Symbolism in the VeilThe veil worn by the minister in Nathanial Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" represents the emphasis on man's inner reality, as well as thoughts and feelings that are not immediately obvious . By exploring this inner nature, Hawthorne discovered the source of dignity and virtue, as well as certain elements of darkness. When the minister leaves his house for the first time wearing a veil, everyone is astonished. This man from this village decides to be non-conformist and wear this veil without explanation. No one understands why the minister would wear such a veil for no reason. This is where all the assumptions start to persist. All the villagers have a story explaining why the veil is there. These people don't try to understand it. These villagers are just trying to convince themselves that the veil hides something, like a distortion of the minister's face. Others think Mr. Hooper is hiding something else, like a secret no one is supposed to know. This black veil comes into conflict with everyone in the village in one way or another. Is this veil a problem only because everyone is afraid of what it might hide? Maybe this veil is a symbol of Mr. Hooper's distrust of those closest to him or maybe he is trying to show this society that there is a greater lesson to be learned from this black veil than a simple apparent lesson: this mysterious emblem. has never been removed once. He trembled with his measured breathing as he spoke the psalm; through his darkness between him and the holy page, while he read the scriptures... Did he seek to hide it from the formidable Being to whom he was addressing? (1281)After seeing the black veil on Mr. Hooper's face, every person in the village...... middle of paper... trembles before me alone? …Tremble also towards one another! Did the men avoid me and the women show no mercy…only for my black veil? What, if not the mystery it obscurely represents, made this piece of pancake so horrible? When the friend shows his innermost heart to his friend... when man does not shrink in vain before the eye of his Creator, preserving with repugnance the secret of his sin; then consider me a monster, for the symbol under which I lived, and die! I look around me, and there it is! On each face a black veil! (1288-89) The black veil is a symbol, something Hawthorne uses to represent the wall blocked between all human souls. Hawthorne simply suggests that each person wears their own "black veil." On the other hand, if people are willing to recognize their darkness within themselves, there will come a time when everyone will put aside their veil..