Minister's Black Veil Symbolism

Amit Mistry
17 December 2008
Mrs. Hasler- Brooks
English II, Level II
We Are All Sinners “The Minister’s Black Veil” takes place in a typical Puritan village in New England. The majority of the people in this Puritan village live very strict lives, emphasizing hard work and religious devotion. One member of this village, Reverend Mr. Hooper, is the main focus in the story because of his black veil on his face that reveals nothing but his mouth and chin. Because of this black veil, many people start to change their attitude and feelings towards him. Some people begin to fear him, others make the assumption that he is mentally unstable; his fiancé leaves him, but others realize that he has a logical principle behind all this. In “The Minster’s
Black Veil”¸ Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates Mr. Hooper as a flat caricature by his usage of his unique black veil to portray the message throughout this short story. A flat character is a character that undergoes no change throughout the story and remains the same throughout.
In this short story, Hawthorne displays the symbolic black veil on Reverend Hooper to make readers understand the idea Hooper is trying to prove; but not once in this story does Mr. Hooper change or remove the black veil. When his fiancée, Elizabeth questioned Mr. Hooper about the veil, he responded by saying, “Have patience with me, Elizabeth! Do not desert me, though this veil must be between us here on earth” (Hawthorne 343). The significance of this line shows how exactly Mr. Hooper can be interpreted as a flat character. When his fiancé questioned him about his veil and asked him to remove it, he refused to do and eventually she left him. Meanwhile, the rest of the town began to gossip about Mr. Hooper. He could no longer walk the streets in peace because other people would stare and talk about him making him feel very uncomfortable. Because of the black veil, many people started to believe he’s mad and crazy, and others started to fear him. Despite his isolation and ignorance from other people, Mr. Hooper kept the black veil on. By keeping the black veil on and not changing who he is, readers can imply how Mr. Hooper is a flat character. Regardless of what people say or think about him, Mr. Hooper is not going to change the person he is and will not expose his face to the
public. A caricature is a drawing, description, or performance that exaggerates somebody’s characteristic or makes one characteristic stand out for a special effect.
In this short story, readers can easily identify the black veil as the special characteristic of Mr. Hooper. Readers can also construe the idea how Mr. Hooper is a flat character since he never reveals his true identity and how he is not willing to change for the people in his town; but Hawthorne is also using this black veil in order to exemplify the idea he is trying to prove. Among all the negative aspects behind this black veil, there are also many positives. He becomes a knowledgeable clergyman and presents many powerful sermons. He converts people into his religion so they will follow his beliefs and eventually be saved from hell. Many people in the town start to respect Mr. Hooper, realizing he can help them and can get them to heaven once they die. As the story is coming to an end and many speculators are surrounding him questioning about the black veil, Mr. Hooper proclaims, “I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!” (Hawthorne 336). By making this statement, readers can imply what Hooper’s key purpose in wearing this veil. Mr. Hooper is making a point that all people share equality and that everyone is a sinner. He is saying that even though he is wearing a black veil that covers the majority of his face, it still does not make him different from anyone else. The significant meaning behind the
black veil that Hawthorne displays is every man is equal in a way because they are all sinners. The villagers in “The Minister’s Black Veil” are adapted to a life style in which they are committed to hard work and religious devotion. With his black veil, Mr. Hooper influences many people in the town in both positive and negative ways. Since he is not willing to change and remains a flat caricature, he becomes isolated from people and his reputation also decreases as people begin to think he’s mental and crazy. At the same time, Mr. Hooper influences many people and converts them into his religion. Hawthorne uses the black veil as a symbolic object to exemplify his belief that all people are equal because we are all sinners.