Hawthorne, a writer of many books filled with symbolism,writes The Minister’sBlack Veil as his other stories, a masterful work of art. In The Minister’s Black Veil, the main character, Reverend Hooper is a priest who dons a black veil and lives through the abuses of society, being unable to choose for himself what he wants without being despised by the town who had willingly accepted him before.To start, Hawthorne begins showing readers a peaceful town, however, this town bears the problems that all towns face, the startling inability people cannot escape, sins, and the town’s collective sins are borne as the sins of society, Reverend Hooper’s sins, and the punishment that Hooper forces himself through being the only man seeking atonement and …show more content…
repentance. As the men and women representing society live their lives, they make choices, and all choices call an outcome, and the townspeople break the fundamental rules which are represented through moral and religious beliefs, considered sins by all of man. First, fundamentally, the town shows their prejudiced nature, one born from ignorance, with the quote “I don’t like it, [.....] He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.(Hawthorne, Q)” Hooper hides his face away, because society would not judge him were he to act normal. Society demands Hooper to act like they do, and deny his thoughts and ideals of himself. This statement also becomes touched upon by Judith P. Saunders, who states “Refusing to remove the “dismal shade” from his eyes even momentarily in her presence.(Judith P. Saunders, Q)” This line, an idea of Elizabeth, Hooper’s Fiance, wanting him to give himself up, and give her the satisfaction of society. After all, Hooper can make the choices he pleases, because he, the Reverend and an adult, fervently believes in himself and others. Also, society, being judgemental and cruel, chose dream crushing over the happiness that Hooper secretly wanted, through the quote “But even amid his grief, he smiled to think that only a material emblem had separated him from happiness(Hawthorne, Q)”. Unfair to Hooper, because Elizabeth had hoped that Hooper would take the veil off for her(Judith P. Saunders, P), he now suffers alone and ironically, he dies the way he lived after donning the veil, alone. Hooper, forced forward, alone, never truly finds his happiness and instead dedicates his remaining life into his job, perhaps only seeking atonement from a society that damned him for being different. Alas, even still. Hooper shares with his town, he also acts as a sinner. Hooper, forced into regard for being a “man of the cloth” cannot be anything but an example of the best of human nature, but he suffers, for his wants could be as the sins which he judges the town upon. First, interpreted in the town’s eyes, Hooper wears a veil which hides his face, solely for his own reasons “How strange [...] that such a simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on her bonnet should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper’s face.(Hawthorne, Q)” The veil is immediately painted as a woman’s accessory in the townspeople’s eyes. Hooper perhaps sought the image of a woman, wanting to escape himself. Agreement comes from a critic, stating Hooper fears loss of self, so he hides behind the veil, which takes it away anyways(Paul J Emmett, S). Hooper wore the veil not for seeing through a person as originally thought, but instead he wore it hoping beyond hope to find himself and nothing more. Hooper lives a life where he runs from the power he sought and earned, all because of his pride and lack of self-esteem, because he most likely lived for the hope of earning his spot in the church. Also, one of the townspeople believed that a woman who died walked with the minister “I had a fancy that the minister and the maiden’s spirit were walking side by side.(Hawthorne, Q)” In the story, he dons the veil on this day, which most definitely holds significance. He wanted to hide as a critic says, Physical signs can be used to discern the state of mind(Judith P. Saunders, P). If he were guilty, one would not be able to tell, nor if he were innocent. Obviously Hooper was involved, how could he not be, if everything points towards his involvement. Unfaithful and uncaring, Hooper chooses to attempt having happiness for himself over abandonment of his feelings. In the end, Hooper made mistakes, the same ones as anyone else in the town, though he is inspected for them. Hooper, a sinner, even so, wanted atonement, to make up for his mistakes where no one else would dare.
First, Hooper proves how he suffered through the quote “Mr Hooper raised a glass of wine to his lips [....] catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil invited his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others [.....] for the Earth, too, had on her black veil.(Hawthorne, Q)” After this quote, Hooper turns white in shock and places the glass down, excusing himself. A critic states that the woman he(Hooper) buried has to be significant, for her’s is the only one seen by readers(Paul J.Emmett, S). Hooper wears the veil because of his sins and wants atonement, obviously, and the veil is what bridges the gap. Also quoted is “So long as my vow my suffer me.(Hawthorne, Q)” Hooper states to Elizabeth. Hooper suffers something that many despair, being alone, because he wears the veil. Hooper’s vow to wear the veil, something that makes his life a living hell is a surprise because a loyal, and devout priest holds no reason to wear such a dark color. Hooper’s atonement is not the veil, but the many tragedies that come with it. A critic agrees, as implied that Hooper, by making himself suffer while wearing the veil becomes alone and a scapegoat(N.S. Boone, S). No matter the sum of his sins, the town will and had blamed him for everything, all because the veil broke normalcy. The torment of being alone is one thing that all readers understand, but not what all can show, and Hooper begged not for help, but to be pushed
away. Throughout The Minister’s Black Veil, Hooper is a foil to society in every sense, for he knows their mistakes, his mistakes, and the only way for him to make it up. Hooper has no choice but to live up to his name. Hawthorne is a successful writer not for his name, but his mystery that trumps even Edgar Allen Poe, and the symbolism that allows critics to create theories for every piece of the story. In conclusion, the message of the story is life, and how society must learn to accept each other and stand up against mistakes, not run away like Hooper, or ignore them like the town.
