“he had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild persuasive influence rather than drive them thither”"Discussion of Hawthorne's work should never proceed … as if his characteristic ambiguity were not ambiguity really, but a sort of puzzle set for critical acumen to solve. Hawthorne's ambiguity is one of his ways of representing his pervasive sense of mystery, a kind of humility in him." Neal Frank Doubleday
In the story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the narrator describes a small peaceful town of Milford. The narrator describes the arrival of the minister Mr. Hooper and the reaction of the people in town about his appearance. Mr. Hooper wears a black veil from his forehead to his nose, and that disturbs and even frights people in town. “a gentlemanly person of about thirty, though still a bachelor…dressed with clerical neatness, as if a careful wife had starched his band and brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday’s garb” Mr. Hooper begins to be seem as a mysterious person. No one comprehends the veil, and people begin to be disturbed also by the fact that he does not seem to be acting normal.
Only his fiancé is comfortable with his veil, but even she questions his attitude and asks for some explanation, which she does not get. When Mr. Hooper is dying, a young minister in the church asks Mr. Hooper to remove his veil before he dies, but he refuses, being buried with his black veil.
Hawthorne in this story creates a fascinating idea of mysteries and secrets that make the reader think and imagine the reason behind the veil. For me, the veils in the story is more than just an object, it became a symbol of isolation and secrets. I believe Mr. Hooper has committed some kind of bad sin and he is punishing himself for that. The veil covers his shame and relieves his tensions of immoral behavior. 
