects the principle of Puritanism, such as the idea of manifest destiny represented by the minister Mr. Hooper.