“The Minister’s Black Veil” is set in the town of Milford, Massachusetts, in Puritan New England. The Puritans settled in Massachusetts in the early 1600s and were known for their strict religious beliefs and emphasis on proper, moral behavior. Anything that was seen as a frivolous distraction from their faith, such as drinking, gambling, swearing, theater, and even the wearing of bright colors, tended to be frowned upon by the Puritans. When the Puritans separated from the Church of England, it was because they wanted to “purify” it from what they saw as the latent vestiges of Catholicism in its practices.
The Puritans sought to establish their own church in colonial New England where hierarchy and ceremony carried less weight than the individual’s direct relationship to their faith and to God. They stressed the importance of an educated congregation, so that people could read the Bible on their own, and met in plain “meeting houses” which, in contrast with the ornate churches back in England, were unadorned with any religious statues, stained glass windows, or even crosses on the wall. The emphasis was on morality, piety, and spiritual truth; all else was regarded as distraction.
Puritans believed in Predestination, meaning that they thought God determined whether or not someone would go to Heaven. While a person couldn't earn Heaven, their behavior on Earth was thought to provide evidence regarding the state and destination of the soul. This worldview led Puritans to be constantly on guard against any whiff of sinful behavior in themselves or others, fearful that even the slightest slip-up could indicate an unregenerate soul. This climate of constant surveillance and paranoia around sin figures prominently in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” which explores themes of hidden sin, appearances, and obsession with the afterlife.
A clue to as to when “The Minister’s Black Veil” is meant to be set is Hawthorne’s allusion to “Governor Belcher’s administration.” This is likely a reference to Jonathan Belcher, the governor of Massachusetts Bay and of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1740. Since this story spans the majority of Reverend Hooper’s life—from when he is a young man “of about thirty” to his death—it’s likely that it takes place from the early to mid-1700s.
