The Minister's Black Veil

The Minister's Black Veil was a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is about a minister who wears a black veil and will not tell anyone why he is wearing the veil. The reason he wears the veil is a mystery to everybody around him, even his own wife. The minister never reveals why he is wearing the black veil, but it does make his sermon more powerful and sinners feel that they can repent to him when he is wearing the veil. The veil also has some negative effects. People in the town do not understand why he is wearing the veil, so they begin to start rumors about why he is wearing it. Some people believe that the minister had gone mad, and some believe that he is hiding some mysterious sin. The only person that directly asks him why he is wearing it is his wife.

“’there is nothing terrible in this piece of crape, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil: then tell me why you put it on.’” (Hawthorne)

She approaches the subject in a nice way, saying that the only reason that she does not like the veil is because it hides his face and she wants to be able to see his face. I do not think that she was being honest when she said that because she gets really mad when he refuses to take it off.

"’But what if the world will not believe that it is the type of an innocent sorrow?" urged Elizabeth. "Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin. For the sake of your holy office, do away this scandal!’” (Hawthorne)

I think that Elizabeth was more concerned with what other people thought of the minister and what they would think of her since she was with him. I think that is the reason why she left him when he refused to remove the veil.

The minister gave many reasons for why he may want to be hiding his face behind the dark veil. One reason that he gave for wanting to hide his face was that he was mourning. He also said that he may be hiding it for sorrow or for sin.

“‘If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough," he merely replied; "and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?’" (Hawthorne)

“‘There is an hour to come," said he, "when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crape till then.’" (Hawthorne)

When Elizabeth asks him to remove the veil, he says that he will when he dies. He says that everyone will remove their veils. I am not sure exactly what that means but I think that it is probably a religious reference.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding the veil that the minister wears in this story. Mystery is a common theme in dark romanticism (Werlock) and it is used a lot in this short story.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Eldritch Press. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "gothic." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS391&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 25, 2012).