Analysis Of Literary Devices Used By Nathaniel Hawthorne In The Minister’s Black Veil And The Birthmark

The Romantic Period, emerged during the late 18th century to the end of the 19th century, observed through literary works characterized by nature, imagination, and individuality. Writers wrote about their feelings, but writings also overlapped with the Victorian Period; resulting in gothic pieces as well. In America, the Romantic Period was mirrored through the Transcendental movement. The emphasis was on the belief of inherent goodness, while society corrupts the purity of a person. In addition to individuals being at their best when independent and self reliant. A subgenre of the Romantic Period was Dark Romanticism. It reflected and individual’s fascination with irrational, demonic, and grotesque aspects of life. Dark and romantic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in “The Birthmark” and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” utilizes his fixation with Puritan history to write about the corruption of the inherent goodness in people and nature; Hawthorne’s heavy use of symbolism, dramatic and situational irony, and motifs that reference Christian beliefs help to convey the corruption of human purity expressed through human sin and imperfection.

Born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne grew up with his mother and two older sisters. Early on in his life, his father died and his family was in a struggling position. Hawthorne believed that the failing fortunes of his family and death of his father were punishments for his ancestors’ inflictions on others. Hawthorne’s family history involves some of his ancestors’ involvements in the persecution of Quakers in New England during the 17th century and leadership over the Salem witch trials. As an avid reader, Hawthorne was interested in works by John Bunyan and Edmund Spenser. Along with his love for reading was his fascination with Puritan America. He gained his education at Bowdoin College and completed his literary apprenticeship in Salem. Later in his life, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody, an admirer of his work. Hawthorne is most recognized for his short stories and his critique on the corruption of individuals that lead to the path of sin and self destruction. Much of Hawthorne’s works fall under the subgenre of Dark Romanticism mostly influenced by the haunting of the sins committed by his ancestors, financial troubles throughout his life, and death of his mother.

Hawthorne uses symbolism to express people’s sins and imperfections. In his short story, “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne writes about a scientist, Aylmer who tries to remove the birthmark off of his wife, Georgiana’s face. The most obvious symbol in the story is the birthmark. He uses it to represent mortality and to show that everyone is flawed. In the beginning of the story, the narrator expresses Aylmer’s discontent and disgust with the birthmark, “In the centre of Georgiana’s left cheek there was a singular mark, deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her face” (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark”). Hawthorne writes that the birthmark is “deeply interwoven” which shows that a person’s flaws or imperfections are a part of that person. An individual’s flaws and character just can’t be separated. Aylmer’s attempt to remove Georgiana’s birthmark reveals his own mistake or “flaw” to try to rid her of something that’s so deeply ingrained. Aylmer was so insistent on removing the mark off of his wife’s face that it was the cause of Georgiana’s death. The strive to reach that level of perfection is fatal, he shows the “dangers of seeking for unattainable perfection”. While in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne write about Reverend Hooper who always wears a black veil which explains why the parishioners create and spread rumors as to why he wears the veil. The veil symbolizes the secret sins one keeps from everyone else. As stated in the story, “There was but one thing remarkable in his appearance. Swathed about his forehead and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hopper had on a black veil” (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil”). The veil shows that it hides one from him or herself but also from sinful humanity. Hawthorne uses the veil to also represent human obsession with sin. This could be due to Hawthorne’s own experiences; as previously mentioned the involvement of his family in the persecution of others, which haunted Hawthorne. This could also reflect Hawthorne’s anti-Puritan views because he “is critical of the Puritans’ excessive preoccupation with sin”.

In both “The Birthmark” and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne uses irony, dramatic and situational, to show a person’s personal evils or wrongs. In “The Birthmark,” Aylmer, a man of science, stands for the spiritual half of man and someone who’s completely reliant on learning through experimentation. Another character, Aminadab, Aylmer’s assistant, represents man’s earthly half but who believes in wisdom and religion. “For all his intellectual and spiritual qualities, Aylmer does not have wisdom”. The situational irony is that as man’s spiritual half, Aylmer does not believe in religion, but Aminadab, the believer of religion and man’s earthly half recognizes that humans should just have acceptance; “ennobles the physical and perceived imperfections of mortal life unnoticed by Aylmer”. Hawthorne uses dramatic irony in “The Minister’s Black Veil” after Reverend Hooper gave his sermon. “The subject had reference to secret sin and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness” (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil”). If the congregation had listened to the sermon, they might have realized what the veil meant and why Mr. Hooper wore it. Hawthorne’s story is embodied by the irony that “Hooper’s sin is a hidden one-hidden not only from his fellows but from himself”. Hooper wore the veil to create awareness among his congregation about sin and guilt but he the ended up losing the meaning to why he wore it. Hawthorne’s use of irony is illuminated in the fact that man has personal evils that he hides.

The use of motifs that reference Christianity thought, throughout Hawthorne’s works help to convey the the good and evil in an individual. In “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne repeatedly red and white to build up purity and imperfections. Hawthorne mentions “tint of deeper crimson,” “rosiness,” “crimson stain upon the snow,” “bloody hand,” and “pale.” The red, mostly used to describe the birthmark as an imperfection, but it is also questioned to be the hand of God, therefore also representing a mark of Georgiana’s mortality and humanity. While the white is a sign of purity. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne often blends these two colors, possibly trying to show that there’s no boundary between beauty and flaw. The motif of nature is explained in the quote, “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain” (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark”). Nature builds the theme of man’s attempt to triumph over nature. The birthmark serves as a reminder of Aylmer’s competition against nature and its ability to create. Aylmer attempts to become a creator and question God; “creations of God have no right to question God’s work. As for “The Minister’s Black Veil,” light and darkness as expressed in “Such was its immediate effect on the guests that a cloud seemed to have rolled duskily from beneath the black crape and dimmed the light of the candles” (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil”). The contrast between light and darkness creates the symbolic conflict between good and evil. The darkness shows a saddened view of the world and how it can overpower the good. The forces of good and evil also shows the corruption of an individual and the fact that a person might be ashamed of their sins, so they turn to hiding that guilt from themselves, as well as God. Reverend Hooper’s “sad smile” is also mentioned often in the story, it builds one’s realization that the purpose of the veil is misunderstood, it’s the face one puts on when overcome by darkness. The smile becomes as mysterious as the veil; it’s the detachment from the rest of mankind. Hawthorne explicitly uses motifs to help reference to religion, God, or a Christian or Puritan belief to show that man cannot overcome God or try to hide one’s wrongdoings from a more powerful force.

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses literary devices such as symbolism, irony, and motifs to express that part of being human is having flaws and that people hide their sins. He was influenced to write about sin because of his skepticism of human good and its corruption. His works exemplify Dark Romanticism because of the common idea that the sins one holds within themselves and the effort to attain something higher than mortal perfection leads to the death of an individual as seen in both short stories. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the darkness of man and he argues that man is flawed and often times it’s seen that people try to play the role of a powerful force such as God. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the corruption of an individual, human sin and imperfection to show that mankind’s flaws derive from the forces of society, suggesting that people choose to hide the worst sides of themselves without coming to terms with this inner “darkness.”

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