How The Minister's Black Veil Corrupts Christian Leadership

Everyone masks themselves with false pride in order to cover up who they really are. No one is truly and utterly honest with others or even themselves. Such is the case of Mr. Hooper, a pastor whom Hawthorne portrays in The Minister’s Black Veil. The story follows his life as a minister who wears a black veil everywhere he goes. In Hawthorne’s tale, the black veil is a hungry beast which feeds on the souls of the vulnerable. Through the use of symbolism, Hawthorne uses Mr. Hooper black veil to represent pride and the five ways it corrupts Christian leadership.
The first way pride corrupts Christian leadership is by creating a false idea of control. Bill Hybel, a leader of many influential leadership books, makes a very important point about

This emphasis on self-examination in leadership is seen in many leadership books. According to John Baldoni, “The courage of self-examination can lead to heightened self-awareness that results in leadership actions that benefit not only the leader but the entire organization.” (1). Hawthorne’s interaction between the black veil and the mirror show how a lack of this self-examination leads to bondage, “In truth, his own antipathy to the veil was known to be so great, that he never willingly passed before a mirror…, lest, in its peaceful bosom, he should be affrighted himself.” (642). The mirror in this passage represents the importance of being courageous enough to self-reflect. Mr. Hopper was too afraid of what he would see in the mirror, so instead of being courageous he continued to be oppressed by his own pride. Although the veil is seemingly confident in its abilities to control Mr. Hopper, even it has vulnerabilities. If Mr. Hopper were to look at himself in the mirror and see the evil cloaked upon his face, he would surely be inclined to throw off this horrible beast. As long as Mr. Hooper is kept from self-examination, he can continue to be molded in the image of the black

It is difficult to tell who a person truly is when they are masked by pride which makes it difficult for people to trust them. The first time someone recognizes this disfiguration in Mr. Hopper’s life is in Goodman Gray’s question, “Are you sure this is our parson?” (636).This question can immediately be taken as an observation of physical change, however, a closer look reveals a more metaphorical purpose. In this quote, Goodman Gray is going beyond seeing a lack of physical recognition, but is actually talking about how the very being of Mr. Hopper changed. This is clarified in Goodman Gray’s next quote, “ I can’t really feel as if good Mr. Hopper’s face was behind that piece of crape…”