Question

In this passage from “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the minister’s fiancée asks about the black veil. What is the meaning of his answer? From “The Minister’s Black Veil” “What grievous affliction hath befallen you,” she earnestly inquired, “that you should thus darken your eyes forever?” “If it be a sign of mourning,” replied Mr. Hooper, “I, perhaps, like most other mortals, have sorrows dark enough to be typified by a black veil.” “But what if the world will not believe that it is the type of an innocent sorrow?” urged Elizabeth. “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin. For the sake of your holy office, do away this scandal!”

Answer 1

Mr. Hooper implies that he has committed a dark sin that is represents by the veil. That should be your answer.

Answer 2

"The Minister´s Black Veil" is a short story that was written by author Nathaniel Hawthorne and it was published for the first time in 1936 and then again in 1937. This story narrates the happenings in a Puritan small town where Mr. Hooper, the town´s minister, decides one day to live his life wearing a black veil over his face and never takes it off. This leads to a series of events, among which lays the end of his relationship with his fianceé Elizabeth and the murmuring and shock, as well as acceptance from some, of the townspeople. In this particular excerpt, when Elizabeth goes to Mr. Hooper to ask him about the reason behind the veil and to request that he takes it off because people are starting to believe that it signifies dark sins committed by their reverend, the man simply tells her that he will not take the garment off and explains that this is because he is not unlike other mortals, that he is bound to sin just like everyone else, but that he chooses to have an external symbol of said sin and of his feelings towards it, and mostly, to show his sorrow towards that darkness. What Mr. Hooper is saying is that the veil is the external display of how he feels and how he sees sin and the guilt of it, in himself and in others.