The Minister's Black Veil Essay

588 Words2 Pages

In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that Mr. Hooper hides his true identity from his congregation. Mr. Hooper knows his congregation makes mistakes but they hide it; Hooper shows his people that he was hiding something by covering his face. He sacrifices his reputation in the community, and his relationship with Elizabeth. Hooper wants his congregation to know that it’s okay to accept your sin. In the beginning, the people in a small town saw Mr. Hooper as a good man, as he was walking towards the meeting house he was looking strangely weird as his congregation stop what they were doing and saw good Mr. Hooper wearing a black veil. In the short story it states “But what has good Parson Hooper got upon …show more content…

Although things had to be sacrificed if Hooper continued to keep the veil amongst his face; Hooper let his veil get the best of him. Yet along, Mr. Hooper had to give up his relationship with Elizabeth. Elizabeth had a talk with Hooper relating to the veil, Elizabeth states, “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin”(Hawthorne 29). This statement proves that in the intense conversation with Hooper, Elizabeth tells him that people in the community were gossiping about him; they knew he was hiding something which referred to a secret sin. Mr Hooper responded saying, “If i hide my face for sorrow, there is caused enough… and if i cover it for a secret sin, what mortal might not do the same”(Hawthorne 29). Mr. Hooper knew if he wore the veil for sorrow that he already caused enough pain for himself and others, but if it was to cover up a sin then he thinks that it will encourage his community to do the same. So for the last time Elizabeth asks him to remove his veil again he refuses along with saying,”Have patience with me Elizabeth cried he… Do not desert me though this veil must be between us here on earth”(Hawthorne 29). Mr. Hooper puts his veil before his soon to be wife, which Elizabeth does not like. She calls off their engagement, that leaves Hooper with no one. Through the works of the veil Mr. Hooper sacrifices his

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