Beware of the Rest of the World

Dark Romanticism is a strong element in Hawthorne’s short story “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Although the story was very mystical and elusive as to the mystery behind the veil itself, it was clear in communicating it’s use of the powers of sin and the overwhelming passion in the lives of it’s characters. For instance we will start with the minister, Mr. Hooper, the wearer of the black veil. He suddenly appears in his life with this shroud that hides him from the rest of the world, without a clear explanation. We learn right away that this veil strikes fear and gloom into the hearts and minds of everyone who happens to glace upon the appearance of Mr. Hooper. His parishioners awestruck, hardly able to speak to him and others convinced he had gone mad, all due to this sheer piece of cloth that covered his face. The idea that he was hiding from something, was enough to cause those he knew to be terrified and shudder in fear from him. This shows the perspectives of Dark Romanticism that Hawthorne added in his story. There is no realistic reason a person should appear with fear and gloom just by wearing a shroud over their face, but it was written to convey that was the perspective of the characters. Early in the short story the preacher Mr. Hooper gives a sermon while wearing the veil for the first time and his parishioners are struck deeper by the words of his message due to his altered image. They seem to imagine his temperament askew, just because his appearance is so, “A subtle power was breathed into his words,” there was no more power present than the message given prior without the veil, but they placed a power of darkness and doom in the image the beheld.
In the end we learn why the preacher has veiled his face for the remainder of his life, and the insistence he places on keeping it thus. He used it as a means to see everyone else in the world with veiled faces to cover the sin they all keep inside. This idea of inherent sin and wickedness is a big theme in Dark Romanticism.
I personally liked this story, and enjoyed the strange interactions that were produced because one man did something out of the ordinary and the change in caused in all those he encountered.