Dec 25, 2009

The Minister's Black Veil: A Paradigm | Historical Context

When ‘‘The Minister's Black Veil’’ was first published in the periodical the Token in 1836, America was still a relatively new country struggling to form a national identity distinct from that of England. Americans no longer needed to channel all of their energies into survival; they now had the freedom to engage in and develop a whole host of cultural activities.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had long been exhorting the American public to cultivate its own unique identity. For example, in "Self-Reliance," he says, ‘‘Insist on yourself; never imitate.’’ Many Americans...