"This veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn" (Hawthorne 1134). While it may not always be a physical veil, generally, everyone has a secret that remains hidden. In "The Minister's Black Veil: A Parable," Hawthorne uses symbols such as the veil to portray themes like sin, isolation, and honesty to communicate the adultery in Hooper's life.
Hawthorne describes "The Minister's Black Veil: The Parable" as a parable. A parable is a story that is told with the intent to teach the reader a valuable moral lesson. There are many things that can be taken from "The Minister's Black Veil," however, it is evident that Hawthorne intended for readers to learn lessons about isolation and honesty from the minister's actions and clothing.
Before Hawthorne's short story begins, he adds a footnote to give "The Minister's Black Veil: A Parable" more context. Hawthorne says, "Another clergyman [. . .] Mr. Joseph Moody [. . .] made himself remarkable by the same eccentricity that is here related of the Reverend Mr. Hooper. In his case, however, the symbol had a different import. In early life he had accidentally killed a beloved friend; and from that day till the hour of his own death, he hid his face from men" (Hawthorne 1129). By adding in this footnote at the beginning of the short story, Hawthorne leads readers to believe that, like Mr. Joseph Moody, Hooper has something to hide behind his black veil. In Mr. Moody's situation, the black veil was symbolic for a sin he had committed – killing his beloved friend. The connection between Mr. Moody and Hawthorne's character Reverend Hooper is evidence that Hooper has committed a terrible sin in the story, even though it is never explicitly stated.
Hooper's veil is one of the most important symbols in Hawthorne's short story. The narrator describes the veil as "Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath" (Hawthorne 1130). Hooper's veil covers much of his face, only leaving open the mouth. Hawthorne continues, recounting that it "seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight" (Hawthorne 1130). Hawthorne's elaboration on the veil provides readers with a more insightful description of how it appeared, saying that the veil was to "give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things" (Hawthorne 1130). It is important that Hawthorne mentions the newfound darkness the veil cast over Hooper's vision. This is important because evidently, something happened to Hooper to result in the presence of the veil. Hawthorne's addition is symbolic for the new way the reverend perceives the world and how the world perceives him – darker. In The Artist's Symbol and Hawthorne's Veil: "The Minister's Black Veil" Resartus, Freedman describes the veil as capable of stirring up "potent emotional effects" (Freedman). These emotions and opinions come from all characters in the story – including Hooper himself.
Some scholars, along with characters in the story, believe that the veil represents a disgraced "secret sin" (Hawthorne 1134). Saunder's Hawthorne's Theory of Mind: An Evolutionary Psychological Approach to 'The Minister's Black Veil" leads readers to believe that the veil is used to hide a truth and to conceal an unrighteous act from the people (Saunders). Similarly, Poe's attributions and insights about "The Minister's Black Veil," lead readers to believe that the veil appeared due to "a crime of dark dye, (having reference to the “young lady”) has been committed, is a point which only minds congenial with that of the author will perceive" (Poe). Poe provides readers the chance to consider that Hooper has engaged in sinful actions with the passed young lady. The perceived affair is accepted because Hooper first wears the veil when the young woman passes away. Womack's Symbols and Meaning: A Concise Introduction captures the mood of Hooper's actions after the girl's death: "From the moment anyone's death appears imminent, normal life comes to a halt" (Womack 94). Hooper's life comes to a sudden halt when he makes the decision to wear the black garb.
In a footnote, the material the veil is made from is described as "a crisp, gauze fabric. During the nineteenth century, black crepe was used for the veil and time in Victorian mourning garb" (Belasco and Johnson 1130). The notation on the fabric of the garb is important because it provides readers an insight into the history of black veils and its relevance to the story. Since the veil is described as a "mourning garb", it is safe for readers to presume that Hooper is mourning the loss of the girl because of their connection. "The clergyman stepped into the room where the corpse was laid, and bent over the coffin, to take a last farewell of his deceased parishioner. As he stooped, the veil hung straight down from his forehead, so that, if her eyelids had not been closed forever, the dead maiden might have seen his face" (Hawthorne 1132). Hooper's presence at the young girl's funeral is evidence of their disgraced affair. His quick gesture to cover his face back with the veil when his eyes became exposed to her face shows how vulnerable Hooper feels. The secret sin Hawthorne references is the potential affair Hooper had with the young girl. At the funeral, one of the townspeople – an older lady – says that "the minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand in hand" (Hawthorne 1132). This accusation supports the idea that the minister and the young woman were close before her passing and that the pair knew each other well.
Along with a forbidden affair, the veil symbolizes isolation. Once Hooper decides to wear the crepe, the way people viewed him faced a drastic change. There was an immediate response to the veil when the townsfolk saw Hooper dressed in the garb. Someone, who Hawthorne describes as an old woman, says, "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face" (Hawthorne 1130). This negative response to Hooper's veil shows how quickly the townspeople began to set him apart from the rest of the population. Hawthorne continues, explaining that, "The next day, the whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper's black veil" (Hawthorne 1133). After one day of Hooper wearing the veil, townspeople are already talking about him. Hooper "could not walk the street with any peace of mind, so conscious was he that the gentle and timid would turn aside to avoid him, and that others would make it a point of hardihood to throw themselves in his way" (1135). Hawthorne says the veil "supplied a topic for discussion between acquaintances meeting in the street […] good women gossiping at their open windows. [The veil] was the first item of news that the tavern-keeper told to his guests. The children babbled of it on their way to school" (Hawthorne 1133). Many townspeople of all ages are talking about Hooper's veil. Their gossip helps establish how symbolic the veil is of isolation.
Not only did the townspeople isolate Hooper, but his own fiancée, Elizabeth, isolated him from her. Elizabeth presses Hooper to remove his veil, demanding, "Lift the veil but once." When Hooper refuses, she responds by saying, "Then, farewell" (Hawthorne 1135). Hawthorne is abandoned and isolated by everyone he knew, including the people that knew him best.
In addition to the town and his fiancée, Hooper ostracizes himself from the people. Hooper says, "This dismal shade must separate me from the world: even you, Elizabeth, can never come behind it!" (Hawthorne 1134). Hawthorne implies that Hooper knows he must wear the veil as a duty, and nothing will change that. Hawthorne continues, saying "All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world: it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman's love, and kept him in that saddest of all prisons, his own heart" (Hawthorne 1137). While Hawthorne never allows readers to know why Hooper wears the veil until he dies, he does let readers know that the motive for wearing the veil haunted Hooper until he passed.
The veil is not only symbolic for isolation, but for honesty, as well. Just before Hooper's passing, the minister of Westbury as well as a "circle of pale spectators" (Hawthorne 1138) were gathered around his death bed. When asked about his reasoning for wearing the veil, Hooper cries,
"Why do you tremble at me alone? […] Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil! (Hawthorne 1138).
Hooper finally addresses that he wears the veil to show that he is a sinner. By wearing the veil, he is honest with the townspeople about his relationship with his religion. Hooper also implies that all the townsfolk wear a black veil, however, the people do not accept their own sins. Hooper's honesty is not only about himself but also his fellow citizens.
The reason Hooper wears his beloved veil is unfathomable and, according to Tim Daines in Hawthorne, Sacrifice, Sovereignty, "such questions are unanswerable" (Daines). However, to other authors like Poe, there is a clearly defined answer to their questions. Based on the evidence provided about sin, isolation, and honesty, it is seen that Hooper shields his face from the townspeople because he is coming clean about his sins and affair with the young woman.