The Minister's Black Veil Essay

In the short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, conveys a number of themes and parables that can be interpreted in many different ways in an almost uninterpretable way. But after examining and dissecting the text, I was able to pull out the theme. That secrets can spark the inner uncertainty in ourselves. That secrets can fuel the mob mentality that comes with confrontation. In the story, Minister Hooper, the main character, unexpectedly dons a black veil one day to a powerful sermon that referenced to the secret sins that the parishioners hid from themselves and forgetting that God knows the thoughts hidden in the depths of their minds. The mysteriousness of the black veil instilled a feeling of paranoia into the parishioners. “A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought”(Hawthorne 6). The parishioners of the town immediately began to ridicule the minister and accused him of insanity while others …show more content…
This is evident in the transgression of the townsfolk due to the lack of a legitimate answer as to why Mr. Hooper wore the veil. The minister reveals toward the end of the story why he wore the veil in the quote, “"If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough," he merely replied; "and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?"(Hawthorne 14). The mass hysteria caused by the paranoia of the townsfolk can have many modern parallels drawn to it, like the The Great Fear in 1789. This story in my opinion was a valid parable and an effective one because of the lucid imagery showing the transgression of the townsfolk, which the moral was centered