the consequences of sin

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Recommended: 2. Religious hypocrisy in Hawthorne’s “Young, Goodman Brown”

The Consequences of Sin

“The theme of the stories has been variously stated as the reality of sin, the occurrence of evil, the secret sin and hypocrisy of all persons, the hypocrisy of Puritanism, the results of doubt or disbelief, the devastating effects of moral skepticism, or the demoralizing effects of the discovery that all men are sinners and hypocrites” (McKeithan 93). Although “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” both deal with the obsession with sin, Nathaniel Hawthorne illuminates the different consequences.
First of all there are many similarities in “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown”. One of the many similarities is that both towns seem to be corrupt with sin. Mr. Hooper knows that everyone is not perfect in his town. Although it very well shows in the end of the story when Mr. Hooper expresses himself, “I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil (Minister 882).” Young Goodman Brown knows that he has been raised by Puritan ideals yet he sees his mentors going against everything he has taught him. Goodman Brown’s account of when he was at the witch meeting was, “The fiend worshippers were seen; the smile of welcome gleamed darkly on every visage (Young 1040).” Both Mr. Hooper and Brown also have the same ideals. They both believe in Puritan ideas and beliefs but they both have some kind of conflict with sin. “For the hardened Puritan, his humanity was sinful enough, end he wore it the way a medieval penitent would his hair shirt. Anything less than absolute perfection was absolute corruption (Morsberger 456).” Another relation that Hooper and Brown comprise of is that they both lose the girl they adore in the short stories. Hooper loses his girl, Elizabeth by not taking off the veil that everyone in town is talking about. Brown on the other hand loses his girl, Faith from the very beginning when he left her at their home.
The differences in “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are numerous as well as their similarities. One of the differences is how both characters dealt with sin. Reverend Hooper tries to deal with the sin that he may have committed by wearing a black veil that covers his face till the day he dies. “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough… and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same (Minister 878).

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