The Minister’s Black Veil
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The young woman Character Analysis

The young woman, who is being buried on the day that Hooper first wears his veil, has no lines in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” but it’s been suggested by some readers that she is the story’s most important character. Edgar Allan Poe argued that she and Hooper were lovers, and Hooper’s decision to cover his face is caused by his guilt after her death.

The young woman Quotes in The Minister’s Black Veil

The The Minister’s Black Veil quotes below are all either spoken by The young woman or refer to The young woman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Puritanism and Piety Theme Icon
).

The Minister's Black Veil Quotes

The clergyman stepped into the room where the corpse was laid, and bent over the coffin, to take a last farewell of his deceased parishioner. As he stooped, the veil hung straight down from his forehead, so that, if her eyelids had not been closed forever, the dead maiden might have seen his face. Could Mr. Hooper be fearful of her glance, that he so hastily caught back the black veil?

Related Characters: Reverend Hooper, The young woman
Related Symbols: The Black Veil
Page Number and Citation: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
In this quotation, Mr. Hooper attends the funeral of a young woman who has died very recently. He bends over her dead body, so that his veil hangs down. Even though the young woman of course can't look back at his exposed face, Hooper quickly covers himself again. Some critics, including Edgar Allan Poe, believe that this scene is the "key" to understanding the entire story. According to Poe, Hooper committed adultery with the young woman, and is wearing the veil to punish himself for his sexual sinning.Poe's interpretation is only one point of view in the general debate over Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae
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The young woman Character Timeline in The Minister’s Black Veil

The timeline below shows where the character The young woman appears in The Minister’s Black Veil. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Minister's Black Veil
Puritanism and Piety Theme Icon
Appearance, Perception, and Interpretation Theme Icon
Hooper gives the afternoon service, which includes a funeral service for a young woman . Hooper’s black veil seems appropriate for the occasion. When he bends over the woman’s... (full context)
Puritanism and Piety Theme Icon
Sin and Guilt Theme Icon
Teaching by Example Theme Icon
Isolation Theme Icon
...the funeral, Hooper delivers a moving sermon in which he expresses his certainty that the young woman is in Heaven, and his hope that everyone in the congregation is living a moral... (full context)