The Puritan's Burden

A detailed Summary of The Puritan's Burden


Unconfessed sin and guilt can fester in the body and soul. In the setting of Puritan

society, the themes of sin and guilt present themselves in the novel The Scarlet Letter and in the

short story "The Minister's Black Veil." In these two literary works, Nathaniel Hawthorne and

a few critics express similar and different perspectives of the depiction of sin and guilt.

In "The Minister's Black Veil," Reverend Hooper realizes that all men are secret

sinners; they hide their guilt and sorrow away from even their closest relations. Mr. Hooper

acknowledges that he, too, belongs to the stained tribe by donning a black veil. Symbolic of this

buried shame, he wears the veil at all times. Proving this point, Hooper's congregation, upon

first sight of the veil, "felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and

discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (Hawthorne, "Minister" 267). Wearing the

veil precipitates a dramatic change in the Reverend's relationship with his congregation. His

parishioners "no longer accept him as they did before the advent of the veil. The veil which so

distinguishes him from his fellow villagers strikes fear in the hearts of all and causes them to


Whether openly acknowledged or carefully concealed, sin has a profound effect upon the sinner

inflicting his own painful punishment upon himself. Pearl seems to understand that her father

In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl also symbolizes a conflict of fear and guilt in Reverend

end, Dimmesdale bravely stands on the scaffold and publicly confesses his sin. "Dimmesdale

Although Dimmesdale keeps his sin hidden, and the Puritan community does not punish him, he



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 802
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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