Hawthorne "The Minister's Black Veil"

"The Minister's Black Veil" is a Dark Romanticism style short story set in Puritan New England. The short story is a Dark Romantic stylized story because of the townspeople's assumption that Parson Hooper's black veil was symbolizing death or secret sin (Hawthorne 281-283). A lady made a very interesting and accurate remark about Parson Hooper's veil when she said "How strange that a simple black veil, such as any women may wear on her bonnet, should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper's face!" (Hawthorne 283). Her observation is a good one because a black veil could have meant many different things, but everyone assumed that the reason Mr. Hooper wore the veil was bad. He did not help things when he refused to take it off and shrunk away at his own reflection (Hawthorne 287). The psychological effects of the veil on the people of the Puritan town is mainly a negative on. The people believed the veil was covering up a big secret of Parson Hooper's and that it was too horrible for him to reveal (Wright). When Mr. Hooper's betrothed, Elizabeth, shows up and asks him why he wears the ominous black veil and then asks him to at least remove it in her presence, he refuses (Hawthorne 285). Parson Hooper claims that the veil is a "type of symbol... I am bound to wear it ever, both in lightness and in darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends" therefore he can not even remove the black veil in the presence of his fiancee (Hawthorne 285). Elizabeth leaves Parson Hooper, but does not abandon him as she returns to Mr, Hooper when he is in his death bed (Hawthorne 288). Elizabeth was the only person brave enough to ask Parson Hooper about the black veil (Hawthorne 285). That says wonders about the effects of the black veil on the town. The townspeople were either so afraid to inquire about the sin that resulted in Mr. Hooper shrouding his face, or just accepted the veil as Mr. Hooper's way of expressing what he needs to express and not worried about other people's personal business. Because this story takes place in Puritan times, the townspeople's first assumption of course relates to God. They wonder what "horrible sin Pastor Hooper hides" underneath the black veil, but because nobody asks Pastor Hooper, the secret died with him (Werlock).The Puritans believed that their life was centered about the Bible and God and as their culture firmly believed in that, the fact the townspeople were so intent on making Mr. Hooper's black veil be penance for a grave sin is not surprising (Langley). The Dark Romanticism aspect of this short story is the constant dark presence. The whole story is centered about a black veil which may or may not symbolize death and the sins that everyone commits, or could very well symbolize a deformity in Parson Hooper's face. As this story was one of Hawthorne's most ambiguous short stories, the readers, just like the townspeople, will never know the true purpose of the minister's black veil (Werlock).

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 280-289. Print.

Langley, John. "Puritans - Who Were They?" Lecture. Puritan Writing. Mr. Langley's Room, Pleasant Plains. 31 Aug. 2011. Google Docs. Web. 22 Jan. 2012.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'The Minister's Black Veil'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 22 Jan. 2012.

"What Is Dark Romanticism?" Obscure Wonders. 18 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2012.

Wright, Sarah Bird. "'The Minister's Black Veil'." Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 22 Jan. 2012.