Throughout much of Till We Have Faces, Orual has herself veiled from the eyes of all men and all but a few women (Book I, chapter 16). [Presumably, some of Orual's ladies-in-waiting probably had to see her face, since they would have helped her with various tasks such as dressing, etc. (I really do not know exactly what they would do, since I have never had a slave or servant of any kind . . . which is probably a good thing!) Additionally, there is Bardia's wife, to whom Orual shows herself in Book II, chapter 1.]

While this veil serves as a covering hiding Orual's "ugly" face from the world, it also provides a sense of mystery to her persona. This not only allows her to go about her business until she is hardly regarded as feminine by many around her, but also allows her to be considered more powerful than she could otherwise be construed (Book I, chapter 20).

Yet, I cannot help seeing the veil as having another, perhaps somewhat more sinister, use. At one point, Orual wishes for the veil to cover face so her true thoughts and feelings may be concealed from the Fox, whom Orual thinks might not approve of what she has done: "I had taken off . . . the veil I had worn all day; now I greatly wished I had it on" (Book I, chapter 16). There seems to be no motive here that is related to power, physical appearance, or mystery - only the motive of concealing past actions, thoughts and emotions.

Because of this, I wonder if, while the veil is serving in hiding Orual's lack of physical beauty, it may also be concealing some lack of inner beauty . . . or some hidden "sin" that she does not wish to come to terms with. Perhaps then, in some kind of symbolic fashion, the self-induced-covering of the veil may picture Orual retreating from the idea that she, herself, might possibly be responsible for doing wrong . . .