Nathaniel Hawthorne was a fictional writer whose works were evident throughout the mid-1800’s. His father’s side of the family predominantly held Puritan beliefs and some of Hawthorne’s ancestors on his father’s side were of the first settlers of Massachusetts, which also “included a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692.” (Levine, 2017) With a family history of heavy Puritan beliefs, it was inevitable that Hawthorne would be eager to dig deep into the Puritan time period and would ultimately find a keen interest in the recurrent themes that essentially would be reflected in his own fictional work. The most evident theme of all was sin, and with sin comes guilt. When reviewing Hawthorn’s writings, like The Minister’s Black Veil, the
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For example, the veil in Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil is a direct symbol if sin, and it allows those in community with Reverend Hooper to not only realize but also feel the guilt of their sinful secrets. The reaction of the Puritan community in which Reverend Hooper lives is ironic because Puritans strictly frowned upon acts of sinful nature and in The Minister’s Black Veil, they seemingly recognize the symbol the Reverend Hooper’s veil represents and choose to isolate him rather than punish his for him sin. This is believed to be so because the Puritan community feels the guilt of their own sins and do not confront the situation because they, too, have an unseen black veil they are hiding behind. The true symbol of sin is provided in explanation by Reverend Hooper on his death bed in the closing paragraphs of the parable. Reverend Hooper claims to the men standing around him on his death bed, “When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend…when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator…then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die!” (Levine, 2017) Reverend Hooper very straightforwardly cries out to his friends and acquaintances that they, too, live under the veil he has so confidently worn for all to see. He closes his outcry by stating, “I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil!” (Levine, 2017) One can only image the guilt the men surrounding Reverend Hooper could have felt in his final moments. The guilt of ostracizing Reverend Hooper for physically wearing the veil that all men hypothetically wear, and also the guilt of their own sins that they continued to hide from while Reverend Hooper suffered for those around him to gain the message he was sending. It is also important that the reader keeps in
For example, the veil in Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil is a direct symbol if sin, and it allows those in community with Reverend Hooper to not only realize but also feel the guilt of their sinful secrets. The reaction of the Puritan community in which Reverend Hooper lives is ironic because Puritans strictly frowned upon acts of sinful nature and in The Minister’s Black Veil, they seemingly recognize the symbol the Reverend Hooper’s veil represents and choose to isolate him rather than punish his for him sin. This is believed to be so because the Puritan community feels the guilt of their own sins and do not confront the situation because they, too, have an unseen black veil they are hiding behind. The true symbol of sin is provided in explanation by Reverend Hooper on his death bed in the closing paragraphs of the parable. Reverend Hooper claims to the men standing around him on his death bed, “When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend…when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator…then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die!” (Levine, 2017) Reverend Hooper very straightforwardly cries out to his friends and acquaintances that they, too, live under the veil he has so confidently worn for all to see. He closes his outcry by stating, “I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil!” (Levine, 2017) One can only image the guilt the men surrounding Reverend Hooper could have felt in his final moments. The guilt of ostracizing Reverend Hooper for physically wearing the veil that all men hypothetically wear, and also the guilt of their own sins that they continued to hide from while Reverend Hooper suffered for those around him to gain the message he was sending. It is also important that the reader keeps in