Hawthorne And The Minister's Black Veil

In Herman Melville’s “Hawthorne and His Mosses”, Melville admires Hawthorne as being a man of “humor and love that is developed into that high form called genius” (Pg.1430) and also having a sense of “deep intellect, which drops down into the universe like a plummet” (1430). But According to Melville, It is not these qualities that he finds so fascinating; it is Hawthorne’s “power of blackness” (1431) and idea of “original sin” (1431) in which Melville utterly admires about his fiction. It is merely these critics by Melville that help me to better understand Hawthorne’s “power of blackness” (1431) and this idea of “original sin” (1431) in the story “The Ministers Black Veil”.

In Melville’s “Hawthorne and His Mosses”, Melville says there is

This idea of original sin says that everyone is born with sin and is inevitable in human nature. In the “Ministers Black Veil” this can be best exemplified by the reaction of the towns-people. As previously mentioned, the towns-people had a negative reaction to the black veil that Hooper wore daily and nor did they think for one moment that this veil was a symbol of their own sin they carry from day to day but it was thought more of a mere imperfection in Hooper. This negative reaction of this simple black crape that hung over Hooper’s face is an example of this idea of original sin in the towns-people. This idea of original sin can also be seen in Hooper for not only wearing the black veil but also, in a way, contradicting himself while wearing the veil. In the story it says, “At that Instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking-glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered—his lips grew white—he spilt the untasted wine upon the carpet—and rushed forth into the darkness” (413). Before this episode by Hooper takes place though, Hooper attends a funeral during the day and a wedding at night. In my opinion, this represents a contrast between light and dark between not only the funeral and wedding, but also the fact the