Introduction to “The Minister’s Black Veil”
Although Nathaniel Hawthorne has satirized Puritanism in his story “The Minister’s Black Veil” like other stories such as “The Young Goodman Brown” in which his irony and satire is at the peak, this story has been singled out as the best one in tone that is mild and the satire that is latent in sweet words. The story revolves around the character of Reverend Father Hooper who wants to become an icon of religious piety and wears a black veil in order to prove his piety to the world around him. However, it dawns upon him that this veil is serving a great purpose – hiding his true face from the people who also wear different masks in life. The speculation it stirs among the people range from his own mysterious thinking to his mysterious life and his being a sinner or sense of shame. Even it seems to some a “terrible thinking” (Hawthorne) though not when worn by women. The open and broadminded atmosphere of Milford in “The Minister’s Black Veil”suddenly erupts into abuzz on account this fanciful idea of wearing a black veil and the speculations it causes reaches his fiancé as well who meets him in her final meeting to entreat him to show her his face. However, Father Hooper does not budge and loses her. He continues with this, making the atmosphere more suspenseful and exciting until his end nears where he again tries to save his face and speaks that “every visage a Black Veil” (Hawthorne) by which he means that all are sinners. Through his characters and commentary of the other characters, the story has shown the Puritan’s belief about the existence of evil in the world, but also demonstrates the belief of all people as sinners and that there is a constant conflict between the good and the evil.
Puritanism in “The Minister’s Black Veil”
The first point of argument about the commentary on Puritanism in “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is that he has presented the figure of Father Hooper to show how clergymen considered themselves superior to all others that “The first glimpse of the clergyman’s figure was the single for the bell to cease its summons” (Hawthorne). Considering all others inferior in piety, he starts wearing a black veil which rather stirs serious rumors about his personality. In a way, it is his attempt to raise a curtain between his self and the outside world in an attempt to create an aura about his religiosity. In this connection, it seems correct that his assessment of the public reaction proved true in that several sinners “cried aloud for Father Hooper” (Hawthorne) and that it has transformed him into an “efficiency clergyman” a post that he much desired. In other words, both of these references show that he has created his aura of an efficient representative of God whose word is final for the salvation of the all other sinners. This commentary of Hawthorne on the belief that evil exists in the world in the shape of everyone being the sinner. However, it is also interesting that this belief presented in “The Minister’s Black Veil” of being a pious and other sinner is at the heart of the Puritan dilemma.
Double Faces in “The Minister’s Black Veil”
Hawthorne has intended to show that though every person has two faces; the one is good to show to the people and other evil that he tries to hide, the dilemma of the Puritanism is that clergymen often find themselves in odds when facing the common people to whom they consider sinners. This battle between the sinners and the pious seems to start very early in the start when Father Hooper tries to separate himself from other by drawing a veil on his face. However, this battle continues only in rumors and the impacts that it has on the people. It reaches its peak when Elizabeth tries to ask the minister to come down from his pedestal of piety and remove that veil asking “What grievous affliction hath befallen thee” (Hawthorne). However, he is so much adamant that he does not budge from his stand and simply refuses her، entreating that she should not leave him. As a representative of the uncovered public, she, too, does not withdraw from her position and the ultimately separation happens between the sinners Elizabeth is representing and him, the pious clergy community to whom Father Hooper is representing. This has been wedging of differences drawn by the Puritanism in the community to divide it on religious bases. The division in the community in “The Minister’s Black Veil” led to the war between the religious and the supposedly impious.
Piety in “The Minister’s Black Veil”
In fact, the minister in “The Minister’s Black Veil” has, from the very start, thought of other people as less pious and having drawn masks on their faces. Although it is not an open conflict, it has led to some type of friction between those who considered themselves pious such as the clergymen and those who are the common people of Milford. Father Hooper here separated himself even from the clergymen and ended upon creating conflictual relationships not only with the people but also with his own religious counterparts. This tension between the people and Father Hooper has led to speculations between both the parties; father us generalizing all the people as sinners and masking their evil natures, and people are thinking Father Hooper as a mystery. Elizabeth refuses to marry him on the same ground saying “Lift the veil but once, and look me in the face” (Hawthorne). The other conflict is between him and his counterparts that does not end even when Reverend Mr. Clark tries to remove his veil and Father Hooper springs up to stop him saying “on every visage a Black veil” (Hawthorne). In fact, this is the same wedge of rift created by the Puritanism on which Hawthorne has built his commentary through Father Hooper and his veil.
Conclusion
Briefly stating it, Hawthorne has used not only the description and situation of the story, but also the characters in “The Minister’s Black Veil” to comment on the state of Puritanism and its impacts on dividing the people on religious lines making them against each other merely on metaphysical thinking. The story has shown that it was thought that the world is full of evil and evil exists in the world. This has led the more religious people to think other people as sinners, making them fear God and be obedient. It has also created a sort of war between the supposed pious and supposed sinners, making them to stay at the mercy of the clergymen who consider them less pious. In the merrymaking world of Milford, the veil has torn apart all the notions of Puritanism and laid them bare for the people to see as given in the note about such clerical eccentricities.
Works Cited
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” PDC. n. d. https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/fundamentos/HawthorneTheMinistersBlackVeil.pdf. Accessed 25 Sep. 2022.
Relevant Questions About “The Minister’s Black Veil”: Commentary on
Puritanism
- How does “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne serve as a commentary on the strict moral and religious codes of Puritanism, and what message does the black veil convey about the Puritan community’s attitudes toward sin and secrecy?
- In what ways does the minister’s decision to wear the black veil symbolize the isolation and alienation often experienced by individuals who deviate from Puritan norms, and how does this reflect Hawthorne’s commentary on the consequences of nonconformity in Puritan society?
- How do the reactions of the townspeople to the minister’s black veil shed light on the collective conscience and hypocrisy within the Puritan community, and what does Hawthorne’s portrayal of their judgmental attitudes suggest about the limitations of Puritanism as a moral framework?
