The Minister's Black Veil Paperback – August 25, 2013

“There was but one thing remarkable in his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil.”I’m sure many in high school or college partook of this little gem from Hawthorne at some point.I see many similarities to Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and this shorter work, as there are several themes that apply. When the respected reverend of a Puritan society one day decides to hide his face from the world with a black veil, it sets his congregation and their community astir in shock, disgust, confusion, and wonder.The level of symbolism in “The Minister’s Black Veil” is off the charts, and we can take many of the aspects of Hooper’s conflict and the reactions from the people themselves as a sense of alluding to guilt, sin, redemption and penance, and a sense of hypocrisy from the multitudes of Puritans who form judgement upon the reverend.I think the beauty of this allegory is simply that Hawthorne does not give you every answer, and you are forced to really get inside the head of Reverend Cooper to understand his motives for wearing the veil and alienating himself from the New England populace. There is so much internal conflict that is suggested and hinted at and we, as readers, must tie some of those factors together to get a picture of what is taking place.A really powerful story that has remarkable prose and works as a fine morality tale about the nature of sin, and the means of atoning for it.

I like the story but this copy/version uses different words in places at least when comparing to another verision I have. which makes a difference in how it reads. I must now find an original of Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Minister's Black Veil is a wonderful snap shot of the religion-soaked culture of New England in Hawthorne's time. It is wonderful for anyone who likes people watching and social experiments. This short story contains both.

This short story is a wonderful classic of Hawthorne's. A must read for those interested in American Literature. A socio-religious tale of intrigue and mystery into human behaviour.

I guess I'm just not a fan of short stories. I have yet to read one that was not utterly boring. I thought maybe an old classic writer would have more interesting ones, but did not find that to be true.

really enjoyed this short story.

"The Minister's Black Veil" is one of Nathaniel Hawthorne's best short stories. Hawthorne is not the easiest writer for current readers to get into; his style is somewhat antiquated, and he has a wealth of historical and literary references. However, "The Minister's" is so good that this is soon gotten over, and we are engrossed in the mesmerizing story. Like The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's most famous work and masterpiece, it is an allegory set in Puritan New England. As always with Hawthorne, the question is what is being allegorized. I once had a professor who jokingly (I think) said he wanted to go back in time and kill Hawthorne because of what the author himself called his "inveterate love of allegory," and it is easy to understand the impulse. The mystery and lack of resolution can be frustrating; anyone who expects stories to be fully tied up simply cannot read him. However, this is also the fun part; virtually everything he wrote can and has been interpreted in a wide variety of ways, and there is rarely a definitive reading. This is especially true for "The Minister's"; a character even explicitly refers to the mystery as "a type and a symbol." The veil of course in many ways recalls the scarlet letter; it may even exist for a similar reason, but there is no real evidence. The story certainly touches on the differences between private and public morality, and there is likely some of Hawthorne's usual religious critique and Puritan hypocrisy exposure. However, the minister's final speech is key; the veil seemingly has great general import. It may imply theological issues like original sin and is apparently more a symbol of overall human corruption and weakness than any particular sin; Hawthorne's deep pessimism hardly ever came out so strongly if so. In any event, he, along with disciple Melville, was distinctly ahead of his time in using heavy allegories, and this is one of his best. The story is worth buying alone, especially as it repays multiple readings as few works do. However, it is widely anthologized, making a standalone hard to justify, but the important thing is to read it in some form.

I liked the sense of wonder created in the first few sentences. I also enjoyed the way the author drew the reader into the scene with the human and emotional words about the young men looking at the pretty young girls walking toward church,

great condition, great price and great service. I couldn't be happier.