What is the best definition for the underlined word based on the following sentence? "hester could not imbibe the true weight of her crime after seeing the hypocritical nature of her fellow puritans."

Iwould have made a few comments, and requested a short history of the place from the surly owner; but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and i had no desire to aggravate his impatience previous to inspecting the penetralium. what does the term penetralium mean as used in this sentence from the passage? a) inside b) openness c) outside d) privacy