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People used to study Hawthorne’s religious thoughts by reading and researching his The Scarlet Letter. And most of the scholars who research The Minister’s Black Veil usually discuss about the meaning of the black veil. Shang (2008) says in her essay Puritanism and the Masquerade: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Early Religious Thoughts that the black veil is used to cover the minister’s sorrow which comes from the Puritanism’s pressure of humanity and optimism. E.Earle Stibitz (1962) says in the essay Ironic Unity in Hawthorne’s “Minister’s Black Veil” that the black veil is a tool to cover sins. He also holds that Mr. Hooper’s wearing a black veil is arrogant and egoistic, which is typical Puritanism. However, very few people point out Hawthorne’s ambivalent religious thoughts in The Minister’s Black Veil. This story implies his religious thoughts like original sin and anti-Puritanism. Reading this story is very helpful for studying his religious opinions. Although this is a short story, Hawthorne combined his view about Original Sin and anti-Puritanism in it, which created an ironic effect. These ironies originate from his family and his complicated opinion on Puritanism.
This paper can be pided into 4 parts. The first part is a brief introduction of Puritanism and Original Sin. The second part is an analysis of the thoughts of Original Sin implied in the story. Hawthorne expresses his view that human is born with sin many times. For example, Mr. Hooper and his black veil attend the two important occasion, wedding and funeral, in the same day. The third part is about Hawthorne’s Anti-Puritanism thoughts. These views are reflected by the speeches and behaviors of Mr. Hooper and the villagers. The fourth part presents an analysis of the reason for Hawthorne’s religious irony in this short story. His ambivalent thoughts come from his complicated social and family background.
2 Puritanism and Original Sin
The Puritanism emphasizes the doctrine of Original Sin which originates from the legends of Christianity. It refers to the sins which are inherent and inevitable.
It is recorded in the Bible that at the beginning, God created man to manage the world. This indicates that at the very beginning Adam had the intelligence and ability to control everything, which means that he could communicate with every thing and make them follow his commands. However, Adam and Eva went against the will of God and ate the forbidden fruit. Then Adam lost all his great abilities and became afraid of God. He was separated from God and their harmonious relationship became a hostile one.
The Bible records that the children of Adam are separated from God since they are born. Original Sin, stemming from Adam’s rebellion in Eden, is a result of the fall of man. Adam’s children have depraved humanity and they are totally self-centered. Such people have the tendency to go astray, which will lead to crime and offend God. So the Original Sin is not a DNA which can be inherited to the offspring but a sin that is inherent and inevitable in the spirit of human.
Although Puritanism is originated from England, it was persecuted by the domestic religions. Then the Puritans went to the New World---America with their dreams to rebuild the Paradise on the earth. The Puritans from England abandoned the old world which was full of hypocrisy and degradation. They were diligent, optimistic and almost crazy about their religion. The Puritans believed that they were the people chosen by God to build a democratic country where people are morally good and everyone is equal. However, gradually, the Puritans went to a kind of extremeness. They became hypocritical, cold and insincere. Their harsh rules oppressed the human nature, concealed people’s desire and limit their thoughts. The Puritans practiced authoritarian rules and become imperious, egocentric, dictatorial and stubborn. In the 19th century, the American religions were recombined in free competition. The Puritanism had already been weakened and lost its dominant position.