Allegory and Symbolism in “the Minister’s Black Veil”, Book Review Example

“The Minister’s Black Veil,” by author Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the tale of Mr. Hooper, the Parson of the central town in the story, who suddenly and inexplicably arrives at church one morning wearing a black veil over his face. No one knows why he has taken to wearing this veil, and no explanation is offered by Parson Hooper. In this story, Hawthorne uses rich, vivid imagery and potent symbolism in his allegorical indictment of Puritanism.

Many of Hawthorne’s works offer a dim view of Puritanical society; perhaps the most well-known of these is “The Scarlet Letter,” the story of a young lady who is shunned by society for adultery. With its constant focus on man’s sinful, venal nature, Puritanism seemed to run counter to Hawthorne’s innate sense of morality. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne offers numerous symbols about his hoped-for death of Puritanism.

Besides the veil itself, perhaps the mot significant symbols are the mentions o funerals that appear throughout the tale, from the first paragraph to the last. We meet Parson Hooper, rather than his replacement, because the other Parson who was expected in town that morning was waylaid by his attendance at a funeral. Later in the story, the minister presides over the funeral of a young woman. Even the wedding service in the middle of the story can’t escape the a funereal description; the bride is so shaken by the veil around the minister’s face that she goes white with fear, and looks to the townspeople almost exactly like the corpse that had lain in the casket.

The most potent symbol in the story is, of course, the veil itself. In a manner of speaking, the veil is layered with multiple meanings. Because Hawthorne never specifies why, exactly, the minister chose to spend his life behind the veil, it serves as a veil between the reader and the author’s intent. We can infer meaning, though, at least to a degree. Given what is known about Hawthorne’s views on Puritanism, it may be surmised that the veil is an allegory, almost an extended metaphor, for these views. By donning the veil, the minister spends his life focused not on the people around him, or even God, but solely on sin. On his deathbed, he proclaims that he can almost literally see a veil on the face of each person gathered around him. It is this Puritanical focus on man’s sinful nature that seemed to madden Hawthorne, and shaped his views on what he perceived as an increasingly irrelevant approach to religion and society.