The Mystifying Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer who wrote stories dealing with the puritan society, most of his work was built on how the puritan society, and how through the faith and fear of the vengeance of God could make people live a better life. He brought over gothic genre to America which is how most of his stories are written. In the story The Ministers Black Veil, Nathaniel Hawthorne was successful in placing many symbols inside of his dark romantic story. Hawthorne develops a quality of secret around Reverend Hooper's dark cover. By declining to give pursuers access to Hooper's purposes behind wearing the veil, he enables pursuers estimate about Hooper's inspirations. This riddle powers the plot, which rotates around the craving to comprehend the essentialness of the dark cloak. In the story Mr. Hooper was the man who wore this veil over his face, to the people it was very weird to see a man of his classification with this mysterious cloth covering his face. People would gossip about why he decided to put this on and what it meant. Many people thought it was him trying to tell them that he did it because of sins too bad to discuss and other believed it was to set an example that everyone has something deep down that they are hiding that will one day come to the light. This veil had a lot of different perceptions, but the only person who knew the reasons for this black veil was Mr. Hooper. In the literary analysis, what the black veil symbolized will be discussed in detail to create a better picture of what Hawthorne tried to say in the story.

The clergyman as of now deep down bears the network's wrongdoing by tuning in to their admissions. It is conceivable that the priest made the best forfeit he could, by bearing the transgressions of the network obviously. In doing as such, the network ought to have comprehended and valued his steady help and quality of confidence. Despite what might be expected, they slandered about his transgression as though it were more noteworthy than their own, and as though in observing his outward articulation of wrongdoing, they could ignore their interior violations. At last, the priest brings up how all the townspeople have treated him ineffectively, dismissing their own wrongdoing and concentrating on his. In any case, it appears that they never genuinely comprehended, or apologized, their activities, as the story closes with the horrendous suspected that the pastor's face still lay behind the cover even in death.

Different translations trust the shroud went about as a mirror, making all the townspeople increasingly mindful of their own wrongdoings. The more mindful they happened to their very own evil nature, the more uneasy they were, and along these lines being around the clergyman and seeing his cover grieved them profoundly, notwithstanding amid cheerful occasions. At long last, different pundits have guaranteed that the pastor had carried out a grave offense, for example, infidelity with the young lady whose burial service he visited, and this was the reason that he couldn't reveal to Elizabeth what his wrongdoing had been.

Another interesting symbol that the masks is isolation. When he wears it out in the open out of nowhere, he feels a quick boundary go up among him and his parishioners. In the event that the Reverend is to be trusted, that obstruction dependably existed, and the shroud may be lifted in Heaven. This proposes seclusion is humankind's common condition of being. What is meant by that is that all humans experience a time of isolation in their life when they feel like no one is there for them at an critical moment in their life and that no one can understand where they are coming from because they are ready to open up on what sin they have committed

In the Puritan society, the people believed in being the most purified beings because of the rules and laws of the church of England. So when Reverend Hooper was seen wearing this black veil, people judged him and looked at him a certain way because it was not very pure in their eyes. In the story one woman said, how strange, that a simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on her bonnet, should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper's face!. This was a terrible thing because no one knew his reasoning behind wearing the veil but Mr. Hooper had his reasons. The townspeople knew the reverend Hooper was a gentlemanly man and very kind and when they noticed that the veil did not change this personality, it confused them even more because he wasn't a dark and gloomy soul like they expected.

So in order for the people to find out why he boar this veil, they sent in his wife to question him and try to get him to open up on the secret behind the veil. In doing that, she was met with a truth that she could not face. After being interrogated by his wife, Mr. Hooper said 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?. In the quote, Hooper was trying to make the veil be looked at as a mirror of anyone who may lay eyes upon it and feel the sin or sorrow that they are keeping within. Hawthorne wanted people to take this a one of the symbols from the veil to show that everyone has something deep down that they struggle with everyday to keep it in and away from the world, that is why Hooper wore the veil; because he had something that he could not tell the townspeople or his wife because of the affect it might do to their hearts and minds. In doing so, he also was showing how pure the people weren't because they how they judge him. The townspeople reaction was more like them trying to cover up their inherent sin and hypocritical nature and trying to forget their sins either large or small because they had someone else to look upon in a negative way and all the attention would now be off of them.

Another strange event that was going on in the story was the death of a young woman. This woman had no name and was not described in detail but Mr. Hooper's presence once he arrived at her funeral seemed to have the people question if he knew her in a personal way. In the book it says he leaned so close to the body that if she was alive that she would be able to see the face clearly behind the veil. To the people, they seen him standing over her so close that it looked as if her body were trembling in the coffin from the terror that the veil displays once you stare into its drapes. This young woman in the story symbolized Hooper's reason for wearing the veil because there was something questionable about him putting on the veil on the same day that her funeral was held on.

Another reason that Mr. Hooper put the veil on is because he wanted people to see their own sins upon him, it would be as if they were looking in the mirror and it reflected their biggest darkest secret aloud. Hooper's purpose for that though was to show people that you are not hiding from your sins, the only way to get over them and forgiven is if you wear them upon your chest or in this case your face and take responsibility for what you have done instead of letting someone else's bad decisions or sins cover up for what is really behind the mask. This comes from in the book when Hooper says for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil.(pg. 694) In this quote , Hooper in on his dying bed and is telling everyone that he has lived his whole adult life wearing the veil and everyone has looked past all the great things he has done because the see the veil and picture something terrible that the minister was hiding but him wearing the veil was also a symbol of everyone in the Puritan society, and most of all the townspeople were either scared or ashamed to admit their own sins.

In conclusion while the cover makes him a social outsider, it does, be that as it may, have the advantage of making him an undeniably increasingly viable minister. He turns into a portrayal of concealed sin and individuals are unnerved when close him however ask for him amid death. Individuals originate from far spots to see the odd hidden priest however leave shaken by what they have heard and seen. Actually, in a minute that is somewhat humorous, he is considered so powerful of a minister that he is solicited to do the decision message from the senator. His quality and lesson is effective to the point that "the administrative proportions of that year were portrayed by all the despair and devotion of our soonest hereditary influence." He becomes more seasoned and individuals call him "Father Hooper" and have a far off dreadful regard for the horrid man.

As it turns out to be clear the Mr. Hooper is in his last minutes, the Revered Mr. Clark inquires as to whether he is prepared to have the shroud lifted to which the Minister answers, "my spirit hath a patient exhaustion until the point when that cover be lifted." However, similarly as Mr. Clark goes to evacuate the cover, Mr. Hooper calls a lot of vitality and keeps him from taking it off. He utilizes his last piece of vitality to address everyone around him, saying they ought not be panicked of him, but rather of each other on the grounds that nobody demonstrated to him any pity, all as a result of a basic dark cloak. He says he checks out him and on everybody he sees there is a dark cloak. Everybody contracts back in dread and before anything should be possible or stated, Reverend Hooper bites the dust, still hidden with that equivalent black out grin. They don't expel the cloak when he goes to the grave.

So the veil has many unclear meanings to the people but no to Hooper who on his death bed gave an impromptu speech on what the veil really meant and through it all he made the people realize that they should wear their sins upon their faces so that the fear of hiding from it does not cause people to act different and wavier their Puritan faith.

Cite this page