The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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One of literatures greatest quality is allowing the reader’s mind to uncover subliminal messages in an attempt to form their own understandings and ideas. Perhaps, this particular process is commonly described in the idiom “reading between the lines.” While many writers have implanted this literary aspect into their works, this essay focuses on a specific parable written by Nathaniel Hawthorne entitled The Minister’s Black Veil. Notably, a parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. The characters and setting of which Hawthorne uses to get his point across creates an overwhelming atmosphere that increases the power of his message. An analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil offers readers an opportunity to interpret and evaluate the various themes and symbols used by Hawthorne to convey an implicit, but yet meaningful lesson.
The setting and characters that Hawthorne utilizes in The Minister’s Black Veil provides support and makes his claim more effective. The setting is set in the 1800s in Milford, Massachusetts which is a town southwest of Boston. The people of this puritan town are gathering for service on Sunday and at this time the protagonist of this story is revealed. Reverend Mr. Hooper is described in the story to be a neatly dressed gentleman roughly around the age of thirty. Mr. Hooper is also the town minister and has the reputation of a good preacher. It is clear that the residents of the town accept Mr. Hooper and speak very highly of him, but this also changes on Sunday when Reverend Mr. Hooper enters the meeting house to preach his sermon wearing a black veil. From this very moment, the image and reputation of Mr. Hooper changes drastically from the perspective of th...

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...r which he could breed an influential story filled with themes and symbols. The actions of Reverend Mr. Hooper united with the puritanism time period gave value to Hawthorne’s message. The symbolism of the black veil as secret sin offered a complex, but yet crucial subject to be addressed. Themes such as reaction to change, fear of the unknown, and no one is free from sin provide insight into human nature and are worthy of evaluation. Hawthorne uses this parable to express the ideal that sin is a flaw of everyone and cannot be escaped. When people deceive themselves of their transgressions, they forget that each and every last person falls short of God’s glory.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Heath Anthology Of American Literature: Early Nineteenth Century, 1800-1865. Ed. Paule Lauter. 6th ed. B. Belmont: Wadsworth Publshing Company, 2009. 2431-2439. Print.

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