The Minister's Black Veil

A detailed Summary of The Minister's Black Veil


In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil", the author chooses to mask the character of the minister with the black veil to construct an allegory that would compare sin concocted by imagination with unrecognized sin of one's self.

With the story being set in the Puritan time period of the settlement of New England, as nearly all of Hawthorne's stories are, the reader can logically infer a certain set of value judgements. For instance, these people, being very sincere about their religion, are likely to see anything out of the ordinary, such as a black-veiled minister, as a serious issue that undermines their faith. On the surface the first sight of the veil not only confuses the congregation, but scares them as well. This man is supposed to be their most direct mode of communication with God, and to see him in what they perceive to be quite a bizarre condition, must make them feel that their religious lives may be in danger.

Yet another character trait held by thi


s community is its inability to cope with even the slightest bit of change. Something as trivial as a man covering his face with black crape paper literally whips this community into a frenzy. "I don't like it"(p.102), cried the old woman, "Our parson has gone mad"(102), cried Goodman Gary. Without even the slightest bit of investigation into the issue these people have brewed in their imaginations all sorts of theories as to what is so wrong with the minister.

The true allegory arises from these beliefs of the community, but does not wholly manifest it self until seen from the minister's point of view. Though he may contend that the veil personifies "sorrows dark enough to be typified by a black veil."(p.109), it is possible to infer that the veil is actually somewhat of an experiment by the minister. On the surface he may explain its meaning by some undefinable scruples he may hold, but underneath it represents a test of the community. By donning the black veil the minist

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 665
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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