Is there a study guide for the Minister’s Black Veil?
"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by …
What is the Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne?
Like the majority of Hawthorne’s stories, “The Minister’s Black Veil” is an allegorical criticism of Puritan beliefs. Hawthorne may have been inspired by clergyman Joseph Moody ...more Get A Copy Kindle Store $0.99 Amazon Stores Libraries Kindle Edition, 25 pages Published April 15th 2014 by HarperPerennial Classics (first published 1836)
Is Reverend Hooper in the Minister's Black Veil?
· The Minister's Black Veil (Paperback) Published January 1st 2007 by Perfection Learning. Paperback, 37 pages. Author (s): Nathaniel Hawthorne. ISBN: 0895987376 (ISBN13: 9780895987372) Edition language: English.
What was the Black Veil covered with when he stood before Congress?
· "The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1837. Click to see full answer.
Who is the author of The Minister's Black Veil?
Nathaniel HawthorneThe Minister's Black Veil / AuthorNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that town. Wikipedia
Why did Hawthorne wrote The Minister's Black Veil?
Curiously, Hawthorne was inspired to write the story by reading about a real-life case of a Revd. Joseph Moody (1700-53), who became known as 'Handkerchief Moody'. Moody accidentally killed a friend when he was a young man and took to wearing a black veil as penance for the rest of his life.
What is the message in The Minister's Black Veil?
Its primary theme is secret sin, which is symbolized by the veil that Mr. Hooper wears. We learn at the end that the veil actually suggests that we all have secret sins.
What is the story The Minister's Black Veil about?
The story features a minister who addresses his congregation with a veil over his eyes and nose. People are scared by him; however, it turns out that his new appearance makes him a better preacher. In the end, the minister suggests that we are all wearing veils, and dies with the veil intact.
When was the Minister's black veil published?
1836The Minister's Black Veil / Originally published"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1837.
What is Mr Hooper secret sin?
Some readers (and members of his congregation) assume Reverend Hooper committed adultery or some form of secret sin, which is why he is wearing the veil. Discuss your own view of whose sin caused him to wear the veil. 10.
Why does Hooper wear the veil?
Hooper wears a black veil in order to hide his face [or its particular features] from the gaze of others and from himself (when he looks in the mirror) JUST AS [or: to symbolize the fact that] everyone else in the community puts on a fa ade of righteousness and innocence in order to hide his sinfulness from the ...
What is another symbol in The Minister's Black Veil?
Another theme found in “The Minister's Black Veil” is guilt. The secret sins that the people of the community hide brings them a sense of shame, arising from their guilt of having committed these sins.
What are the two major themes in The Minister's Black Veil?
Puritanism and Piety “The Minister's Black Veil” takes place in a small Puritan community, so understanding the tenets of Puritanism is crucial to understanding the story.
What literary devices are used in the Minister's Black Veil?
Contrast/Pathos The passion described by Hawthorne is a good contrast to the darkness and quietness that the black veil implies. The use of contrast reminds the reader that it is an actual person behind the veil, and also builds sympathy from the reader for Hooper through emotional appeal.
What is the significance of the topic of the first sermon Mr Hooper gives with the veil on?
What is the significance of the topic of the first sermon? the sermon talked about secret sin which is significant because the veil is hiding something on pastor Hooper.
What is the subject of Mr Hooper's sermon?
The subject of Mr. Hooper's sermon was secret sin. The veil affected his topic because It brought it to life he had a secret sin behind his veil.
What is the Minister's Black Veil?
The Minister's Black Veil, published in Hawthorne's collection Twice-Told Tales (1832), is a perfect example of Hawthorne's contribution to the genre of Dark Romanticism. It is about a congregation's reactions when the Reverend Hooper begins wearing a veil, causing anxiety and doubts about his sanity; yet his sermons now seem darker and more powerful. Why does no one dare ask him why he wears it? This story is exemplary of the genre, Dark Romanticism.
What was the effect of the black veil on the Church?
Among all its bad influences, the black veil had the one desirable effect, of making its wearer a very efficient clergyman. By the aid of his mysterious emblem--for there was no other apparent cause--he became a man of awful power over souls that were in agony of sin. His converts always regarded him with a dread peculiar to themselves, affirming, though but figuratively, that, before he brought them to celestial light, they had been with him behind the black veil. Its gloom, indeed, enabled him to sympathize with all dark affections. Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper, and would not yield their breath till he appeared; though ever, as he stooped to whisper consolation, they shuddered at the veiled face so near their own. Such were the terrors of the black veil, even when Death had bared his visage! Strangers came long distances to attend service at his church, with the mere idle purpose of gazing at his figure, because it was forbidden them to behold his face. But many were made to quake ere they departed! Once, during Governor Belcher's administration, Mr. Hooper was appointed to preach the election sermon. Covered with his black veil, he stood before the chief magistrate, the council, and the representatives, and wrought so deep an impression, that the legislative measures of that year were characterized by all the gloom and piety of our earliest ancestral sway.
Why did the clergyman put the veil on the coffin?
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 dosed forever, the dead maiden might have seen his face.
Who was in the death chamber of the old clergyman?
