Nathaniel Hawthorne's hatred of Puritanism was so great that he described it in many of his writings such as The Scarlet Letter and The Black Cathedral Veil. He usually satirized them as evildoers and creators of sin, not saints and zealots for Christ as they portrayed themselves. Hawthorne also used the effects of the mysterious human mind and spontaneous action to describe Puritanism as satanic worship and disobedience to God. As a result, his writing reflected much of his Puritan-based affections. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, July 4, 1804. His father was Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sr., who died in the shipwreck, and his mother, Elizabeth Manning Hawthorne, who remained a widow. In 1825 Hawthorne graduated from Bowdoin College and began his writing career. He published a few volumes of short stories and children's literature at the Brook Farn community for the next 10 years. On July 9, 1842, he married Sophia Peabody and moved to the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, where they lived for about four years (Werlock). Hawthorne wrote his famous collection of short stories, Twice-Told Tale in 1837. The Minister's Black Veil opened the collection and introduced his readers to Reverend Hooper, who had a black veil over his face. Whenever he attended church or funeral service, he could preach the word of God to the public in an informative but not forceful manner. The reverend's fiancée wanted to remove his veil at the wedding, but he refused, creating an embarrassing situation at the wedding. Many years later he became mentally ill and required Elizabeth's care. She continued to wear the veil until her death with dark and mysterious affection (Wright). Many critics observed Reverend Hooper as a prec... middle of paper ...... fweb.com>Heims, Nei. "An introduction to some elements of Nathaniel Hawthorne's fiction." Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Online literary reference by Blomom. Fact On File, Inc. January 21, 2011. Mellow, James R. “Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Day.” Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2001. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. January 27, 2011. Werlock, Abby HP, ed. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." New York: Fact On File, Inc, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Done on file, Inc. February 21, 2011.Wright, Sarah Bird. “The minister's black veil”. "Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work." New York: Fact On File, Inc, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Done on File, Inc. February 28, 2011.