Meaning & Analysis
Literally, the proverb describes a person who conceals two different faces beneath a single hood, suggesting duplicity or double-dealing.
Insights
Hypocrisy
Represents the behavior of someone who presents different versions of themselves to different people, hiding true intentions or feelings behind a mask of falsehood.
Deceit and Duplicity
Highlights the trait of being deceitful or two-faced—saying one thing and meaning or doing another, especially for personal gain or social advantage.
Divided Loyalties
Points to individuals who feign allegiance or sincerity to multiple, often opposing, parties, revealing an absence of integrity or principle.
Historical Symbolism
The 'hood' in the proverb, a garment worn to obscure or protect, is symbolic of social or personal concealment. The image recalls the Roman god Janus, traditionally depicted with two faces, who looked both to the past and the future, and became a symbol of duplicity and double-dealing in early modern Europe.
Literary and Cultural Resonance
The proverb is deeply embedded in English literature and culture, appearing from the Middle Ages onward to describe flatterers, hypocrites, and political opportunists. Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to distill suspicion of false friends and manipulators into a vivid image.
Psychological Dimensions
Psychologically, the proverb exposes the anxiety about authenticity in social life, highlighting both the vulnerability to betrayal and the social skill (or pathology) required for such deception.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The two faces under one hood create a memorable metaphor for double-dealing and hypocrisy, transforming abstract social criticism into a concrete visual.
Symbolism
The hood symbolizes concealment and the hidden self, while the two faces evoke duplicity and the impossibility of true unity in character.
Allusion
Alludes to classical mythology (Janus), adding literary depth and universality to the warning about human duplicity.
Transcription
Quotations
Jorowur, in on hoode berith to facis.
Than in his hode I sawe there faces tweyne.
(He hath).
A false flattryng fylth; and, if that be good, None better to beare two faces in a hood.
To beare two faces in one hoode.
Thou berest two faces in one whood.
He beareth two faces in one hoode.
(He hath).
We say, beare two faces vnder one hoode.
Some men still beare two faces in a whood.
Two breeches in one pair of hose, and two faces in a hood.
Spoken of Hypocrites, who Janus like carry two faces, looking different waies.
(To carry).
Two Faces under one Hood, a Double Dealer.
Two Faces under one Hood.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.