Alienation and Loneliness

The moment that the Reverend Mr. Hooper, a parson in the small town of Milford, puts on the black veil that he is to wear for the rest of his life, the influence of the veil becomes evident. As he delivers his first sermon wearing the veil, his congregation gets the uncanny sensation that it is not really their beloved Parson Hooper. After the service, those who usually vie for the prestige of accompanying Hooper out of the church do not do so, and a parishioner who always invites Hooper to dinner fails to invite him on this occasion. The veil so isolates him from the companionship of others that it denies him even the happiness of a marriage with Elizabeth, to whom he admits the veil's unhappy effects: "Oh! you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind my black...