The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne Feature Menu Introducing the Story Literary Focus: Symbol Reading Skills: Drawing Inferences

The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Sermon by Julius Gari Melchers

The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne There is the fear that we shan’t prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know ourselves. . . . Robert Frost (1874–1963)

The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne Mr. Hooper, a young Puritan clergyman, shocks his congregation by appearing at the church one Sunday in a black veil. Why, the people wonder fearfully, is their minister hiding his face? Is the veil related to the topic of Mr. Hooper’s sermon—secret sin? [End of Section]

The Minister's Black Veil Literary Focus: Symbol A symbol is something that has meaning in itself also stands for something beyond itself love passage of time peace

The Minister's Black Veil Literary Focus: Symbol Hawthorne’s central symbol in this story is a black veil. Notice how Hawthorne’s descriptions of the veil suggest its symbolic importance. “horrible” “gloomy shade” “mysterious emblem” [End of Section]

The Minister's Black Veil Reading Skills: Drawing Inferences When you read a story, you make inferences about characters and events. An inference is an educated guess based on clues in the text your own knowledge and experience

The Minister's Black Veil Reading Skills: Drawing Inferences Watch for this line: “Our parson has gone mad!” cried Goodman Gray. . . . from “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne At that point in the story, write down three inferences you could make to explain why the minister has covered his face why he has chosen black crape, the material traditionally used by mourners [End of Section]

The Minister's Black Veil Background Like much of Hawthorne’s best work, this story is set in the time of his Puritan ancestors, an era he said was noted for its gloom and piety. According to Hawthorne, the black veil—although not its meaning in the story—is based on the eccentricity of a real person. A New England clergyman named Mr. Joseph Moody accidentally killed a beloved friend. From that day until his death, he hid his face from other people.

The Minister's Black Veil Background Hawthorne’s subtitle, “A Parable,” indicates the importance of the story’s moral theme. A parable is a short, usually simple story based on events from ordinary life containing a moral lesson

The Minister's Black Veil Background Famous Parables One of the most famous parables is that of the Good Samaritan, who stops and helps a stranger who has been robbed and beaten. Today we still call caring strangers good Samaritans. The Good Samaritan by Vincent van Gogh, after Delacroix [End of Section]

Vocabulary

The Minister's Black Veil Vocabulary Previewing the Vocabulary semblance n.: outward appearance. obscurity n.: darkness. iniquity n.: wickedness. ostentatious adj.: deliberately attracting notice. sagacious adj.: wise; keenly perceptive. portend v.: signify. pensively adv.: thinking deeply or seriously.

The Minister's Black Veil Vocabulary Previewing the Vocabulary antipathy n.: strong dislike. plausibility n.: believability. resolute adj.: determined.

The Minister's Black Veil Vocabulary Vocabulary Activity Match each word with its Greek or Latin origin. portend L pensare, “to weigh or consider” pensively L plaudere, “deserving applause” antipathy L portendere, “foretell” plausibility Gr anti-, “against” + patheia, “feeling” [End of Section]

Meet the Writer

The Minister's Black Veil Meet the Writer Although he struggled both creatively and financially, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) earned recognition as a writer and the admiration of his contemporaries. Yet his dark insights into the human heart seemed to reflect an inner gloom that he never overcame. More About the Writer [End of Section]