Mr. Hooper leaves the
wedding reception early because he caught "a glimpse of his figure in the looking-glass,
[and] the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all
others." He panicked, dropping his wine on the floor, and runs out into the night. Upon
seeing himself in the mirror, Mr. Hooper was struck with the same terror that he strikes into
the hearts of others who look upon him.
Even during the ceremony, "the
bride's cold fingers quivered [...] and her deathlike paleness caused a whisper that the maiden
who had been buried a few hours before was come from her grave to be married." This is the
reaction that Mr. Hooper inspires in others, and his appearance inspires the same reaction in
himself. The reason for this may be, as he said in his sermon, that though we all possess
"secret sin," we long to hide it from our loved ones "and would fain conceal [it]
from our own consciousness" as well. We want to put the knowledge of our sinfulness out of
our own minds, and when Mr. Hooper sees his reflection wearing the veil, it forces him to recall
what the veil means, and he is horrified anew.
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