Dark Romanticism in "The Minister's Black Veil"

Nathaniel Hawthorne excellently portrays his Dark Romanticism in his story "The Minister's Black Veil." Because of the language and mood created by this language, Hawthorne exerts a sort of eerie and gloomy tone throughout the story, and this is one of the major characteristics of Dark Romanticism. In addition to the writing of the story, the focal point and main symbol, the black veil, radiates a dark and almost sinful mood. This not only appears frightening and disturbing to the townspeople of the story, but it ties in their psychological being as well. The psychology of the characters as well as the reader are crucial in the writing of the in the Dark Romanticism literary period, and Hawthorne greatly utilizes it to greatly enhance his story. As the story progresses, the reader becomes more and more aware of the traits of Dark Romanticism exhibited by Hawthorne.

Right from the beginning, the reader notices the dark tone and mood of the story because of Hawthorne's choice of words. For example, the phrase, "It was tinged, rather more darkly than usual, with the gentle gloom of Mr. Hooper's temperament" (Hawthorne 282) immediately portrays a mysterious mood about Mr. Hooper and his sermon. This kind of language is quite characteristic of the Dark Romanticism age because of its focus on the dreary and frightening aspects of life. Along with describing the minister himself, Hawthorne goes on to similarly depict his veil as "His gloomy shade before him" (Hawthorne 283). Hawthorne's choice of words in this passage truly adds to the overall "gloomy" tone of the story. Obviously, the reader can interpret that there is a grave mystery behind this veil, but as well as the townspeople, they do not know what it is exactly. This is another example of the psychological traits of Dark Romanticism. The eerie mystery of the veil itself plays mind games with the reader and the characters in the story.

Although it is later indirectly revealed through a sermon by Mr. Hooper that the veil represents a form of "secret sin" in which he earlier preached about (Hawthorne 284). This still puzzles the reader and characters because this "secret sin" could really be anything. However, Hooper later hints at a young lady's funeral that he may of had an affair with her, but nobody is certain (Hawthorne 285). As I have stated before, this psychological and mysterious factor is the cornerstone of Dark Romanticism. In particular, the boggling psychological aspect in this story is mainly what gives in the darker and more creepy mood. Without the black veil and psychological mystery behind it, there would be no story.

However, the symbolism of the veil itself is really what gives the story meaning in its own dark way. For instance, in the conclusion of the parable, the minister dying, but he springs back to life when somebody tries to uncover his face. The reader then learns that it was part of Mr. Hooper's teachings all along to keep the creepy veil on, and that the people should be ashamed because they shunned him solely on appearance (Hawthorne 288-289). This sort of deep symbolism is also another important factor of Dark Romanticism, especially if it is as sacry as the black veil.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 280-89. Print.