In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved and dimly feared; a man apart from men, shunned in their health and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in mortal anguish. In truth, his own antipathy to the veil was known to be so great that he never willingly passed before a mirror nor stooped to drink at a still fountain lest in its peaceful bosom he should be affrighted by himself. This was what gave plausibility to the whispers that Mr. Hooper\u2019s conscience tortured him for some great crime too horrible to be entirely concealed or otherwise than so obscurely intimated. Thus from beneath the black veil there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him. It was said that ghost and fiend consorted with him there. (Hawthorne)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hawthorne\u2019s evocation of the uncanny \u2014 the Freudian concept of the unsettlingly strange in the familiar \u2014 in his description of the townsfolk\u2019s reactions to the plain black veil are effective. They\u2019re all familiar with veils, and a veiled woman would pass without much remark in their community, but a veiled minister? He\u2019s a transgression they can\u2019t stand, but must, because he\u2019s their spiritual authority. They\u2019re too afraid of his religious power to even ask him why he\u2019s wearing the veil:<\/p>\n
Thus they sat a considerable time, speechless, confused and shrinking uneasily from Mr. Hooper\u2019s eye, which they felt to be fixed upon them with an invisible glance. Finally, the deputies returned abashed to their constituents, pronouncing the matter too weighty to be handled except by a council of the churches, if, indeed, it might not require a General Synod.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Within the Puritan world of Mr. Hooper and his parishioners, clearly the veil is a portentous symbol to the townsfolk: \u201cThe subject had reference to secret sin and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reverend in his black veil sets himself apart from their society by violating their social mores: an honest man should show his face. At the same time, he forces the townsfolk to come face-to-face with their own sins, guilt, and mortality symbolized by his veil, and they despise him for it.<\/p>\n
I can see echoes of the minister in his black veil in other works, most notably in the portrayal of the King in his pallid mask in Robert Chambers\u2019\u00a0The King In Yellow<\/em>:<\/p>\nCamilla: You, sir, should unmask.
\nStranger: Indeed?
\nCassilda: Indeed it\u2019s time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.
\nStranger: I wear no mask.
\nCamilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!
\nThe King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe minister\u2019s black veil functions as a mask that hides sympathetic human features while it reveals the darkness in the wearer\u2019s and observer\u2019s souls, and that uncanny juxtaposition is inherently terrifying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe Minister\u2019s Black Veil\u201d is an allegorical story in which the parson of a small New England town, Reverend Hooper, abruptly starts wearing a black […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[9,98,121,95],"class_list":["post-1686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-horror","tag-king-in-yellow","tag-nathaniel-hawthorne","tag-short-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/blackveil.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-rc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/halloween-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":0},"title":"Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"October 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lisa Morton, Kate Maruyama and I collaborated on a trio of novellas that were just published as Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil from Crystal Lake Publishing as part of their Dark Tide series. When Halloween Beyond stores appear across America, they intertwine the lives of three visitors in a web\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Halloween Beyond cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1804,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/rappaccinis-daughter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":1},"title":"Rappaccini\u2019s Daughter","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The classic Nathaniel Hawthorne tale \u201cRappaccini\u2019s Daughter\u201d tells the story of a young man named Giovanni who moves to Padua to be a university student. Every day from his rented room, he sees a beautiful young woman named Beatrice working in a strange and lovely garden full of poisonous plants.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "writing"","block_context":{"text":"writing","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dolls_Eyes_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery_Cambridge_Massachusetts.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dolls_Eyes_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery_Cambridge_Massachusetts.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dolls_Eyes_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery_Cambridge_Massachusetts.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dolls_Eyes_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery_Cambridge_Massachusetts.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dolls_Eyes_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery_Cambridge_Massachusetts.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2755,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/american-gothic-short-stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":2},"title":"American Gothic Short Stories","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"June 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"My story \"Approaching Lavender\" will be in the forthcoming American Gothic Short Stories anthology from Flame Tree Publishing. Other featured authors include Terri Bruce, Ramsey Campbell, Maxx Fidalgo, Joshua Hiles, Russell James, Clayton Kroh, Sean Logan, Madison McSweeney, Lynette Mej\u00eda, Joe Nazare, Wendy Nikel, Christi Nogle, Lina Rather, M. Regan,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gothic.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1781,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-thief-of-always\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":3},"title":"The Thief of Always","author":"Lucy A. 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(Warning: spoilers follow.) . .\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thiefalways.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thiefalways.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thiefalways.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thiefalways.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1982,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-ballad-of-black-tom\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":4},"title":"The Ballad of Black Tom","author":"Lucy A. 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The narrative is very much in a dialog with (and functions as a razor-sharp rebuttal to) H.P.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1710,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-pink-institution-by-selah-saterstrom\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":5},"title":"The Pink Institution by Selah Saterstrom","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"February 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pink Institution\u00a0by Selah Saterstrom is a Southern gothic novel that tells the stories of four generations of women in the Deep South through a combination of poetry and prose. It\u2019s a brutal, beautiful, disturbing book. The chronicle of abuse, alcoholism and mental illness rang entirely true to me. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/pinkinstitution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/pinkinstitution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/pinkinstitution.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/pinkinstitution.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/pinkinstitution.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1686"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1690,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686\/revisions\/1690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}