Monday, March 10, 2014

How is "The Minister's Black Veil" an example of Romanticism?

Romantic literature often focuses heavily on emotion and can privilege the idea of rebellion against established social convention, and "The Minister's Black Veil" does both.  Certainly, Mr. Hooper's choice to wear the black veil comes at a heavy emotional toll, and the symbolism behind the veil amounts to a rebellion against established convention.  The veil, as Mr. Hooper intimates on numerous occasions, is a material symbol of an intangible state: he believes that all human beings are sinful creatures, and yet we all try to conceal our sinful natures.  The veil represents this attempt at concealment, and since we all insist on hiding, Mr. Hooper's refusal to likewise hide is the way in which he rebels against the social standard upheld by everyone else.  His parishioners, even his fiancee, are made extremely uncomfortable by his unwillingness to conceal his "secret sin," the way they do, and thus he becomes an emotional and social outcast.  In these ways, then, with its focus on emotions and rebellion against norms, "The Minister's Black Veil" qualifies as a Romantic text.

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