The story’s setting is a specific town in Puritan New England. Much of the narrative concentrates on the bitter response of the people to the seemingly warm veil. The writer applies their response as an analysis of the Puritan image of ancient sin by using the veil as a symbol, not of sin but the intrinsic sinful nature of the whole congregation. The principal themes are secret sin and blame, with Hooper’s method of sermonizing of being dressed in his sin on his face factually. The story shows Hooper’s perspective of sin compared to the congregation. This mirrors what happens in society as people who acknowledge their sins are judged more than those who are sinful but refuse to admit that they are.
Hooper trusts that as descendants of Adam and Eve, everybody lives in sin. He describes this by stating that everybody dresses on a black cover. However, the black veil on his face could mirror particular wrongdoing he has done, or it could be a teaching object that symbolizes his innate viciousness as a person. The congregation presumes that Hooper has committed a particular sin. Since their Puritan society acknowledges the risk of guilt, they are scared that Hooper is displaying his wrongdoing to everyone. Interestingly, even if the Puritans trusted that misbehavior should be conquered, they would rather ignore it and not talk about it and possibly cure it. It is also feasible that the people know what Hooper’s cover means, which jogs their memory of their sins, but they use Hooper as a safeguarding method to prevent them from addressing their sins (Morsberger, 48).
The writer dramatizes the disagreement between Hooper and the people in the story. As the narrative begins, the people perceive evil things, like the men thinking of how to court the young girls. In difference, when Hooper puts on the cover, he denies himself the happiness of being married or having friends even if the writer makes it known that he values those things and when asked for his reason as to why he says that he is more thinking about his reward in heaven than the pleasures of earth. In Hooper’s teachings, he says the only one who can judge a person is God since He is the one who sees it all, but the people are always judging each other, and especially at that time, they were judging Hooper more (Morsberger, 49). Nevertheless, even if they judge, they are apparent in their judgment compared to God, who can see someone’s soul and judge from it, but the people can only see someone’s appearance and judge them. Hooper’s appearance of putting the cover on makes the town imagine that he has committed a deadly sin and is terrified to display his face.
The people are more invested in Hooper than in themselves for them to realize that even gossiping about Hooper is a sin. Hooper, as the town is watching and talking about him, is also observing their behavior, and on his death bed, he comments about how the people are concerned with someone’s appearance and their sins. They are eager to know the sins that Hooper has committed for him to wear a veil, but they are not focused on themselves and the sins they are doing. It is clear that this also reflects in what occurs in society as people judge other people for committing sins, yet they are also committing sins that to them might look small, but before God, a sin is a sin no matter how small or big.
However, the people could be right that Hooper wears the veil because he might have committed an inherent sin. Hooper removes himself from the town, and by this, the writer cuts readers off from understanding his thoughts and emotions of Hooper. It is impossible to know if one is guilty or not. This may propose that people must not preoccupy with other people’s sins but respect them and permit them to work out their sins. By wearing the veil, Hooper attracts mystery to himself, his fiancée, and the people who are scared of his preaching. The narrative may propose that the profound concentration on sin to debarring anything else is self-dangerous since it makes people mistreat each other and unhappy with themselves.
The question raised by this narrative is how people treat each other in society. It shows that people judge others for sinning without looking at their sins which might even be worse than those of the person they are considering. Hooper, who had worn a veil to show that he was also sinful and to encourage the other people to show themselves and repent, had not changed his identity as he was still social with the people and was always eager to give his teachings. The story shows how people who sin and recognize their sins are more judged than those who hide who they are by covering their many sins.
Works Cited
Morsberger, Robert E. “The Minister’s Black Veil”: “Shrouded In A Blackness, Ten Times Black”. The New England Quarterly, vol 46, no. 3, 1973, p. 454. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/364203.
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