The Minister's Black Veil

Irony occurs when reality is the opposite of what was expected. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Mr. Hooper wears the black veil to teach the residents that all humans are tainted by Original Sin and to criticize people’s secrecy with others and with God. However, Mr. Hooper himself is guilty of secrecy, for he declines to explain the meaning of the veil. Thus, the black veil that is meant to draw attention to secret sin actually embodies that very same sin. Mr. Hooper’s pride in his own salvation and superior knowledge is another sin inspired by the veil itself.

Dramatic irony is a kind of irony that occurs when readers know more than the characters. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” dramatic irony occurs when Mr. Hooper does not appear aware of his own hypocrisy.

The subtitle of “The Minister’s Black Veil” is “A Parable.” A parable is a story with a moral lesson. Hawthorne ends “The Minister’s Black Veil” with a note indicating that a clergyman named Mr. Joseph Moody from York, Maine, like Mr. Hooper “made himself remarkable” by wearing a black veil (13).