23 pages • 46 minutes read
Nathaniel HawthorneThe Minister's Black Veil
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1836A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Black Veil
The meaning of the black veil is ambiguous. In general, it represents Original Sin, which mars every human being. In wearing the black veil, Mr. Hooper makes this sin—whether his own personal sin, or humankind’s—visible to all, thus making the statement that people should not deny their sins to each other or to themselves. Rather, they should open themselves up to their loved ones and to God. His horror at his reflection when he wears the black veil—and the people’s fear of him—reinforces the idea that the black veil represents their sinfulness.
From the moment Mr. Hooper appears in his black veil, which he will never remove, the people see him differently. It casts a gloom over his appearance and frightens the residents. Though he is usually seen as an adequate speaker, on that day, his sermon, on the subject of the secret sin, seems to have more power than usual. As Mr. Hooper speaks about how we hide our sin from each other but cannot hide it from God, the people feel as if he has “discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought” (3). One woman is so overcome that she walks out of the church.
Mr. Hooper does not reveal the meaning of the veil, and the people speculate that he “seek[s] to hide” his face from God (3). They believe it must signify his own secret sin. They gossip about him, musing that he communes with the dead behind the veil. They grow afraid of him and socially shun him, withholding invitations and avoiding passing him on the street. Though the veil frightens them, it also makes them feel that Mr. Hooper is an effective clergyman. Because they believe the veil “enable[s] him to sympathize with all dark affections” (10), people request his company as they are dying. Visitors travel many miles to witness him preach.
It is only on his deathbed that Mr. Hooper alludes to the meaning of the black veil. It is not evidence of his own personal sin but rather a symbol of the secret sin in all people. He expresses sadness and anger that the people have feared him and “shown no pity” (13)—for they themselves are blemished by their own sin. The only difference between him and the people, Mr. Hooper suggests, is that he wears his sin outwardly, whereas the people hide their own. Indeed, the people’s fear of Mr. Hooper’s veil and their refusal to associate with him suggests their resistance to acknowledging their own secret sin.
The people’s musing that the veil gives Mr. Hooper “a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things” is figurative as well as literal (2). The veil casts a black haze over his physical vision, but it also shows Mr. Hooper the darkness in all people, for when wearing the veil, he not only is constantly reminded of their secret sin but also endures their cruelty. It also reveals the superficiality of the people, who judge him and make assumptions about him merely for “a material emblem” (9). The black veil may also represent how God’s ways are mysterious and how people can never truly know whether they are destined for salvation or damnation.
The Sad Smile
When Mr. Hooper wears the black veil, only his mouth and chin are visible. The people often notice that he wears a “sad” or “melancholy” smile, notably when he is discussing sin. Mr. Hooper’s sad smile seems a rueful acknowledgment of the people’s secret sin and perhaps an understanding that they will not learn his lesson, instead denying their sins to others, to themselves, and to God. It also suggests condescension. Mr. Hooper never discusses the meaning of the veil; rather than teach the people throughout his life, he seems to revel in what he believes to be his own moral superiority, complacent in the assurance of his own salvation. The sad smile is evidence of Mr. Hooper’s own sin, that of pride. In other interpretations, the sad smile indicates Mr. Hooper’s sadness that, being in the dark himself, he cannot offer answers to the people, who can do nothing to change whether they are among those elected for salvation.
Gossip
The residents of Milford begin gossiping about Mr. Hooper from the moment they see him wearing his black veil. They discuss how they cannot believe his face is behind the mask, and they speculate over whether he has gone mad. They wonder if, plagued by some scandalous sin, he is trying to hide his face from God. The day after he first puts it on, “the whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper’s black veil” and “the mystery concealed behind it” (6); it is the subject of conversation among housewives, children, and patrons of the tavern. Despite their curiosity, the people never ask Mr. Hooper why he is wearing the veil; they attempt once but are intimidated by the veil, feeling it to “hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them” (7). Even Mr. Hooper’s fiancée succumbs to the gossip, pleading with him to remove it because of the “rumors” of “scandal.” At the end of his life, Mr. Hooper laments how the gossip has hurt him. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” gossip, which occurs behind Mr. Hooper’s back, is as secretive as the sin represented by Mr. Hooper’s veil. The people’s contentedness to gossip about Mr. Hooper without confronting him reflects their judging him for sin without turning inward.
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By Nathaniel Hawthorne