In reality the black veil was worn to teach a lesson. The lesson was to show how easily people are judged when unaware of one’s true intentions. This being said, Hooper is explaining how he was judged and his life changed for the worst just because he was wearing the black veil; he was hated for something that his friends and family had no clue about, but believed it was for the
In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” for example, Hawthorne describes how, “perhaps the palefaced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them”(2). This directly contrasts the “light” faces of the members of the congregation with the darkness of the minister’s veil. By stating that the minister was just as afraid of the people as the people were of him, Hawthorne indicates that the people fear the minister due to the abrupt reveal of his mysterious sin, but the minister also somewhat fears the people and the secrets they hold deep within their hearts. The people of the town are supposedly pure and innocent, yet it is clear that many of the citizens carry the burden of their own evils. Although the minister boldly comes forward with his own sin, he still feels the pain of the loneliness, scorn, and spite that has come with his statement. Hawthorne represents the discomfort the guilty townspeople feel when in the presence of Mr. Hooper when he describes how they were, “conscious of lighter spirits the moment they lost sight of the black veil” (3). Once again, this use of light and dark imagery supports Hawthorne’s argument that people, even those who claim to be pure and innocent, are capable of sin. The townspeople in Mr. Hooper’s community feel the burden of their own sins when they come in
The story “The Minister’s Black Veil” is symbolic of the hidden sins that we hide and separate ourselves from the ones we love most. In wearing the veil Hooper presents the isolation that everybody experiences when they are chained down by their own sins. He has realized that everybody symbolically can be found in the shadow of their own veil. By Hooper wearing this shroud across his face is only showing the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature.
Mr. Hooper in “The Minister’s Black Veil” puts on a veil to symbolize “those sad mysteries which we hid[e] from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (Hawthorne 310). From the moment the townsfolk see the black veil they become very frightened and intimidated by Mr. Hooper, the citizens felt that “the black veil seemed to hang down before his heart” (Hawthorne 308). People became very frightened even the “most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast” (Hawthorne 312) Mr. Hooper puts this crape on as a “symbol of a fearful secret between him and them” and because of this society chastises him and makes him out to be a...
In “The minister’s black veil” The black veil Mr.hooper puts on is to prevent people from spying on his private life. The veil symbolized that human nature is blinded by sins and they way the town treated him after he started wearing the veil shows that there faith is blind they couldn't understand where he was coming from. “ Mr. Hooper's conscience tortured him for some great crime too horrible to be entirely concealed, or otherwise than so obscurely intimated. Thus, from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper shocks his townspeople by putting a veil permanently on his face. The veil is a paradox of concealment and revelation (Carnochan 186). Although it is concealing Mr. Hooper’s face, it is made to reveal the sins in society. The townspeople first believed that the veil was being used to hide a sin that Mr. Hooper had committed. Mr. Hooper says that the veil is supposed to be a symbol of sins in general, however the townspeople ignore the message and still focus on his sinfulness. The townspeople know that they have sinned, but they use Mr. Hooper as their own “veil” to hide their sins. Because the townspeople are so caught up on his sins, they fail to figure on the message behind Mr. Hooper’s action and
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" illustrates the dangers of secret sin. Allowing guilt from things done in the past, things that cannot be changed, can ruin lives. The life of the secret-carrier will be devastated, along with the lives of that person's most loved ones. Hawthorne uses various types of figurative language in his works to portray his message. "The Minister's Black Veil” is no exception; Hawthorne uses symbolism and suggestion to add depth and mystery.
