Both Uses of
penitent
in
Alias Grace
- ...brought here to be penitent, because this is a Penitentiary and you are supposed to repent while in it,
Chpt 3 *penitent = feeling or expressing sorrow for having done wrong
- The cornered woman; the penitential dress falling straight down, concealing feet that were surely bare; the straw mattress on the floor; the timorous hunch of the shoulders; the arms hugged close to the thin body, the long wisps of auburn hair escaping from what appeared at first glance to be a chaplet of white flowers — and especially the eyes, enormous in the pale face and dilated with fear, or with mute pleading — all was as it should be.†
Chpt 4penitential = showing sorrow for having done something wrong
Definition:
feeling or expressing sorrow for having done wrong; or a person who does such