Minister's Black Veil

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Jungian perspective of "The Minister's Black Veil."

The critical theory used in the story is the psychological theory, and the sub-set of the theory is Jung's Archetypes. The Minister's Black Veil is an interesting and unpredictable story that demonstrates how people would perceive a person if they went against the ordinary. Mr. Hooper is a minister who deemed it fit to wear a black veil every day. He never removed the veil and did not offer any explanation for wearing it. The only thing he said is that he would not remove the veil while he was on earth, but the veil would only be removed once he was no more. Mr. Hooper used the veil to symbolize that all humans have things they hide all the time, and would not be willing to reveal them to the world. The black veil symbolized the sorrows and sins that people were hiding. Looking closely one can see that Mr. Hooper is an introvert who preferred to keep things to himself. The reluctance he had to share the reason for covering his face with the black veil clearly demonstrates his introversion characteristic. Jung (p.98) posits that

"The spiritual needs of humans are equal if not more, potent than the basic biological needs, and these yearnings will be expressed differently in introverted and extroverted people."

The Minister's Black Veil is a short story about the parson Mr. Hooper from the Milford village. Mr. Hooper was a minister whom one day decided to start wearing a black veil to cover his eyes and face partially. The first day he showed up with the black veil was when he came to the meetinghouse. The congregation was surprised, and they did not understand the reason for the black veil. Most of them were expecting that the reason would be explained in his preaching, but this did not happen. Mr. Hooper maintained the black veil during the afternoon service, burial, and wedding. During the wedding, when he was about to sip on the wine he saw his reflection, which caused him to spill the wine (Hawthorne). No villager was brave enough to talk to him and question his black veil. Only Elizabeth his lover was brave, and when she questioned him regarding the veil, he only spoke in parables. The explanation he gave was not convincing, and this resulted in Elizabeth opting to leave him. Mr. Hooper maintained the black veil and everywhere he went people would run away from him. The children would also stop playing their games when they saw him approaching. Mr. Hooper was not willing to remove his veil even on his deathbed, he protested to Reverend Mr. Clark when he tried to remove his black veil, which resulted in his burial while he was wearing the black veil.

Mr. Hooper was scared of his own reflection when he was wearing the black veil, and he tried his best to avoid looking at his reflection or passing near a mirror. When he saw his reflection during the wedding, he became pale, and his frame shuddered. This demonstrates that he was scared of how he looked, and this worried him greatly. Looking at the image that the villagers had of him was scary even to himself. Though the author had described Mr. Hooper as a good person, the story shows a different aspect of Mr. Hooper. It becomes apparent that Mr. Hooper was insensitive to other as the story continues. According to Jung (p.134), we all wear imaginary masks in different situations and events. However, Mr. Hooper did not wear an imaginary mask, but rather he wore a veil that caused him to live in solitude. The author was criticizing the Puritans who were obsessed with sin. The Puritans preached that people should live a life without sin, and they believed they were not sinners. Using the black veil, the author has shown that we are all sinners, and we try to hide this fact. The different methods that people use to hide their sins will vary, but by using a visible thing like a black veil, he wanted to show that people were hiding their sins.

Critical analysis

The story demonstrates how people judge or perceive others in society. The villagers were not willing to interact with the parson Mr. Hooper after he began wearing the black veil. The black veil was only a piece of crape, but it created distance between the parson and the villagers. The villagers did not understand the reason and Mr. Hooper was not willing to give an explanation.

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He had expected that the villagers would embrace and accept his new way. Mr. Hooper was an introvert, which meant he was not influenced by the outside world, but rather from within himself. An introverted person is not able to immerse them self into society, which is demonstrated by his failure to offer a reason to the society. Mr. Hooper did realize that people were avoiding him, but he still did not see a need to make any changes. He was comfortable or rather, he seemed comfortable with his lonely lifestyle. However, this was not the case, Mr. Hooper did realize and notice what was happening around him, and he was lonely as it was discovered. When people avoid him or children stop playing the games, they enjoy when he passes caused suffering to him. If he were not an introvert, he would have found it hard to succeed in wearing the black veil. As a preacher, Mr. Hooper was not an energetic one, but the villagers considered him a good preacher. The decision to wear a black veil was not an easy one for Mr. Hooper he did consider the consequences and was willing to live with the consequences. The black veil is a representation of many things within the society. Considering the era the story has been set in, one can see that the black veil is an attempt to symbolize the lack of faith or people's sins. The author demonstrates that people should be more afraid of God than the society. The black veil worn by the parson is used to hide his face from the society, but only because of the sorrows of the world. He was using the black veil as a symbol to show people the different sorrows human beings were suffering.

The hatred the author had for the Puritans was clearly shown in the story. He used the black veil to demonstrate how the Puritans behaved and how people would react towards them. The author of the story did not accept the idea that everyone was a sinner, and only a few were pure. Using the black veil, the author manages to show how the Puritans viewed their lives, and the way others would look at them because they did not understand the reason behind the behaviors. Mr. Hooper had accepted his new way of life, but he did not want people to leave him alone. This is demonstrated by the way he begged his lover Elizabeth not to leave him. He tried to ask her to accept him the way he was and to live with him, but since she did not understand the reason, she was not willing to accept him with the black veil. The ego that Mr. Hooper had represented his conscious mind, and it was shown that he was not willing to change in order to fit into society. His failure to explain the black veil created distance between him and the villagers.

The author was biased in writing this story. He only concentrated on Mr. Hooper and little is known of the villagers or even his lover Elizabeth. Focusing on the parson was the main aim of the story, but it leaves out much information. Concentrating on the parson was key to highlight his hatred of the Puritans and their way of life, which was different from others. The Puritans wanted to be different, and the author has shown this by using Mr. Hooper, who is portrayed as different from others. The end of the story is quite confusing, because most people would have expected that the veil would be finally removed when he was on his deathbed. Elizabeth is shown to be the one who was caring for Mr. Hooper when he was ailing. The author tries to show that the love they shared continued in secrecy. His refusal to have the veil removed is surprising, but it does serve the purpose it intended. Earlier on when Elizabeth has questioned him regarding the veil, he had stated that no mortal would ever see his face again. Therefore, even on his deathbed and before his burial there was no way the veil could be removed. This could mean that most people will carry their burdens, sins, or sorrows to the grave, and they would not be willing to disclose them to anyone.

In conclusion, this is an awesome story. The main character has the appeal required….....

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