But there was the decorously grave, though unmoved physician, seeking only to mitigate the last pangs of the patient whom he could not save. There were the deacons, and other eminently pious members of his church. There, also, was the Reverend Mr. Clark, of Westbury, a young and zealous divine, who had ridden in haste to pray by the bedside of the expiring minister. There was the nurse, no hired handmaiden of death, but one whose calm affection had endured thus long in secrecy, in solitude, amid the chill of age, and would not perish, even at the dying hour. Who, but Elizabeth! And there lay the hoary head of good Father Hooper upon the death pillow, with the black veil still swathed about his brow, and reaching down over his face, so that each more difficult gasp of his faint breath caused it to stir. All through life that piece of crepe had hung between him and the world; it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman's love, arid kept him in that saddest of all prisons, his own heart; and still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber, and shade him from the sunshine of eternity.
Who snatched the hands of the minister of Westbury?
Clark bent forward to reveal the mystery of so many years. But, exerting a sudden energy, that made all the beholders stand aghast, Father Hooper snatched both his hands from beneath the bedclothes, and pressed them strongly on the black veil, resolute to struggle, if the minister of Westbury would contend with a dying man.
Is the Minister's Black Veil moss grown?
The grass of many years has sprung up and withered on that grave, the burial stone is moss-grown, and good Mr. Hooper's face is dust; but awful is still the thought that it moldered beneath the Black Veil! The Minister's Black Veil was featured as The Short Story of the Day on Tue, Apr 28, 2020.
Overview
"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1837.
Plot summary
The story begins with the sexton standing in front of the meeting-house, ringing the bell. He is to stop ringing the bell when the Reverend Mr. Hooper comes into sight. However, the congregation is met with an unusual sight: Mr. Hooper is wearing a black semi-transparent veil that obscures all of his face but his mouth and chin from view. This creates a stir among the townspeople, who begin to speculate about his veil and its significance. As he takes the pulpit, Mr. Hooper's sermo…
Development and publication history
Hawthorne may have been inspired by a true event. A clergyman named Joseph Moody of York, Maine, nicknamed "Handkerchief Moody", accidentally killed a friend when he was a young man and wore a black veil from the man's funeral until his own death.
The story was published as "The Minister's Black Veil, a Parable" and credited "by the author of Sights from a Steeple" in The Token and Atlantic Souvenirfor 1836; the issue also included Hawt…
Analysis
Like many of Hawthorne's works, the setting of the story is a town in Puritan New England. The scene provides the backdrop for a psychological exploration of the themes of sin, repentance, and morality. Much of the story focuses on the acrimonious reaction of the congregation to the seemingly benign veil. Hawthorne uses their reaction as a critique of the Puritan image of original sin, …
Critical response
When the story was published in Twice-Told Tales, an anonymous reviewer in the Boston Daily Advertiser for March 10, 1837, noted that he preferred "the grace and sweetness of such papers as 'Little Annie's Ramble,' or 'A Rill from the Town-pump,' to those of a more ambitious cast, and in which the page glows with a wider and more fearful interest, like 'The Minister's Black Veil' and 'Dr. Heidegger's Experiment.'" Edgar Allan Poe offered a few critiques of Nathaniel Hawthorne's tales. …
Legacy and adaptations
Reverend Hooper's sermon in the short story was the launching point of the dramatic work The Minister's Black Veil by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio (2016), directed by Romeo Castellucci, with Willem Dafoe as Reverend Hooper, text by Claudia Castellucci and original music and sound design by Scott Gibbons.
External links
• Full summary and analysis of The Minister's Black Veil
• The Minister's Black Veil at American Literature
• The Minister's Black Veil at Eldritch Press
• "The Minister's Black Veil: Symbol, Meaning and the Context of Hawthorne's Art
Quotes
Reactions
- All within hearing immediately turned about, and beheld the semblance of Mr. Hooper, pacing slowly his meditative way toward the meetinghouse. With one accord they started, expressing more wonder than if some strange minister were coming to dust the cushions of Mr. Hooper's pulpit.
Effects
- Such was the effect of this simple piece of crepe, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meetinghouse. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them.
Assessment
- Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one; he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word. The sermon which he now delivered was marked by the same characteristics of style and manner as the general series of his pulpit oratory. But there was so…
Marriage
- That night, the handsomest couple in Milford village were to be joined in wedlock. Though reckoned a melancholy man, Mr. Hooper had a placid cheerfulness for such occasions, which often excited a sympathetic smile where livelier merriment would have been thrown away. There was no quality of his disposition which made him more beloved than this. The company at the w…
Death
- She made no reply, but covered her eyes with her hand, and turned to leave the room. He rushed forward and caught her arm.
Later years
- From that time no attempts were made to remove Mr. Hooper's black veil, or, by a direct appeal, to discover the secret which it was supposed to hide. By persons who claimed a superiority to popular prejudice, it was reckoned more an eccentric whim, such as often mingles with the sober actions of men otherwise rational, and tinges them all with its own semblance of insanity. But wi…
Later life
- In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men, shunned in their health and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in mortal anguish. As years wore on, shedding their snows above his sable veil, he acquired a name throughout the New England churches, an…