Minister's Black Veil

Hawthorne is suggesting that even in the perfect world of Puritan New England there are people who have dark things to hide. Mr. Hooper wears the black veil over his face to hide his own image. When he sees his own image in the reflection of his glass of wine, Mr. Hooper drops his wine and runs into darkness. I believe that Hawthorne is saying that because of the high standards on people during this time period people began to worry about people finding out who they really are. I think times have not changed much. People today put up fronts to protect their inner self from being seen by the people around them. People today wear the same black veil that Mr. Hooper wore.