Final answer:
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" is an example of Dark Romanticism through its exploration of hidden sins and moral ambiguity, exemplified by the minister's mysterious veil and the story's gloomy tone.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dark Romanticism is a literary subgenre of Romanticism, characterized by its preoccupation with psychological darkness, sin, and the complexities of human nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" encapsulates these features of the genre through its focus on sin and the symbolic veil that the minister wears. One textual evidence that illustrates this characteristic is the veil itself, which represents the hidden sins and the individual's isolation resulting from them. Another aspect is the story's mood of gloom and ambiguity surrounding the minister's reasons for wearing the veil, which could be interpreted as an exploration of the unknown and the irrational—key elements in the Dark Romanticism genre.
Additionally, Hawthorne’s story delves into the themes of guilt and repentance, which are central to Dark Romanticism. There is a moral ambiguity throughout the tale, where people are unsure whether to admire the minister for his piety or to fear him for what his veil may signify. This is exemplified when the townspeople react to the veil with a mix of curiosity and dread, highlighted by lines such as, "Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought." These elements provide compelling evidence that "The Minister's Black Veil" is steeped in the characteristics of Dark Romanticism.