The "Minister's Black Veil" is a parable about a preacher named Mr. Hooper. In this short narrative story, Mr. Hooper for no apparent reason arrives to church one day with a black veil upon his face. The veil is nothing more that a black piece of crepe but it changes his appearance and character drastically. The parishioners look at Mr. Hooper with astonishment and fear. Rumors begin to go around that he had gone mad or that he had changed himself into something evil. Some people felt that he became a monster just by hiding his face.

The veil, I believe has many symbolic meanings. It was possibly put on because of a terrible sin that Mr. Hooper had committed. It is a barrier that separates him from having direct contact with the rest of the physical world. This may have a relation to Hawthorne's footnote before the...