self-reproachful

“I shall stay, of course, I’m oldest,” began Meg, looking anxious and self-reproachful.

Speaking in self-reproachful terms of having lived life “with the handbrake on,” Mr. Strong’s fearful Donald sounds like a 1969 Connecticut equivalent of Chekhov’s abject Uncle Vanya, whose play Mr. Icke directed at the Almeida Theater earlier this year.

Well, why would someone make such a solemn, self-reproachful fuss about a bad back?

Trapped, you inflict on yourself a mighty self-discipline in order not to snap when others don’t meet your standards, and risk becoming inhibited and therefore even more self-reproachful for not being able to state your expectations plainly until things get out of hand.

Look it up in the dictionary, and you’ll find explanations like “to feel sorry,” “conscience-stricken” and “self-reproachful.”