Emotional Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthorne´s The Minister´s Black Veil

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Minister’s Black Veil is a story of guilt, humility, sin, hypocrisy, love, compounded emotional stability and trials of life. It is a work of gothic literary art that describes the complexity of emotions and the psychological give and take that takes place when processing and dealing with any human emotion. The gothic writing style Hawthorne uses in The Minister's Black Veil makes it easy for him to focus on one main emotion: guilt. Hawthorne is no stranger to guilt, a huge reason why he discusses its nature so much. The Hawthorne families, formally known as Hathorne, were involved in the Salem Witch Trials and have carried the shame and guilt of their families decisions through generations. Throughout this story, guilt is a prominent concern for all the characters involved: the minister, the minster's fiancé, and the towns people. Hawthorne uses gothic tones and descriptions to define and describe the natural human emotion of guilt.

Hawthorne's main character is the Minister, Mr. Parson Hooper who is described as “… a gentlemanly person of about thirty...was dressed with due clerical neatness...and brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday's garb” (2431). In Hawthorne’s portrayal, Mr. Hooper is intimated as a calculated man. Hooper’s stringent schedule and precision shows that he was a man of a routine that the community was familiar with. Hawthorne’s reference to Hooper’s strict routine conveys to the reader that the townsfolk are not accustomed to change. It is also suggested that his routine gave the townspeople a sense of security. Hawthorne then drastically alters the tone of the piece with one small symbol: a piece of cloth. When Hawthorne introduces this extremely significant representation: “…Mr....

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... their engagement because Hooper would not show his face. The idea that she would never be able to look upon her husban and make a connection with him was too much for her to handle and she let him go. Mr. Hooper went to the grave with his veil. At his death bed when asked to remove his veil he refused and was angered by the thought of others curiosity. He wanted the community to know and made it apparent that his veil was physical but their veil was still worn. He claimed to be able to see their black veil even though no one but himself wore one. His sin on his face was a message to the world that he was accepting responsibility and the consequences of his decisions. He suffered for this. He was ridiculed and mocked. Even though this happened he held true to his commitment. His veil did not leave his face even after death. Parson Hooper wore his guilt to his grave.