Religious Hypocrisy In The Minister's Black Veil

Jadie Milner

James Reed

English 1302

18 April 2023

Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Criticisms of Religious Hypocrisy

Themes are carried over in numerous of the literary works that author Nathaniel Hawthorne writes; this is true of the majority of his stories as well. For instance, the themes of religion’s hypocrisy are allegorized in “The Minister's Black Veil”, “Young Goodman Brown”, and “Ethan Brand”, which are short stories. The male protagonists in these three tales are attempting to change for the better but are unable to do so due to their life of sin, which results in their consequences.

The pastor, Mr. Hopper, is seen wearing a black veil in the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil,” which looks to be causing a lot of trouble for

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.

As a highly committed religious community, churchgoers are expected to be exceptionally compassionate, forgiving, and nonjudgmental toward everyone. The hypocrisy of the parishioners is that, despite their reputation as devout believers, they immediately pass judgment and make comments when they see Hooper. While reading this novel, many people have theorized that Hooper is covering his face in the black veil because he has sinned and is unable to handle the remorse that has resulted from his sin. According to an article by Harold Bloom, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” states,

Because of the mystery surrounding this black veil, it does not take long for rumors to surface. Goodman Gray suggests that Reverend Hooper has gone mad. During the service, several people leave because they feel uneasy about the minister's veil. Although Reverend Hooper does not normally have a powerful preaching style, his sermon on this day strikes its listeners as powerfully dark, containing “reference to secret

Mary Goodwin makes the following claim in her article “Religion in ‘Young Goodman Brown’”: “‘Young Goodman Brown’ reflects the importance of matters of faith in daily life in that period, with key plot events stressing in particular the social aspects of religion.” Young Goodman Brown departs from his wife Faith to run an errand in the forbidding woods. Brown’s wife is terrified of the dark and does not want him to run this errand, but he encourages her to pray before she goes to bed. While in the woods, Brown encounters an older man—who is actually the devil—who claims to be running late and is attempting to entice him farther into the forest. In the narrative, Brown says to the man,

“Too far, too far!” exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk. “My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs. And shall I be the first of the name of Brown, that ever took this path and