We are now accustomed to hiding our features behind a mask. The mouth and nose can easily be covered; the eyes are another matter. And it is the eyes that are the give-away. If we cannot keep them hidden, then any impression we may wish to give is only half-done.
The face gives an indication of its owner’s personality. Good-humoured, honest, amused, amusing, mischievous, suspicious, carefree: a whole gamut of personality traits is on show. Also on show is a person’s place in society: compassionate, brow-beating, magisterial, industrious. Facial visibility lubricates the social machinery. We know where we stand. When we conceal our features, society becomes less harmonious, less responsible. A society should not be in the position of wearing masks for months or years. There is a price to pay.
The intention is all. A highwayman would wear a mask to conceal his identity. His intention was entirely dishonourable. He was a robber dressed as a gentleman. A citizen living through a pandemic wears a mask to prevent an infection from spreading. The mask is an inevitable part of the programme. Its purpose is protection – of the wearer and of others. Nobody could fault the motive.
‘One man in his time plays many parts,’ said Shakespeare. What was true of the hurly-burly days of the first Elizabeth is true in every generation. If we say that we act a part, we are being too severe. It is not hypocrisy when we assume a role that we freely adopt or have forced upon us. A soldier has to behave like a soldier and that makes him different from a scholar or a singer (who equally have to act a part. And sometimes one of the many parts we play in life puts an indelible mark on us. Rumpole comes to mind.
It may well be that we find ourselves betrayed into counterfeiting a role that we are not qualified to play. If we deliberately claim a reputation that we do not deserve, that may have a whiff of hypocrisy about it; let’s call it vanity. ‘And yet he seemed busier than he was,’ commented Chaucer on one of his pilgrims. Again, vanity. And pretty harmless, actually.
It’s good to look forward to a day when we have done with masks and can be seen for what we are.
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