"'Lift the veil but once, and look me in the face,' said she."

October 16, 2020 5:48 PM

Two stories about making shocking decisions to use color to change our perceptions. "The Regime of Austerity" by Veronica Schanoes (2009, science fiction): "These days there are a lot of gray people walking around in bright blue coats with green shoes. Lately it's become popular to use color on the inner walls of your home." "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1832, allegorical/romantic/dark/didactic fiction): "On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crepe, which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things." Kind of a Johnny Cash "Man in Black" vibe on that one.

I came across classicshorts.com (previously) via No Time To Read A Book Club, which regularly blogs and tweets short story recommendations.

posted by brainwane (4 comments total)

Colour withheld. What a strange juxtaposition of stories. Thank you for this.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:46 AM on October 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Hawthorne is so gloriously weird. (If this is your bag, also worth a read is E.T.A. Hoffmann, German same period similar weird.)
posted by From Bklyn at 2:56 PM on October 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

For a moment I thought she was going to procure a slice of human brain, to paint on it.
posted by Omnomnom at 3:13 PM on October 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Rick Moody's quasi-memoir 'The Black Veil' discusses Hawthorne's tale at length; (spoiler-ish description) he researches how it's loosely based on a true story, and imagines himself as a descendent of the original character.
posted by ovvl at 3:59 PM on October 17, 2020