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What Is The Cause Of Pain In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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What Is The Cause Of Pain In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
Thirty six year old and mother of two, Martha Hester, lurches violently forward with another gag reflex kicking in as she retches into the what-was white toilet bowl.

The pain is almost unbearable, her body now completely paralysed by waves of spams that leave her insides churning in on themselves over and over again at an almighty force.
Even if she wanted to, there is no turning back now.

Through blurred, teary and disoriented eyes, Martha reaches for the nearly empty pharmaceutical vial, pours the remaining circular white pills into the palm of her hand before swallowing them whole.
Martha grimaces, the taste alone is now enough to make her stomach heave as her body makes one desperate last attempt to save her.

Amongst the confusion,

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