How is "A Rose for Emily" different from "The Minister's Black Veil"?

Although these stories make an interesting pairing, since they both seem to deal with a troubled soul who's committed awful crimes and is now facing the judgment of a gossipy town--not to mention a romance gone wrong--the two tales are different in several meaningful ways:

First, Hawthorne's story has a much darker, Puritanical theme.The idea that we should all be wearing black veils, since we're all hiding some dark and unforgivable sins we've committed,...

Although these stories make an interesting pairing, since they both seem to deal with a troubled soul who's committed awful crimes and is now facing the judgment of a gossipy town--not to mention a romance gone wrong--the two tales are different in several meaningful ways:

First, Hawthorne's story has a much darker, Puritanical theme. The idea that we should all be wearing black veils, since we're all hiding some dark and unforgivable sins we've committed, is a weighty theme that plenty of readers these days might find fault with. In contrast, the theme in Faulkner's story seems lighter: that we should extend pity and a sense of respect toward people who have been left in the dust as society progresses forward.

Second, although the title of each story indicates its main symbol, the symbolism is much more in-your-face in "The Minister's Black Veil." There, the veil very clearly stands for darkness, sin, and separation between human beings. But the rose in "A Rose for Emily" isn't even a literal rose that appears anywhere in the story! We have to figure out its meaning for ourselves: that the story is its own metaphorical rose presented as a gesture of respect and pity toward Emily, whose tragedy was profound.

Third, it's easier to find humor in Faulkner's story. Try as I might, I can't find anything funny in Hawthorne's. But in "A Rose for Emily," her haughtiness and awkwardness can seem pretty hilarious in some scenes, especially when she buys the arsenic. More details on the humor in that story are .

In sum, as a reader, I get the feeling that Faulkner's story is meant to entertain, even to shock, while Hawthorne's is meant to impart a serious religious lesson.