Chillmesdale's Guilt Quotes

Chillingworth’s desire for revenge for Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter greatly conflicts his moral duty as a self-proclaimed physician in Puritan Boston. This revenge began once Chillingworth suspected Dimmesdale of having intimate relations with Hester, although he never confronted him. Dimmesdale’s physical and mental health began to deteriorate once Chillingworth relentlessly tormented him, conveying the significance behind internal guilt and poor external health. It was also quite ironic how Chillingworth was seen as Dimmesdale’s mentor to the public, and although he was a physician whose friend was in failing health, his credibility was never questioned. This revenge was fueled by the betrayal of Hester, who was Chillingworth’s wife before he claimed a new identity and persona. According to Chillingworth, Dimmesdale could never suffer enough for what he’d done unless he’d faced it publicly, but once he did, Chillingworth had nothing to motivate his devious acts. The repugnant acts committed by Chillingworth claiming to be provoking Dimmesdale’s confession are absolutely influential to his failing health and significance in the book, "Better had he died at once! Never

One of the various ways Chillingworth serves as the devil’s advocate is by being the antithesis of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the palpable Jesus figure of the narrative. Chillingworth keenly sets out to devastate Dimmesdale, as Hawthorne informs us when referring to Chillingworth's unearthing of Dimmesdale's secret, “All that guilty sorrow, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and forgiven, to be revealed to him, the

However, as the story continues, Chillingworth experiences a substantial transformation as his bright minded and non-violent character began shifting to a darker spirit. After it was so clear to Chillingworth about Hester’s unfaithfulness, he began to develop the feeling towards vengeance against Dimmesdale, the man Hester had the affair with. The theme revenge in the novel is when the character Chillingworth truly depicted an obscure persona with his violent actions of attempting to murder reverend Dimmesdale several times. The ultimate desire of damaging Dimmesdale’s reputation became Chillingworth’s main focus and it completely changed his respect for others and his ability to make rational choices. His change from representing a morally intelligent man internally to developing a depraved personality was effectively demonstrated when Chillingworth used medical expertise and practices for attempting to poison Dimmesdale and manipulate him to confess the crime he felt guilty about. Hawthorne also manages to use imagery to portray Chillingworth’s transformation to an evil

Body Paragraph 1: Throughout the novel, Roger Chillingworth is viewed as the Devil in Reverend Dimmesdale’s eyes. Chillingworth’s private sin of tormenting and plotting against Dimmesdale is his obsession throughout his life and blinds him from realizing the true evil he is committing: “’What evil have I done the man?’ asked Roger Chillingworth again” (Hawthorne 141). In questioning his evil acts towards Dimmesdale, it proves that Chillingworth fails to see how he has been affecting Dimmesdale’s well-being. He is unsuccessful in understanding the true harm he is bringing to Dimmesdale because he is so caught up in his fixation with revenge: “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of

In the book “The Scarlet Letter”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the quote, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” Two characters in this book who shows this quality are Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. There were many characters who had shown two different sides of them throughout the book, but they revealed more about their true identity by the end. One of the characters that had showed two different side of himself was Arthur Dimmesdale.

Hawthorne purposely juxtaposes Chillingworth’s self-portrayed helpful manner with the reality of his dark intentions in order to reveal the change of his character. Through Chillingworth’s expression of his “calm, meditative, scholar-like” manner, he disguises himself as an intellect, specifically a doctor, who personally gains comfort from helping Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 112). Hawthorne portrays a change that takes place as Chillingworth carries out his scheme for revenge by revealing “something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed”, showing a contradiction between Chillingworth's outermost appearance (Hawthorne 112). This suggests that Hawthorne begins to emphasize the separation

Predictably, what Chillingworth finds under Dimmesdale's shirt may be a scarlet letter of his own doing, or some other mark. Whatever it is, Chillingworth seems to have secured his prey. I’m assuming he’s going to keep pulling Dimmesdale apart, if slowly. He may also be spiraling lower, even to a physical degree, distorting his face and morals. The author seems to be writing emphatically that revenge and cowardice will destroy you, and truth is the only route to forgiveness from others and to forgive oneself. I believe Hawthorne doesn’t want us to aim for societal acceptance,

Additionally, Hawthorne’s use of the motif the nature of evil aids to convey the negative effects of guilt and sin in both The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil.” In The Scarlet Letter, when Chillingworth finds out about Hester’s affair, his temperament immediately changes. Hawthorne describes this as, “Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (209). Although the people of the town view Hester’s sins as evil, Chillingworth is actually the most evil of all. He is willing to do anything for revenge, due to the sin Hester committed by having an affair with Dimmesdale.

