The Minister's Black Veil - Analysis

Analysis

Like many of Hawthorne’s works, the setting of the story is an 18th century town in Puritan New England. The scene provides the backdrop for a psychological exploration of the themes of sin, repentance, and morality. Much of the story focuses on the acrimonious reaction of the congregation to the seemingly benign veil. Hawthorne uses their reaction as a critique of the Puritan image of original sin, using the veil as a representation not of "secret sin" but the inherent sinful nature of all people.

Hawthorne writes the story in an allegorical format, using a didactic tone. The main theme proves to be revealed sin and underlying guilt, with Hooper's method of preaching being to wear his sin on his face in a literal way. The townspeople grow uncomfortable with him because they start to become aware of their own sin. Hawthorne keeps the motive of the veil unknown to the reader. But the interpretation of the story generally rests on some moral assessment or explanation of the minister's symbolic self-veiling. Literary critic Edgar Allan Poe proposed that the issue of the minister's self-veiling was a mystery conceived to be solved or inferred by the reader. While Poe proposed this, Hawthorne never lets the reader know the reasoning behind the veil. While the veil is the main symbol in the story, it is also ironic. Hooper, in his stubborn use of the veil parable of one sin, is unconsciously guilty of a greater sin: that of egotistically warping the total meaning of life. In addition to standing for a man's concealment or hypocrisy and for Hooper's own sin of pride with its isolating effects, it stands also for the hidden quality of second sin. Hawthorne's use of ambiguity can be portrayed in many different ways: the manipulation of setting, manipulation of lighting and effects, and the use of an unreliable narrator to weave a shocking story that could or could not be likely. The narrator's credibility tends to be questionable because it is not a direct source. In using a third person narrator, the minister's motives are never solidified which keeps up the suspense.

Hidden nature of guilt: Hooper arouses in a sermon the notion of secret sin and the sad mysteries in which we hide from our nearest and dearest. Hooper acknowledges the problem of sin, the guilt that is admitted openly, and the guilt of sin that is repressed or hidden from the world. When the Reverend Hooper makes the people aware of the darkness within his being, he introduces disintegration of a barrier between his repugnant, repressed self and his conscious self. This barrier is characterized by the veil, which is transferred into the expression of hidden guilt. Hooper, in the story, advises to the congregation that everyone wears a black veil, this is apparently inferring that everyone has some form of hidden guilt. Some evidence in the story suggests that Hooper committed a very atrocious sin, such as adultery. This could be a reason for his black veil.

Communion of sinners: Hooper leads the townspeople in realizing that everyone shares sin no matter how much they try to avoid facing it. All people sin and it is up to them whether they face their sin or ignore it. Hooper tries to teach a lesson. In content, the lesson may be very much like the sermon on "secret sin" Hooper was scheduled to teach, but the townspeople are uncomfortable with the medium. The veil is something they have to see every day, rather than a sermon just once or twice a week.

Morality: Hawthorne's use of Hooper's veil teaches that whether we face it or not, we all sin and must accept what we have done, because judgment will come for everyone. Hooper decides to represent hidden sin and guilt in a literal way to reach out to his followers.

John H. Timmerman notes that because of Hawthorne's writing style Hooper's insistent use of the black veil, Hooper stands as one of his arch-villains. This is from Hooper's act of separating himself from the rest of humanity and denying his love for Elizabeth in favor of the veil.