Ambiguity of “The Minister’s Black Veil”
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 New England Men of Letters Wilson Sullivan relates the purpose of Hawthorne’s veiled image:
He sought, in Hamlet’s telling words to his palace players, “to hold the mirror up to nature,” and to report what he saw in that mirror – even his own veiled image – without distortion. “Life is made up,”, Hawthorne said, “of marble and mud.” In the pages of his finest works, both marble and mud are held in a just, unique, and artistic balance(95).
Hyatt H. Waggoner in “Nathaniel Hawthorne” testifies that Hawthorne’s ambiguity has proven to be an asset in this contemporary era when readers like such a quality in fiction:
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us(54).
Henry James in Hawthorne mentions how allegorical Hawthorne is, and how allegory should be expressed clearly:
I frankly confess that I have, as a general thing, but little enjoyment of it, and that it has never seemed to me to be, as it were, a first-rate literary form. . . . But it is apt to spoil two good things – a story and a moral, a meaning and a form; and the taste for it is responsible for a large part of the forcible-feeding writing that has been inflicted upon the world. The only cases in whi...
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James, Henry. Hawthorne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997.
Kazin, Alfred. Introduction. Selected Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Fawcett Premier, 1966.
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous Is Hawthorne.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
Sullivan, Wilson. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In New England Men of Letters. New York: Macmillan Co., 1972.
Waggoner, Hyatt H. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Richard Foster. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas. Growing up, he was the third of seven boys in a strict, religious family. In 1892, his family moved to Kansas where he spent the rest of his adolescent years. After being accepted into West Point in 1911, Eisenhower turned to sports to pass his time there. He joined the varsity football team, playing running back and linebacker (Banks 4). He graduated from West Point in the middle of his class, and with a less-than-average disciplinary rating. Six years after his graduation, he met his future wife Mamie Doud while stationed in Texas and married her in 1920.
Kaul, A. N., Ed.. "HAWTHORNE: A Collection of Critical Essays." Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1966.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. �Young Goodman Brown.� Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Boston, 2003. 161-171.
I frankly confess that I have, as a general thing, but little enjoyment of it, and that it has never seemed to me to be, as it were, a first-rate literary form. . . . But it is apt to spoil two good things – a story and a moral, a meaning and a form; and the taste for it is responsible for a large part of the forcible-feeding writing that has been inflicted upon the world.
So he’s up there. His name is thrown all over the media. His name is big.
Williams, Stanley T. “Hawthorne’s Puritan Mind.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
While at West Point, Dwight graduated in a class that had 59 future generals. After he graduated, on July 1, 1916, his wedding day, Dwight D. Eisenhower was promoted to become a first lieutenant. Through his early military career he had to move from post to post in Texas, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. During World War I, Dwight was appointed to run a tank training center at Camp Colt in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Following World War I he was appointed a captain in 1918. After working up in rankings over the years, he was promoted in 1920 to become a major.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Texas in 1890 into a family of seven sons (American Decades). He was a bright man all throughout his life and achieved many goals that would be impossible for any ordinary person. World War II gave him a chance to use his talent for organization to lead the United States to victory (American Decades). He is famously known for his courageous acts during the invasion of North Africa, D-Day, and for his great communication skills.
Lang, H.J. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had five brothers and they all had the same nickname “Ike.” The whole country knew him by his nickname Ike. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States. He ran for the election in the 1952 presidential race. Adlai Stevenson ran for the Democratic Party after being nominated by Harry S Truman who was not very popular during this time period due to the Korean War. Eisenhower won the presidential campaign by a landslide due to his war hero status. He was the supreme Commander of Operation during the allied force attack on the Nazi invaded Europe. In 5 years Eisenhower went from being a low level lieutant in the Philippines to being the
Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Revised Edition. Twayne’s United States Authors Series. G.K. Hall & Company. Massachusetts. 1983.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne – Biography.” The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
Waggoner, Hyatt. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Richard Foster. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.
Kaul, A.N. “Introduction.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.