Secret Sin
Literature in America started a new revolution of style in the first half of the nineteenth century. Authors began looking for symbolism to provide an educational story about sin. The underlining message in many of these stories was to leave the reader with a new perspective of their lives and ways they can improve themselves for the betterment of society. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart,” and Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” all provide symbolism teaching about the effects of committing secret sins.
Many of Hawthorne’s writings focus on one single symbol, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” is not any different. The entire story is developed around the small black veil that Reverend Hooper wears to hide his face from the rest of the world. The veil is described by “swathed about his forehead, and handing down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath” (623). The story’s chilling tone and the cruel Puritan setting serve to emphasize the troubling behavior of Reverend Hooper and the concern with the nature of secret sin and all human’s fallen nature. Reverend Hooper first reveals his new veil during Sunday morning service. The people in the church are shocked to see him wearing a veil that covers his face from his forehead to mouth, and without explanation, Reverend Hooper continues the service unconcerned with their speculations. Although the readers at this time do not know what the black veil means, they receive several clues as to what it represents. Hawthorne immediately jumps into the theme of secret sin by assembling Reverend Hooper’s sermon that revolves around secret sin and “those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (624). The congregation believes that the Reverend is using the veil as a simple sermon illustration instead of a lifetime commitment. They “felt
Many of Hawthorne’s writings focus on one single symbol, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” is not any different. The entire story is developed around the small black veil that Reverend Hooper wears to hide his face from the rest of the world. The veil is described by “swathed about his forehead, and handing down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath” (623). The story’s chilling tone and the cruel Puritan setting serve to emphasize the troubling behavior of Reverend Hooper and the concern with the nature of secret sin and all human’s fallen nature. Reverend Hooper first reveals his new veil during Sunday morning service. The people in the church are shocked to see him wearing a veil that covers his face from his forehead to mouth, and without explanation, Reverend Hooper continues the service unconcerned with their speculations. Although the readers at this time do not know what the black veil means, they receive several clues as to what it represents. Hawthorne immediately jumps into the theme of secret sin by assembling Reverend Hooper’s sermon that revolves around secret sin and “those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (624). The congregation believes that the Reverend is using the veil as a simple sermon illustration instead of a lifetime commitment. They “felt