The Scarlet Letter
What does Dimmesdale look like after his sermon?
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
From the text:
"The shout died into a murmur, as one portion of the crowd after another obtained a glimpse of him. How feeble and pale he looked amid all his triumph! The energy--or say, rather, the inspiration which had held him up, until he should have delivered the sacred message that brought its own strength along with it from heaven--was withdrawn, now that it had so faithfully performed its office. The glow, which they had just before beheld burning on his cheek, was extinguished, like a flame that sinks down hopelessly among the late-decaying embers. It seemed hardly the face of a man alive, with such a deathlike hue; it was hardly a man with life in him, that tottered on his path so nervelessly, yet tottered, and did not fall!"
The Scarlet Letter