“Thus from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him.” (Hawthorne). In the Minister’s Black Veil, Nathaniel Hawthorne evokes the idea there is a dark side of humanity and that humans have secrets and sins hidden away from their loved ones. Hawthorne emphasizes that personal sacrifices must be made during one’s lifetime for those you love even if it means giving up one’s source of happiness. In Milford, a small Puritan town, men, women, and children are fancying another Sunday. The peace is interrupted on the Sabbath day when Reverend Hooper, Minister of the Puritan Community appears before his congregation inexplicably
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In the Church in Milford, many fellow people took solace in their religion in attempt to escape their ugly secrets.The black veil was seen by the religious as a drastic change.The sacrifice Hooper made by wearing the mysterious veil conveys the sins among everyone in the community as it also hides the confessions of men, women, and children. Hooper sacrifices a “dislocation from self, love, and sympathy” (Boone). Hooper sacrifices and exiles himself from his entire community to his personal relationships, he suffers, but continues to bear the responsibilities of the community and conceal their sin by hiding his face behind the veil. The black veil was an attempt to bring attention to the secrets, truths, and lies people keep hidden. “The saying of the veil constantly takes on the sin of the community through its exposure of the possibility of Hooper’s sin. The said of the confession ends all saying, all exposure, and replaces vulnerability with a statement which the community must take responsibility for themselves.” (Boone). The black veil acted as a mirror toward his congregation. He wore it to make the townspeople more aware of their sins which explains the reason that the more aware they became of their sins, the more it influenced their actions around Hooper as he had inwardly bearded the community’s sins and took them on as his own because he had already listened to …show more content…
The first instance Hooper is extracting a personal sacrifice upon himself is when he wears the mysterious black veil concealing his secret from Elizabeth whom he is engaged to be married. The only person who asks him why he insists on wearing the veil is Elizabeth, who felt she had a right to know his dreadful secret because she asked him directly.
“Have patience with me Elizabeth!” cried he, passionately. “Do not desert me through this veil must be between us here on earth. Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls. It is but a mortal veil; it is not for eternity. Oh, you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind my black veil! Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever… “Lift the veil but once and look me in the face,” said she. “Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper. “Then farewell,” said, Elizabeth.” (Hawthorne,
In the Church in Milford, many fellow people took solace in their religion in attempt to escape their ugly secrets.The black veil was seen by the religious as a drastic change.The sacrifice Hooper made by wearing the mysterious veil conveys the sins among everyone in the community as it also hides the confessions of men, women, and children. Hooper sacrifices a “dislocation from self, love, and sympathy” (Boone). Hooper sacrifices and exiles himself from his entire community to his personal relationships, he suffers, but continues to bear the responsibilities of the community and conceal their sin by hiding his face behind the veil. The black veil was an attempt to bring attention to the secrets, truths, and lies people keep hidden. “The saying of the veil constantly takes on the sin of the community through its exposure of the possibility of Hooper’s sin. The said of the confession ends all saying, all exposure, and replaces vulnerability with a statement which the community must take responsibility for themselves.” (Boone). The black veil acted as a mirror toward his congregation. He wore it to make the townspeople more aware of their sins which explains the reason that the more aware they became of their sins, the more it influenced their actions around Hooper as he had inwardly bearded the community’s sins and took them on as his own because he had already listened to …show more content…
The first instance Hooper is extracting a personal sacrifice upon himself is when he wears the mysterious black veil concealing his secret from Elizabeth whom he is engaged to be married. The only person who asks him why he insists on wearing the veil is Elizabeth, who felt she had a right to know his dreadful secret because she asked him directly.
“Have patience with me Elizabeth!” cried he, passionately. “Do not desert me through this veil must be between us here on earth. Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls. It is but a mortal veil; it is not for eternity. Oh, you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind my black veil! Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever… “Lift the veil but once and look me in the face,” said she. “Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper. “Then farewell,” said, Elizabeth.” (Hawthorne,