... at himself the while, and smiting so much the more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh. It was his custom, too, as it has been that of many other pious Puritans, to fast, -- not, however, like them, in order to purify the body and render it the fitter medium of celestial illumination, but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him ... , which makes him more vulnerable; his private suffering destructed his internal strengths. Unable to overcome the pressure he put on himself, Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin during a sermon on the election day to the community. He admits t...

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• Approx Pages: 5