Meiosis (Understatement)

meiosis (understatement): the ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect frequently can be humorous and emphatic. For example, Jonathan Swift wrote, "Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her appearance." Meiosis or understatement is the opposite of hyperbole

"'I should be very sorry to think so,' answered Phoebe, gravely. 'But it is true that my small abilities were precisely what they needed..."
                                                                                 -The House of the Seven Gables
                                                                                        by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Phoebe's "small abilities" completely turned the lives of her cousins around, she gave them hope. She is understating her role in their lives. Hawthorne does this as a form of  characterization. He paints Phoebe as a humble, unselfish, and quiet ray of sunshine that brightens everyone's lives. Through this meiosis, the reader sees deeper into Phoebe's character; Hawthorne displays her as a saint, someone who does no harm and only wants good for people, but is also very humble.