the veil was known to be so great" (Hawthorne 258). The veil which isolated his face from the sun and rain also kept him from his deepest fears and regrets. Reverend Hooper could no longer face himself and decided no one else alive would be allowed to face him either. The only people who seemed to see his face and understand him were lifeless corpses. As Mr. Hooper paid his last respects to a deceased young maiden in her casket, "the veil hung straight down from his forehead" (Hawthorne 255), and a superstitious woman claimed "the corpse had slightly shuttered" (Hawthorne 255). When the minister placed the black piece of cloth over his face, he intended to keep himself from the sight of his face also. If Reverend Hooper had found a way to deal with his sins or forgive himself, he would have been able to remove the veil and be accepted back into society as a normal individual. Whatever his reasons for wearing the veil would not allow him to do so, though. This inability to remove a simple article of clothing caused his entire life to be disrupted. He led a life which was "irreproachable by outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions" (Hawthorne 259). The theme of alienation is prevalent in many pieces of literature. Many people fear alienation, and this makes "The Minister’s Black Veil" a more tragic story. Because of Reverend Hooper’s decision to wear the veil over his face, he died without any immediate family. He had friends and colleagues by his side, but he had no family to grieve his death. His community would always doubt his ministry because of the shadow of doubt that followed Reverend Hooper everywhere he preached. At his deathbed, those present still could not understand why he could not remove the veil just once, and Father Hooper was again alone with the knowledge of his sin. He alienated himself throughout his entire life, and would finally be free of this curse in death....
