The Veil in the Eye of the Beholder

         The plot of “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne effectively leaves a lasting impression on the audience due to the amount of description which Hawthorne leaves the reader’s imagination. Hawthorne allows the readers to become part of the creative process by creating their own details that are only hinted at in the story, or not revealed at all. Rather than giving away Parson Hooper’s secret sin at the end of the story, Hawthorne lets the audience draw their own conclusions about why Hooper wears the black veil. The other characters in the story react as would be expected according to human nature, which makes it very easy to consider exactly how these characters feel about the black veil. For those who lived when “The Minister’s Black Veil” was written, the story was easily applicable to their own lives, which facilitates the audience’s ability to visualize details based on their own experiences.
          From the very beginning of the story, the mystery surrounding the black veil leads to speculation as to why Hooper wears it. Undoubtedly, the readers speculate just as much as the characters in the story, and expect to see the secret exposed in the end, but this in not the case. Even after the death of Hooper, “Still veiled, they laid him in his coffin, and a veiled corpse, they bore him to the grave” (327). Hawthorne had no need to attribute the veil to a specific sin, because his message still comes through clearly. The author tells us through this parable that people are not meant to judge others’ sins if they are equally guilty of their own private sins. The lack of discovery causes the reader to reflect inward, rather than on the shortcomings of others.
          Any person who witnesses a situation similar to finding their pastor hidden behind a black veil would react the same as everyone else. They are quick to judge, or to assume. It is purely human nature for one to decide for his or herself why something occurs without full knowledge of the subject. People are equally tempted to share their conjecture with others. The characters in the story respond the same way when “The next day, the whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper’s black veil” (322). Because the villagers’ behavior is easy to relate to, readers can easily input their own theories of why Hooper wears the black veil. The reader’s own expectation for the outcome heightens the suspense when the time of Hooper’s demise draws near.
          Another element of “The Minister’s Black Veil” which makes the story easy to apply to one’s own life is they very realistic and commonplace setting. The contemporaries of Hawthorne could empathize with the characters much easier when they place themselves in a very familiar setting such as a village church. In the beginning of the story, Hawthorne describes how “the sexton began to toll the bell, keeping his eye on the Revered Mr. Hooper’s door” (318). People today who are used to a church community immediately picture their own minister appearing during a service unexpectedly wearing something to conceal his face from the congregation and paint a very graphic image which they vividly remember.
          “The Minister’s Black Veil” is an unforgettable story because the lessons that it teaches about relationship with God and others are universal and timeless. The setting, characters, and events in the story all evoke specific images and feeling in the reader, which have a profound impact on the reader’s perspective on matters such as guilt and secret sin. Hawthorne masterfully leaves a poignant impression in a person’s memory that may cause him or her to pause and think before judging other people based on their failures.