There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”; this essay hopes to explore this problem within the tale.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the idea that sin, whether it be your sin, secret sin, or a known sin, can sometimes lead to isolation and gives insight into people’s true character. The main character Parson Hooper was met with many confrontations in his literal representation of secret sin by wearing a black veil. In the beginning of the story, as Hooper leaves the church he dreadfully realizes the darkness and effect of the black veil which would soon lead to his own isolation. Hawthorne writes, “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.” Parson Hooper was so hurt by the people’s reaction and afraid of the black
Nathaniel Hawthorne in “The Minister’s Black Veil” is able to show the hypocrisy and the overemphasis of the Puritan people and their beliefs by engaging the reader in this short story by using “a gentlemanly person” (409) who decides to start wearing a black veil over his face. As Milford’s finest gather on “the porch of [the] meeting house” (409) and enjoy the hope of another Sunday service, the townspeople’s sunny disposition and picturesque setting soon changes as Parson Hooper emerges with a “simple piece of crape” covering his face. This unusual appearance of the Reverend to the townspeople even has some of them feeling faint and forcing some women “of delicate nerves to leave the service” (410). Even though Parson Hooper’s demeanor and his polite and gracious behavior is the same as always, and his preaching is much more interesting and entertaining, the townspeople perceive their minister far differently. As Parson Hooper continues to don the veil, people start to stare at him and rumors begin to fly, especially since his sermon dealt with the topic of secret sin. As the people make him a social pariah, Parson Hooper becomes a representation of hidden sin and an object of dread. Even as death knocks on his door, Parson Hooper still will not allow himself to be unveiled, in fact, Hooper finally reveals that no one should be afraid of him, but of one another because “men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled” (417) all because of a simple black veil. Through the use of symbols, Hawthorne is able to use this short story to prove that the community people and the Puritan’s religion and their beliefs are hypocritical and over zealous.
Hooper’s black veil also creates separation between him and happiness. “All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world: it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman’s love, and kept him in that saddest of all prisons his own heart; and still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber, and shade him from the sunshine of eternity” (Hawthorne 417). He can never receive sympathy or have conversations with people because they are always perplexed by the veil. Children in the town run from him because of his appearance. Even his wife, Elizabeth, leaves him because she does not understand the meaning of the black veil and she cannot bear to look at it for the rest of her life. The separation that the veil causes between Mr. Hooper and happiness symbolizes how sin can easily separate people from good things in life. Just like the black veil, some sins can even destroy relationships or a person’s dreams. Sin can overall control an individual’s happiness like the veil did to Mr.
He realizes that symbolically everyone can be found in the shadow of their own dark veil. Hooper in wearing this shroud across his face is only amplifying the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature. Hooper has come to the realization that secret sin is a veil that can never be lifted from anyone's life until the day of their death, and so he wears the dark cloth on for many years. "There is an hour to come, when all of us shall cast aside our veils. " Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crepe till then."
Mr. Hooper’s veil is very sentimental to him. His veil is looked at in different ways, it can symbolize the confession of his sins or a way to hide his sins. Mr. Hooper showed honesty toward his veil. He didn’t take it off even when people tempted him to take it off, specifically when his soon to be wife debated with him to take the veil off who was pretty much the only person who had the courage to go up and talk to him about the veil, he then rebuttled and told her he can not take it off. People around were thinking he was hiding secret sin, but we really don’t know why Mr. Hooper wore that veil, but for whatever the reason was, Mr.Hooper was being honest in whatever the reason was he wore that veil, to either show he is confessing his sins and showing that he is a sinner or a symbolic way to show that we are all sinners and we all have masks but the only difference is that his veil is
From the beginning of the story, Mr. Hooper comes out wearing a black veil, which represents sins that he cannot tell to anyone. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, Mr. Hooper has on a black veil. Elizabeth urged, “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hid your face under the consciousness of secret sin” (Hawthorne 269). His fiancé says that in the black veil there may be has a consciousness of secret sin. Also, he is a parson in Milford meeting-house and a gentlemanly person, so without the veil, Hooper would be a just typical minister, “guilty of the typical sins of every human, but holier than most” (Boone par.7). He would be a typical minister who is guilty of the typical sins of every human without the black veil. Also, Boone said, “If he confesses his sin, the community can occur” (Boone par.16). If he confesses his sin about the black veil, all of the neighbors will hate him. Last, he said, “so, the veil is a saying: it is constantly signifying, constantly speaking to the people of the possibility of Hooper’s sin” (Boone par.11). Mr. Hooper’s veil says that he is trying to not tell the sins about the black veil. In conclusion, every people have sins that cannot tell to anyone like Mr. Hooper.
"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story that was first published in the 1836 edition of the Token and Atlantic Souvenir and reappeared over time in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The short story narrates the events following Reverend Mr. Hooper's decision to begin wearing a black veil that obscures his full face, except for his mouth and chin. Mr. Hooper simply arrives one day at the meeting house wearing the semi-transparent black veil and refuses from then on to take it of, leading to the loss of his fiancée and isolation form the world. He is even buried in the black veil. Yet, what is important to note are Mr. Hooper's last words to those surrounding his deathbed. He tells them namely in anger that all of them wear black veils: “I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!”. This declaration underlines the meanings of the veil in the story as symbolic of sin, darkness, and the duality within human nature. Thus, "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a literary work of art that demonstrates the author's use of allegory to highlight the psychological angle of the story and characters.