When a small town’s Puritan minister dons a black veil that covers his face and refuses to take it off for the rest of his life, an ominous air is cast over his parish. In a short story by realist author Nathaniel Hawthorne called “The Minister’s Black Veil,” one character wears a black veil everywhere he goes after accidentally killing a beloved friend. The main character, referred only as Mr. Hooper, is a minister that has sworn to never lift this black veil he wears till the day he dies. The church bell rings and Mr. Hooper is pacing slowly toward the meeting house with his veil on, and from the the questioning begins. The reader is never given an answer to why he wears this veil, and is left wondering why he keeps it on because everyone
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Hawthorne quickly establishes the symbolism to set the tone and backdrop for the short story. The story begins with the church bells ringing calling for mass to begin and the minister’s approaches the church. Although, once he entered everyone could not help but stare at this veil he wore to mass and as he nodded to greet people it was hardly returned because they were left in shock. The narrator describes the veil as, “It was now an appropriate emblem” (The Minister’s Black Veil 301). This quote was used because he went on wearing the veil as he promised but he had a funeral scheduled and it was reasonable to wear in this situation. The reason it was reasonable to wear here is because a black veil is meant to show mourning of a lost one and how this brings sadness to the one wearing it. Similarly when discussing the symbolism, Critic Mark Milne claims, “Several of the characters in the story remark that the veil is simply a piece of black crepe cloth, yet, at the same time, this simple piece of crepe instills a sense of horror in those who observe it because it represents the most abstract ideas of death, mourning, and the hidden secrets of the soul” (9). This shows the true meaning behind the back veil and how it really is more than just a piece of cloth. Also, the narrator mentions, “When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil, which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding” (The Minister’s Black Veil 303). This wasn’t the correct place to wear a black veil because that is meant for the bride and it is meant to be white. But instead, he continues to wear it and it seems to bring bad wishes to the wedding. Since the theme of Alienation and loneliness is the structure of this short story, the symbolism really brings this story to life because it all revolves around this one object
Hawthorne quickly establishes the symbolism to set the tone and backdrop for the short story. The story begins with the church bells ringing calling for mass to begin and the minister’s approaches the church. Although, once he entered everyone could not help but stare at this veil he wore to mass and as he nodded to greet people it was hardly returned because they were left in shock. The narrator describes the veil as, “It was now an appropriate emblem” (The Minister’s Black Veil 301). This quote was used because he went on wearing the veil as he promised but he had a funeral scheduled and it was reasonable to wear in this situation. The reason it was reasonable to wear here is because a black veil is meant to show mourning of a lost one and how this brings sadness to the one wearing it. Similarly when discussing the symbolism, Critic Mark Milne claims, “Several of the characters in the story remark that the veil is simply a piece of black crepe cloth, yet, at the same time, this simple piece of crepe instills a sense of horror in those who observe it because it represents the most abstract ideas of death, mourning, and the hidden secrets of the soul” (9). This shows the true meaning behind the back veil and how it really is more than just a piece of cloth. Also, the narrator mentions, “When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil, which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding” (The Minister’s Black Veil 303). This wasn’t the correct place to wear a black veil because that is meant for the bride and it is meant to be white. But instead, he continues to wear it and it seems to bring bad wishes to the wedding. Since the theme of Alienation and loneliness is the structure of this short story, the symbolism really brings this story to life because it all revolves around this one object