Journal #21 Nathaniel Hawthorne: Hooper Is Weird, But Great For Business

QUOTE:

“Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper, and would not yield their breath till he appeared; though ever, as he stooped to whisper consolation, they shuddered…Strangers came long distances to attend service at his church” (Hawthorne 1318).


SUMMARY:

Once the rumors about Mr. Hooper spread, everyone who has sinned wants to speak with him because they think that he will understand them. Mr. Hooper becomes a celebrity, and his services become packed.


RESPONSE:

In class we discussed different possibilities for why Mr. Hooper wears the veil, and I think that it could definitely be a power issue for him. After he starts wearing the veil, he suddenly has the power to give his sermons to a crowded room of parishioners. It reminds me of Princess Diana being called the “Peoples’ Princess,” except Mr. Hooper is the “Peoples’ Minister,” not a princess. Once he has this new “mystique” with the veil, I think Mr. Hooper gets a taste of real fame, even if it is “negative” fame. But like the saying, “no publicity is bad publicity,” anything that is negative (like children being afraid of him, or people shuddering at his veil), still contributes to this fame and intrigue about Mr. Hooper.

So what if the people who seem to love him and think that he is the only one who can “save” them are all sinners? According to Jonathan Edwards, everyone is a sinner anyway! And we all remember what happened to him. I think Mr. Hooper is actually securing his job. Although the people in the village are completely disturbed and preoccupied with the veil, there are other people from miles around who are drawn to Mr. Hooper. So he’s a tourist attraction! The village has to be prospering from all the business these tourists are bringing. Mr. Hooper is a capitalist society’s dream, and all of the people in the village can perhaps live the “American dream” now because I’m assuming that they are having a huge economic boom!