Read the passage from “The Minister’s Black Veil.” What does the veil symbolize? From “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper had ascended the stairs, and showed himself in the pulpit, face to face with his congregation, except for the black veil. That mysterious emblem was never once withdrawn. It shook with his measured breath, as he gave out the psalm; it threw its obscurity between him and the holy page, as he read the Scriptures; and while he prayed, the veil lay heavily on his uplifted countenance. Did he seek to hide it from the dread Being whom he was addressing? The veil represents the minister’s consciousness of sin. This awareness affects his preaching; it makes the words of Scripture more difficult to understand; and it makes him afraid of God. The veil represents Mr. Hooper’s sense of failure as a minister. It makes him unable to preach effectively and makes him afraid that God will punish him for not doing his job well. The veil represents some evil deed hidden in the minister’s past that he is afraid to make public. This makes everyone in his congregation feel that he is a hypocrite. The veil represents the minister’s failure in his vocation. His failure torments him and makes the people in his congregation believe that he is an evil man.