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¶ … MINISTER'S BLACK VEIL" BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze "The Minister's Black Veil," written by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Hawthorne's short story is deceptively simple. He tells the tale of a minister, Parson Hooper, who comes to church one Sunday wearing a black veil over his face. Nothing else about him has changed, but this veil frightens the worshippers, and sets off all kinds of rumors, including that Parson Hooper has gone mad.
"Such was the effect of this simple piece of crepe, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meetinghouse. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them."
As he preaches his sermon, the congregation seems to find this sermon special, and somehow it touches each one. Hawthorne says that Hooper was normally a rather "uninspired" preacher, and today was no exception, but the people perceive his words differently. They frighten many of them. "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." Perhaps Hooper's words are hitting a little close to home, and people are seeing some of the things they cover up in their own lives, as Hooper covers his face...
"Old Squire Saunders, doubtless by an accidental lapse of memory, neglected to invite Mr. Hooper to his table, where the good clergyman had been won't to bless the food, almost every Sunday since his settlement."
Hooper understands their unease, and seems to pity them for it, as he goes to his parsonage, and gives them a "sad smile." He tells the woman that he loves, "Do not desert me, though 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! O! 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!" She tells him that she cannot live with him that way, and he spends his life alone, always wearing the black veil.
As he goes about his life, he becomes more respected as a clergyman, but the people pretty much shun him. They begin to call him "Father Hooper." The people and his peers respect him, but he is still misunderstood. He spends most of his time alone. "From that time no attempts were made to remove Mr. Hooper's black veil, or, by a direct appeal, to discover the secret which it was supposed…
Hawthorne's story, and the veil itself, is a metaphor for all of our sins and transgressions. It is an example of the Bible passage which says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." No one in Hooper's small town is without sin, and his veil is a living example to them. They somehow know deep down what the veil represents, and so no one will be the one to "unveil" the parson, and therefore "unveil" their own sins.
Wearing the veil makes Hooper a better man, even if he is a more lonely man. He hopes to make the citizens of his town better people too, but they are too afraid. It is easier for them to look at the parson as "mad," or "odd," anything but the person who is making them aware of their own weaknesses.
Hawthorne writes of man's weakness -- not only sins, but also the fears that guide each of us through our lives. This is a story of one strong man who lived a good life, and how he was ostracized simply because he was a little bit different. Hawthorne wrote this story in 1836. Our society has really changed very little in those nearly 200 years. We still ostracize those who are different, even if they can teach us more about ourselves.
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