Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic story of personal and public
guilt provides readers with the chance to read about the search for self in two ways: as
it is explored by the author, and as it is explored by the main character of this tale,
Mr. Hooper. Like many of Hawthorne’s stories, it peers into the darkness in the human
soul. Mr. Hooper’s black veil, which he wears as a symbol of his own sinful nature,
comes in the end to represent the guilt of human beings more generally—especially as it
is contained within the world-view of the early American Puritans. Readers can benefit
by speculating g upon Hooper’s personal demons and guilt, as well as by a consideration
of Hooper’s deathbed call for all his congregants to examine the invisible “black veil”
of guilt that they wear, but fail to acknowledge. The question as to why the minister
begins to wear the black veil is purely a speculative one: the story offers no easy
answer to this question.
Elizabeth’s reaction to the veil
is personal; she is concerned both with her reputation and that of her
husband:
Beloved and respected as you are, there may be
whispers, that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret
sin.
She is also
affronted by his refusal to lift the veil to allow even his wife into his private world;
her response is “Then, farewell,” feeling that the sanctity and privileges of the
marriage vow have been violated by his secrecy. Readers might debate whether Hooper was
right to keep his own personal demons to himself, or if he owed more honesty and
openness to his wife than to others. They might also consider the reactions of
the congregants, who focus upon the potential guilt of Hooper in light of his deathbed
call to them to examine their own consciences. The ambiguity in “The Minister’s Black
Veil” contributes to the story’s richness, and one wonders if Hawthorne’s attitude
toward the Puritans is one of indictment or affirmation.
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