There's No Escape!

In "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthrone, the settings are in both a funeral and a wedding. The theme of the story is "don't judge a book by its cover". The setting ties in with the theme because at the funeral, while he was looking over at the dead body of the girl. Mr. Hooper was afraid of what her glance could've been like if she didn't have her eyes closed. Although she was dead, he couldn't help but feel judged by everyone else in the room, including the dead maiden herself. For example, on page 3 paragraph 4, Hawthrone states, "As he stooped, the veil hung straight down...that he so hastily caught back the black veil?" At the wedding, he was drinking a cup of wine, however, before he took the first sip, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. This made him instantly feel overwhelmed and felt like he was being judged by the others in the room including the groom and the bride, so he drop the cup of red wine and hid right back in the darkness. This can be found on page 4 on paragraph, stating "After performing the ceremony, Mr. Hooper raised a glass of wine to his lips ... and rushed forth into the darkness." This is how the setting ties into the theme in "The Minister's Black Veil".
~Itzanami S.