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Theme of Perception in ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’

Perception refers to the ways through which individuals become aware of and receive information regarding the outside world through senses. People do perceive things differently but mostly the things being perceived are close to them. ‘The minister’s black veil’ is a short story that illustrates the lives of the Puritan community which was small and to which it was very easy to keep an eye on everyone in the community. It is because of the size and close-knitting of the Puritan town that makes it possible for the entire population to notice the altered appearance of Hooper. The theme of perception is therefore one of the most significant themes in the short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

One of the quotes that can be used to illustrate the theme of perception from the story is derived from Hooper’s funeral where the sermon says that God is always watching the people, but on the Puritan’s side, the truth is that the townspeople are always watching their neighbors and at the same time judging their peers. Despite the fact that the townspeople are always watching, they are however superficial on their judgment to their peers. Contrary to God, the townspeople have no way of knowing the status of the souls of the other people and due to this they can only perceive the appearance of the other people and from the appearance make interpretations based on what they see on the surface.

Hooper’s appearance tend to change the time he wears the veil but despite this, everything else in him tend to remain the same. Hooper is still in love with Elizabeth, his wife, pensive and he is still eager to talk to the congregation just like he always have done in the past. Hooper delivers the same Sunday sermon as usual, but his appearance seems to take much from the townspeople. Despite the sermon being the same as always, the townspeople perceives it to be much darker as well as severe compared to his normal offerings. The perception of darkness was intrigued to the people’s mind due to the presence of a simple piece of clothing altering the people’s view of a person to whom they have known and to whom have served them for years.

The townspeople seem to be troubled by Hooper’s dressing that altered his appearance, making them try to imagine the elaborate interpretations of the reason as to why Hooper chose to wear the black veil. Some of the townspeople are of the thought that Hooper is losing his eyesight, others think that he is going insane while most of them think that Hooper have committed a grave sin and assumes that it is the main reason he is afraid of showing his face. A different opinion is depicted by Elizabeth, Hooper’s wife who advices him to remove the veil lest the people will continue judging him in the wrong manner, a sign of sinful behavior. The townspeople are too timid to ask Hooper about the veil, but Elizabeth is well aware that their perceptions to Hooper are dangerous. Hooper’s appearance disrupts the interpretation of the townspeople and this leads to Hooper’s ostracism from the town and all this is as a result of the power of appearance and perception. Hooper gets isolated almost fully in the whole town of Milford. Perception is therefore the largest theme in the short story ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Ministers Black Veil. Charles River Editors via PublishDrive, 2018.