Before he began to wear the black veil, Mr. Hooper's congregation regarded him as "a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word."  In other words, Mr. Hooper was never a fire-and-brimstone type of preacher; he was more gentle than that, and he was thought of as being rather easygoing and placid.  Now, however, all that's changed.  the first sermon he gave wearing the veil, was "greatly the most powerful effort that [his congregation] had ever heard from their pastor's lips."  Mr. Hooper suddenly seems a great deal more sober, and less peaceful, than before.

Further it used to be that Old Squire Saunders would "invite Mr. Hooper to his table, where the good clergyman had been wont to bless the food, almost every Sunday since his settlement," but no more.  His parishioners' sense of awe and wonder and even fright now overshadows all of their dealings with their minister.  Where once he seemed like a kindly man one might ask to dinner, he now inspires a sense of dread as a result of the "terrible thing" on his face.

How did his congregation regard Mr.Hooper before he began wearing the veil?

It is important to understand that Reverend Hooper is wearing the black veil to make the point that all men sin, and they keep their sins hidden. In his desire to make this point to his congregation, Reverend Hooper is alienated by society. The irony of this situation is that Reverend Hooper was revered by people in the town before he started wearing the veil.

“Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word.”

Clearly, Reverend Hooper was not a fire and brimstone sort of preacher; people liked that about him. Before he put the veil on, people would try to be the one to walk by his side after services. They would invite the unmarried reverend to dinner because he had no one to cook for him.

“None, as on former occasions, aspired to the honor of walking by their pastor's side. Old Squire Saunders, doubtless by an accidental lapse of memory, neglected to invite Mr. Hooper to his table, where the good clergyman had been wont to bless the food, almost every Sunday since his settlement.”

The Reverend clearly has a good reputation; he is an agreeable person who does what his parishioners want without a single thought. “ Hitherto, whenever there appeared the slightest call for such interference, he had never lacked advisers, nor shown himself adverse to be guided by their judgment.” In short, Reverend Hooper was well respected, but it certainly did not take the citizens long to start suspecting he had done something wrong when he started wearing the veil.

How does the congregation regard Mr. Hooper before and after he wears the veil?

As the congregation gathers in the meeting house, the sexton cries, "But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?"  When another member of the congregation repeats "good Mr. Hooper," indications, then, are that the minister is well-liked and respected.

However, when the perception of "good Mr. Hooper" changes, so, too, do opinions.  "I don't like it," one old woman peremptorily exclaims:

'He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.'

Others, too, become uncomfortable with the veil's ambiguity; they are overcome with "perturbation." Indeed, it is this ambiguity which causes some to become angry, others to believe the minister has "gone mad," and still others to become unnerved and leave the gathering.  The veil has cast a dark tone upon the day.  Although he believes that "something is amiss with Mr. Hooper, the physician of the village observes,

...the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself.   The black veil, though it covers only our pastor's face, throws its influence over his who person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot.  Do you not feel it so?

This ambiguous influence of the veil upon the soul of the viewer leads Mr. Hooper's own fiancee to leave him when he refuses to remove the veil, telling his love that the veil is a symbol that he is bound to wear in mortal life.  Finally, as he lies dying, Father Hooper, as he has come to be called, yet refuses to lift the veil.

'Why do you tremble at me alone?' cried he, turning his veiled face round the circle of pale spectators.  'Tremble also at each other!  Have men avoided me and women show no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil?  When the friend show his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin, then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which and lived, and die!  I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!'

While Mr. Hooper's veil may screen his secret sins, it is also symbolic of the spiritual veils that others wear in the duplicity of their outward behavior and inner "secret sins" as Hawthorne terms the private evil of people.  The ambiguity of the veil leads the people to wonder if Mr. Hooper knows their "secret sins," so they repudiate him or avoid him in their own guilt.

How does the congregation regard Mr. Hooper before and after he wears the veil?

Before Mr. Hooper began wearing the veil, the congregation held great respect for him. In fact, it was a tradition that he be invited to dinner after each sermon. After the sermon, there were many who were also ready to offer their praises of his message. He was always welcome at any celebration, especially weddings.

After Mr. Hooper began wearing the veil, the congregation became uneasy around him. He wasn't invited to dinner, People started avoiding him, and no one wanted to converse with him after his message. He did perform a wedding ceremony the following evening, but the veil cast a gloomy mood over what should have been a celebration. His fiancé left him because he would not remove the veil even for her, causing her to become suspicious of his reasons for wearing it. His sermons became more powerful because the congregation believed that Mr. Hooper could see into their souls. The veil secluded Mr. Hooper from the townspeople, leaving him to live a lonely life and ultimately die alone, even though he was surrounded by people he knew, including his ex-fiancé.