Ideology in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil Bennett and Royle in their textbook, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, define ideology as representing “… ‘the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence’†(161). The ideology of self, of personal identity, is represented by a person’s perception of what is acceptable in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Minister’s Black Veil, the minister appears before his community with a black veil covering his face. He gives no explanation for this apparel and the community becomes agitated that their minister refuses to remove it. The readers challenge is to discover why the minister wears the veil and why he won’t take it off. Hawthorne challenges the readers ideology of self with his choice of words, by showing how ideology is redefined by each subject, and by using as his form the technique of the parable. The parishioners expectations are shattered by the appearance of their beloved minister wearing a black veil over his face.
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