Chillingworth made Dimmesdale suffer by exaggerating his illness, and humiliating him with guilt of his sin “a bodily disease which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but an ailment in the spiritual part”. the fragility and susceptibility of Dimmesdale states clearly his weakness, moreover.

Chillingworth offers his help in diagnosing the “bodily disease” that has taken over Dimmesdale’s health, although he already suspects it is due to Dimmesdale’s hidden sin. With this in mind, Chillingworth constantly fills Dimmesdale’s conscience with more feelings of guilt and self-hate for his own revenge. Chillingworth regularly questions Dimmesdale along the lines of, “wouldst thou have me to believe…that a false show can be better…than God’s own truth?” (129). Chillingworth plays a defining factor in the deterioration of Dimmesdale’s mind by blatantly pointing out Dimmesdale’s wrongdoings.

Hawthorne uses the setting of Dimmesdale's house to show the contrast between Chillingworth's public appearance and his true self. However, the setting of Dimmesdale's house presents itself as the line dividing two similar, yet different ideas: sin and good. The battle for dominance between these two ideas tipped in the favor of evil when Chillingworth looked upon Dimmesdale's chest, revealing Chillingworth's true fascination and obsession with his revenge, as he rejoiced (add in reaction quote) upon seeing the mark on Dimmesdale's chest. Before Chillingworth looked upon Dimmesdale's chest, Chillingworth portrayed a public image of friendliness, but once isolated in the home of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth unveils his true self as no one is around

It does not help that part Chillingworth’s revenge is to increase his mental suffering by getting into Dimmesdale’s head by tormenting him into hearing what he already knows-- guilt from sin is the reason for his sickness. This literally complies him to go mad. As Dimmesdale forbids himself to sleep, starves himself, whips himself, and imposes other forms of abuse, nothing comes close to making him feel better. At this time of his mental illness, Dimmesdale has truly lost all perspective to the point where he experiences self-torment in the form of hallucinations and delusions. The narrator explains, “In these lengthened vigils, his brain often reeled, and visions seemed to flit before him”(Hawthorne 172).

Even though Dimmesdale will not recognize his sin, he still punishes himself harshly “In Mr. Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge” (Hawthorne 150). Dimmesdale is trying to relieve his suffering by punishing himself, but only ends up causing more pain to himself. Eventually Dimmesdale can not stand the guilt anymore, and goes to the scaffold to confess his sin, “ in the name of him, so terrible and so merciful, who gives me

Mr. Dimmesdale’s strong ties to his Puritan faith cause him to commit endless acts of severe penance as retribution for his sin, only bringing him continuous physical suffering and the longing for absolution. Dimmesdale’s faithfulness leads him to beg for God’s forgiveness through his actions in the hopes of saving his soul and avoiding some of the punishment he will likely bear in the afterlife. His penitence and fear of public exposure cause Dimmesdale to whip himself harshly in the closet and to fast “…rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance” (136). Because of the lack of courage within his character, Mr. Dimmesdale turns to private suffering rather than public shame as a means for his atonement. These excessive acts of penance resulted in his suffering of intense physical and mental weakness, and causing him to become frail in overall spirit. In his most extreme act of repentance, Mr. Dimmesdale stooped to self-mutilation by carving the letter A into his own chest to match

“Certainly, if the meteor kindled up the sky, and disclosed the earth, with an awfulness that admonished Hester Prynne and the clergyman of the day of judgment, then might Roger Chillingworth have passed with them for the arch-fiend, standing there, with a smile and scowl, to claim his own. So vivid was the expression, or so intense the minister's perception of it, that it seemed still to remain painted on the darkness, after the meteor had vanished, with an effect as if the street and all things else were at once annihilated” (Hawthorne. Chapter 12.) This passage shows the reader the malevolent nature that Chillingworth begins to take on in the novel, seeming almost inhuman in his unwavering hatred for Dimmesdale, and the torture he inflicts upon him. Once again his lack of remorse is expressed plainly for the reader.