Chillingworth: A Hidden Monstrosity Summoned by Hate

Roger Chillingworth is a vile man who hides his disgrace of having a disloyal wife and finds pleasure in tormenting the poor Arthur Dimmesdale. When he comes to town at the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth makes Hester promise not to tell anyone that he is her real husband.“ ‘Breath not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband!’…’because I will not encounter the dishonor that besmirches the husband of a faithless woman…’”(Hawthorne 52-53).

In Chapter 9, Chillingworth 's evil nature starts to show. As Dimmesdale suffers with the guilt of being Pearl 's father, Chillingworth acts as a physician who seems to be taking the life out of Dimmesdale even more. The townspeople are beginning to notice that there is"something ugly and evil starting in his face" (Hawthorne, 124). In chapter 10, this theme of evil continues with Chillingworth, for he continues to get worse. In this chapter, it is clear that Chillingworth 's goal of revenge is to increase Dimmesdale’s inner pain. Hawthorne describes Chillingworth as a "thief entering a chamber where a man lies only half asleep" (Hawthorne, 126) as a way to further symbolize his evilness. Chillingworth harasses Dimmesdale constantly about his secrets asking, "why not reveal them here?" (Hawthorne, 128). But even with all the nagging, Dimmesdale refuses to reveal what 's been making him sick on the inside. In chapter 11, Dimmesdale 's suffering only increases. His sermons hint at his sinful nature, but everyone is being mislead by them for they seem to think that Dimmesdale is even more holy. Dimmesdale is "tortured by some black trouble of the soul"(Hawthorne, 137) and yet, his hidden public confessions are misunderstood. However, Dimmesdale is aware of this, for "the minister well knew- subtle, but remorseful hypocrite- that he was"(Hawthorne, 141). In chapter 12, during the night, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold, in which it can clearly be seen that

Nathaniel Hawthorne crammed The Scarlet Letter with religious symbolism. One of the most interesting symbols is that of Chillingworth as the devil. All through the novel there are numerous indications and relations that verify the fact that Chillingworth is a delegate for the king of darkness.

In any work of literature, dramatic events can be analyzed to help further the knowledge of a work’s purpose, theme, and characters. Moments of such intensity have a monumental impact upon factors in a story and often reveal motivations and influences of a character. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Roger Chillingsworth plays a significant role in the story with his constant acts of cruelty. By studying his actions, we can understand his hidden emotions, his impact upon others, and his position’s connection to the human condition.

Roger Chillingworth is the symbol for evil in this novel with a personal agenda in place of a moral code making him the perfect example of how duplicity is never beneficial. Hawthorne conveys Chillingworth’s deception in the quote, “It seemed to be his wish and purpose to mask this expression with a smile.” Time and again Chillingworth hid his true identity by presenting himself as a gentle friend and preforming good deeds. For example, he insisted on the priest minimizing his workload in order to prevent an early death. Nevertheless, when Roger made the decision to seek revenge on his wife’s lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, he descended into a deep evil derangement becoming somewhat of a heartbroken devil. Consequently, this sealed his own tragic fate. "In a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil's office." Chillingworth was an extremely learned scholar void of compassion who in the end, was the cause of his own demise. Roger Chillingworth was another character used by Hawthorne to show that deceit and dishonesty can do no good in the long

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the reader is able to observe how one sin devastates three lives. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all guilty of succumbing to temptation, anger, and desire, causing all to fit the definition of a sinner. Yet, Chillingworth's iniquities raise him up above Hester and Dimmesdale on the level of diabolic acts.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.

As it stands people in a general consensus seem to vilify Chillingworth as one of the only negative characters throughout the anti-transcendentalist novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. However, this is not necessarily the case and the evils of Chillingworth had been merely just additions to his persona that were added throughout his life. Namely, this transformation from a decent and loving husband to a sadistic man who only cares about finding the other adulterer to something and making his life a living hell, and then to something no one would expect, and this was all caused by one particular instance.

Roger Chillingworth has been cast in bad light ever since his very first appearance, in which “A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them” (Hawthorne 42). Use of the biblical snake metaphor and of inhuman imagery lets the reader know that Chillingworth’s soul has been corrupted and that, by becoming vengeful, he has lost the fundamental humanity that might salvage it. Chillingworth is a one-dimensional character. He is so deeply obsessed with exacting his revenge over his wife’s lover that it subsumes him completely. By refusing to end his quest for revenge—either by exposing Dimmesdale or letting him go—he denies himself the opportunity for catharsis and remains firmly entrenched in the past, unable to move on, grow, or do anything but carry his plot to term.

            Later on during the story while Hester and Chillingworth are in the woods talking about Dimmesdale, Hester shouts at Chillingworth, "You search his thoughts. You burrow and rankle in his heart! Your clutch is on his life and you cause him to die daily a living death!" (Pg. 156) Hester knows Chillingworth has more evil in his blood than ever before in his life; he feeds off the pain he causes Dimmesdale and enjoys every minute of it. Chillingworth doesn't realize in the slightest how much more evil flows through his veins now, than did before in his life. It

For many generations, people would presume a person’s mental, emotional, or moral state by just taking a quick glance at them.  In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne presents the characters in which their physical appearances closely resembles their mental, emotional, or moral state. The Scarlet letter starts off by introducing Hester who has committed adultery, which is a terrible offense in the Puritan community. As the story progresses, Dimmesdale who had committed this offense with Hester was suffering from his unpunished actions, as he learns that Chillingworth was planning to get revenge on Hester for committing adultery. However, towards the end Dimmesdale confesses and ruins Chillingworth’s plots for revenge. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Hester to support the idea about the correlation between physical appearances and mental,

Chillingworth is not a very amiable character to the reader , but on the other hand he is a very shrewd and sharp person, with a

In the beginning of the story, Chillingworth is trying to find the man that Hester cheated on him with and bring him to justice, as well as keep Hester as his wife. As time goes on, his soul is slowly consumed with his need for revenge. He craves it, nothing else would quench his thirst and it was eating away at him. He would continue with this search for revenge as long as it took.

To Prynne and Dimmesdale, he is a man of evil who lies, manipulates, and seeks nothing but retaliation for the sin Prynne has committed. To the Puritan community, he is a wise, intelligent, healer who is skilled in the medical field. As ironic as it is, an “evil doctor” is a phrase to describe this man perfectly. Immediately it is made clear that Chillingworth is affected by dissociative identity disorder by outwardly acting like he is a man of respect, but internally struggling with wickedness and sin. “When the people dissociate, they leave their body to escape the pain or trauma.

In the beginning of the novel, Chillingworth plans to find Hester’s lover. He makes his intentions very clear to Hester and tells her that “there are few things… hidden from the man who devotes himself earnestly and unreservedly to the solution of a mystery” (Hawthorne 75). Chillingworth is prepared to find Hester’s lover at all costs, foreshadowing his self ruin as his intent is all consuming. Eventually, "something ugly and evil in his face” (Hawthorne 102) appears, which the townspeople had not previously noticed, and “his figure more misshapen” (Hawthorne 102). Chillingworth’s spiritual deformity is beginning to show because of the consumption of his sin.