Minister's Black Veil Thesis

The Minister’s Black Veil is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story centers around A religious leader (Minister) named Mr. Hooper. He attends a funeral of a woman he had a dalliance with. He astonishes the mourners with a black veil streaked across his face. What made this story more intriguing is the fact that he had a fiancé. Now, Mr. Hooper, who was once a sagacious man in the eyes of his churchgoers, is now a man shrouded with a black cloth and dark secrets. I find that it is fairly reasonable of him to hide his eyes from the others for many rational reasons.

To begin, the premise of Mr. Hooper of wearing a black veil is because he is hiding something. Whether it is because he is self-conscious of himself, or the sins that he has committed cause him to feel guilty and ashamed, we can understand why Mr. Hooper would wear a black veil. He most likely feels embarrassed of having intimate relations with someone other than his fiancé, and due to this, he hides his face from the mourners to prevent a reaction from them. Furthermore, the guilt that overwhelmed Mr. Hooper due to his sins dictated his thoughts and actions. Mr. Hooper might’ve worn the black veil to the funeral to hide his relentless culpability that has haunted him.

Additionally, Mr. Hooper’s reason for wearing the black veil was to make a statement. Not only to
Nathaniel’s character (Mr. Hooper) is a man that has worn a fabric of ambiguity over his sins. He demonstrated that no matter how enlightened or elderly you may be, you are bound to sin. This dark literary piece concerns how man can become hypocritical and ostentatious of other’s misfortunes, not only does it highlight others insecurities, but it also highlights our own. As sinners we tend to be vulgar about others for many reasons (maybe due to our power or our hatred for them.) But as Mr. Hooper advises his churchgoers, we must overcome our petty dialogue with one another and realize that we are all