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Analyzing the Gothic Tone and Elements of The Minister’s Black Veil
The Gothic writers were known for their dark and mysterious works that gave chills down their reader’s spines. How were they able to evoke these feelings just by their writing alone? In short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Nathaniel Hawthorne paints a story using the strong literary element of symbolism and frightening vocabulary to help project an eerie tone.
Hawthorne’s heavy use of symbolism is evident in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Without a doubt, the most obvious use of symbolism is found in the black veil itself. There are many interpretations on what the black veil means to people. As Mr. Hooper states Elizabeth, “So far as my vow may suffer me, Know, then, this
veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends.”(477), he implies that the veil represents the sinfulness of the world and he is “bound” to wear it. Another example of the veil being a symbol is what he tells his fiance before she leaves him, “There is an hour to come," said he, "when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crape till then."(477). Mr. Hooper is saying that everyone wears a veil for their secret sins, and one day they will all get rid of their sins and be saved. Symbolism is used often and in a manner where it overall contributes to the eerie tone Hawthorne presents in his writing. The tone is also complimented by the frightening vocabulary Hawthorne projects his writing with. While reading “The Minister’s Black Veil”, many dark and descriptive words haunt the reader and continue to help envision the dark setting the story takes place in. As Hooper pleads to his fiancee to stay, his words, "...O! you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind my black veil. Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever!"(479), the way he describes how he feels truly immerses the reader in Mr. Hooper’s sorrow. Another example of descriptive vocabulary is when the narrator explains Hooper’s life with the veil, “in this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men” (480). The use of “dismal suspicions” and “unloved and dimly feared” help the reader understand how badly the townsmen have outcast him from their community. The word choice Hawthorn uses to describe the events of “The Minister’s Black Veil” contribute to the eerie tone of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses strong symbolism and descriptive vocabulary to induce an eerie tone in his work. The symbol of the “Black Veil” and the word choice he uses to narrate the story truly haunts the reader. Like other Gothic Writers, Hawthorne was able to frighten and disturb his readers by his writing skills.
In the parable, "The Minister's Black Veil", written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A minister named Parson Hooper decides to wear a black veil for the rest of his life. When he wore it, the only thing on his face you could see was his mouth. The mouth being the only facial feature that people could see made it the only feature that could show his emotions at the time. A smile is a universal sign of happiness, yet, Hoopers smile was described as being sad. “A sad smile gleamed faintly from beneath the black veil, and flickered about his mouth, glimmering as he disappeared.” He had a sad smile, but it also gleamed. His sad smile must have had some sign of joy or fake joy to seem as if he was not sad. A sad smile could mean that the person has regrets
Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, “gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason” (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
In both The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne uses symbolism to illustrate his argument that people in all societies are guilty of sin and hypocritically shame those who publicly express their wrongdoings to compensate for their own inner guilt. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” for example, the entire
Both of these stories revolve around a lot of symbolism. These stories, since they really don't make a lot of sense on their own, force the reader to look deeper in an attempt to understand the ideas that Hawthorne tries to get across.
The gothic characteristics that are found in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” delve into the dark side of the human mind where secret sin shrouds the main characters in self anguish and insanity. Both Poe and Hawthorne focus on how much of a burden hiding sins from people can be, and how the human mind grows weak and tired from carrying such a burden. Poe illustrates that with his perturbed character Roderick Usher who was rotting from the inside like his “mansion of gloom” (Poe 323). Hawthorne dives deep into the mind of one Mr. Hooper, a minister, a man admired by all, until he starts wearing a black veil to conceal his face because “ The subject had reference to secret sin” (Hawthorne 311) . An analysis of both Mr. Hooper and Roderick Usher show through their speech, actions, behaviors, and interaction with other humans, the daily strain of hiding sin from one another.
Throughout his literary endeavors, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to present a certain theme that pertains to human nature and life. In his works, The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil", Hawthorne uses symbolism to present a common theme pertaining to religion; that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.
Gothic writing is a style of literature that relies upon the evocation of moods, feelings and imagery for impact. This style of writing was developed during an age of great scientific discovery – such literature marked a reaction against the prevailing ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Many Gothic authors opposed the new-found faith and enthusiasm placed in these discoveries, believing that they restricted freedom of imagination. Consequently, Gothic writers inhabited areas where no answers are provided – exploiting people’s fears and offering answers that are in stark contrast to the otherwise scientific explanations.
Written in 1818, the latter stages of the Gothic literature movement, at face value this novel embodies all the key characteristics of the Gothic genre. It features the supernatural, ghosts and an atmosphere of horror and mystery. However a closer reading of the novel presents a multifaceted tale that explores
Often in novels writers use symbolism as a device to make their themes and ideas come across clearly to the reader. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many forms of symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts of hawthorn throughout the course of the book. The Scarlet letter itself is a symbol he uses to contradict the puritanical society of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearl both as a symbol in the novel, and to work on the consciences of Hester and Dimmesdale.
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
In the short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the Mr. Hooper’s black veil and the words that can describe between him and the veil. Hawthorne demonstrates how a black veil can describe as many words. Through the story, Hawthorne introduces the reader to Mr. Hooper, a parson in Milford meeting-house and a gentlemanly person, who wears a black veil. Therefore, Mr. Hooper rejects from his finance and his people, because they ask him to move the veil, but he does not want to do it. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper’s black veil symbolizes sins, darkness, and secrecy in order to determine sins that he cannot tell to anyone, darkness around his face and neighbors, and secrecy about the black veil.
Gothic writing is related to a style of fiction that deals with the mysterious or grotesque; Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ministers Black Veil” is classified as a dark romantic work because it contains the themes of sin, guilt, and looking at the darker side of human life. He had trouble from his early life, his dreary adulthood, and his fascinations with common man. His early and more unsuccessful work is from his silent and productive years.
Of the Romantic Movement, two of the most well-known Gothic literature writers were Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. Gothic writers mainly wrote about themes that showed that they did not believe that people were ‘good’ by nature and the stories they wrote focused on the evils and flaws of mankind. These two authors presented their respective stories “Bartleby the Scrivener” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” as novels that explore the lives and behaviors of other human characters. Although the stories have different perspectives and settings, they both reveal more about how the other human characters are and what dark or unusual traits and motives they have.
Edgar Allen Poe was an English short-story writer whose work reflects the traditional Gothic conventions of the time that subverted the ambivalence of the grotesque and arabesque. Through thematic conventions of the Gothic genre, literary devices and his own auteur, Edgar Allan Poe’s texts are considered sublime examples of Gothic fiction. The Gothic genre within Poe’s work such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Raven, arouse the pervasive nature of the dark side of individualism and the resulting encroachment of insanity. Gothic tales are dominated by fear and terror and explore the themes of death and decay. The Gothic crosses boundaries into the realm of the unknown, arousing extremes of emotion through the catalyst of disassociation and subversion of presence. Gothic literature utilises themes of the supernatural to create a brooding setting and an atmosphere of fear.
Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.