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The Minister's Black Veil: A Synopsis

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The Minister's Black Veil: A Synopsis
The Minister 's Black Veil

"The children fled from his approach", illustration by Elenore Abbott, 1900

"The Minister 's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1835.

Plot summary

The story begins with the sexton standing in front of the meeting-house, ringing the bell. He is to stop ringing the bell when the Reverend Mr. Hooper comes into sight. However, the congregation is met with an unusual sight: Mr. Hooper is wearing a black semi-transparent veil that obscures all of his face but his mouth and chin from view. This creates a stir among the townspeople, who begin to speculate about his veil and its significance.

As he takes the pulpit, Mr. Hooper 's sermon is on secret sin and is "tinged, rather more darkly than usual, with the gentle gloom of Mr. Hooper 's temperament". This topic concerns the congregation who fear for their own secret sins as well as their minister 's new appearance. After the sermon, a funeral is held for a young lady of the town who has died. Mr. Hooper stays for the funeral and continues to wear his now more appropriate veil. It is said that if the veil were to blow away, he might be "fearful of her glance". Mr. Hooper says a few prayers and the body is carried away. Two of the mourners say that they have had a fancy that "the minister and the maiden 's spirit were walking hand in hand". That night another occasion arises, this time a joyous one—a wedding. However, Mr. Hooper arrives in his veil again, bringing the atmosphere of the wedding down to gloom.

By the next day, even the local children are talking of the strange change that seems to have come over their minister. Yet, no one is able to ask Mr. Hooper directly about the veil, except for his fiancée Elizabeth. Elizabeth tries to be cheerful and


References: 1. ^ Merriman, C.D. "Nathaniel Hawthorne" Jalic Inc. 2007. 2. ^ Morsberger, Robert E. "Minister 's Black Veil". New England Quarterly 46.3: 454-63. 455 3. ^ Stibitz, E. Earle. "Ironic Unity in Hawthorne 's 'The Minister 's Black Veil '" Illinois: Duke University Press, 1962: 182-190. 4. ^ Carnochan, W.B. "The Minister 's Black Veil": Symbol, Meaning and the Context of Hawthorne 's Art. California: Nineteenth Century Fiction, 1969: 182. 5. ^ Stibitz, E. Earle. "Ironic Unity in Hawthorne 's 'The Minister 's Black Veil '" Illinois: Duke University Press, 1962: 182. 6. ^ Graham, Wendy C. "Gothic Elements and Religion in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's Fiction" Tectum Verlag, 1999: 29 7. ^ Bell, Millicent. "New Essays on Hawthorne 's Major Tales". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 1993: 21. 8. ^ Bell, Millicent. "New Essays on Hawthorne 's Major Tales". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 1993: 21. 9. ^ Timmerman, John H. "Hawthorne 's 'The Ministers Black Veil. '" Calvin College. 10. ^ Stibitz, E Earle. "Ironic Unity in Hawthorne 's 'The Minister 's Black Veil '" Duke University Press. 1962. 182 11. ^ Poe, Edgar Allan. "Nathaniel Hawthorne 's Tales" Edited. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 1987. 331-335. 12. ^ Baym, Nina, and Mary Loeffelholz. Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. 1312 13. ^ Morsberger, Robert E. "Minister 's Black Veil." New England Quarterly 46.3: 454-63. 456-7 14. ^ Baym, Nina, and Mary Loeffelholz. Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007.1313. 15. ^ Morsberger, Robert E. "Minister 's Black Veil." New England Quarterly 46.3: 454-63. 457-548 16. ^ Nelson, Randy F. The Almanac of American Letters. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: 201. ISBN 0-86576-008-X 17. ^ Poe, Edgar Allan. "Nathaniel Hawthorne 's Tales" Edited. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 1987. 331-335. ↑Jump back a section External links Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Minister 's Black Veil Full summary and analysis of The Minister 's Black Veil The Minister 's Black Veil at American Literature The Minister 's Black Veil at Eldritch Press "The Minister 's Black Veil: Symbol, Meaning and the Context of Hawthorne 's Art "Ironic Unity in Hawthorne 's 'The Minister 's Black Veil '" "New Essays on Hawthorne 's Major Tales" "Gothic Elements and Religion in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's Fiction" "Nathaniel Hawthorne" [1] [2] V· T· E Nathaniel Hawthorne Novels The Blithedale Romance · Doctor Grimshaw 's Secret · The Dolliver Romance · Fanshawe · The House of the Seven Gables · The Marble Faun · The Scarlet Letter Twice-Told Tales "The Gray Champion" · "Sundays at Home" · "The Wedding-Knell" · "The Minister 's Black Veil" · "The May-Pole of Merry Mount" · "The Gentle Boy" · "Mr. Higginbotham 's Catastrophe" · "Little Annie 's Ramble" · "Wakefield" · "A Rill from the Town-Pump" · "The Great Carbuncle" · "The Prophetic Pictures" · "David Swan" · "Sights from a Steeple" · "The Hollow of the Three Hills" · "The Toll-Gatherer 's Day" · "The Vision of the Fountain" · "Fancy 's Show Box" · "Dr. Heidegger 's Experiment" · "Legends of the Province-House" · "The Haunted Mind" · "The Village Uncle" · "The Ambitious Guest" · "The Sister Years" · "Snow-Flakes" · "The Seven Vagabonds" · "The White Old Maid" · "Peter Goldthwaite 's Treasure" · "Chippings with a Chisel" · "The Shaker Bridal" · "Night Sketches" · "Endicott and the Red Cross" · "The Lily 's Quest" · "Foot-prints on the Sea-shore" · "Edward Fane 's Rosebud" · "The Threefold Destiny" The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales "The Snow-Image" · "The Great Stone Face" · "Main-street" · "Ethan Brand" · "A Bell 's Biography" · "Sylph Etherege" · "The Canterbury Pilgrims" · "Old News" · "The Man of Adamant" · "The Devil in Manuscript" · "John Inglefield 's Thanksgiving" · "Old Ticonderoga" · "The Wives of the Dead" · "Little Daffydowndilly" · "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" Mosses from an Old Manse "The Old Manse" · "The Birth-Mark" · "A Select Party" · "Young Goodman Brown" · "Rappaccini 's Daughter" · "Mrs. Bullfrog" · "Fire-Worship" · "Buds and Bird-Voices" · "Monsieur du Miroir" · "The Hall of Fantasy" · "The Celestial Rail-road" · "The Procession of Life" · "Feathertop" · "The New Adam and Eve" · "Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent" · "The Christmas Banquet" · "Drowne 's Wooden Image" · "The Intelligence Office" · "Roger Malvin 's Burial" · "P. 's Correspondence" · "Earth 's Holocaust" · "Passages from a Relinquished Work" · "Sketches from Memory" · "The Old Apple-Dealer" · "The Artist of the Beautiful
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