Roger Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Roger Chillingworth’s concealed history and background is most likely the most compelling element of his moral ambiguity. Throughout all of The Scarlet Letter, very little is known about the past of Roger Chillingworth, except that he comes from England and is the husband of Hester Prynne. Even at the very culmination of The Scarlet Letter, very little information regarding Roger Chillingworth’s past is discovered. With an arcane past, Roger Chillingworth is bestowed the ultimate ascendancy of moral ambiguity. One’s past may often act as a deficiency that one’s enemy may utilize at their own personal will. However, with a nebulous past, Roger

Roger Chillingworth represents all that is bad; his appearance and behavior are close to that of the devil. When he arrives in the market-place and discovers the sin Hester Prynne has committed, he becomes set on revenge. This turns him into an evil being, almost an antagonist of the book. In chapters nine and ten, Hawthorne refers to him as “The Leech”. Chillingworth preys on Dimmesdale, almost literally sucks the life out of

The character of Roger Chillingworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter is one of many different faces. Hawthorne changes the character of Chillingworth during different periods of the novel. As Chillingworth's actions and his motives change, so in turn does the reader's opinion of him, which ranges from compassion to antipathy. Hawthorne keeps the character of Chillingworth an enigma, and Hawthorne uses his narrative to shed light on the true feelings of Chillingworth, as well through the good doctor's interaction with other characters, especially Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. As we watch the plot evolve, and the reader observes Chillingworth's actions,

Roger Chillingworth’s character shows evil in many ways, one of those ways is through his thoughts. From the moment he sees Hester on the scaffold he begins to plot revenge on whoever the father of Pearl is. The first meeting Hester and Chillingworth have Hester says, “Why dost thou smile so at me? [...] Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?”, then Chillingworth says, “Not thy soul, [...] No, not thine!” (Hawthorne 45). In this exchange between the once husband and wife the reader witnesses the first evil spark in Chillingworth. Every evil thought Chillingworth has stems from this moment in the story and everyone knows that thoughts generally lead to actions.

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.

Throughout the story Roger Chillingworth slowly transforms and is comparable to the devil. There are phases to this transformation. The fact we learn Chillingworth trapped Hester in a marriage that she did not want be in shows that his evil transformation starts when we are first introduced to him. Later in this next phase, he uses his hatred and devotion to bring pain on Dimmesdale for seven years. Over the seven years, Chillingworth devotes his time to torment Dimmesdale with no remorse or compassion. While Dimmesdale and Hester had committed a high sin in Puritan life, Chillingworth’s conduct proves to be the greater evil. Hester and the “A” transition in the opposite direction. She was branded a

The themes of sin and revenge in The Scarlet Letter are made prominent and clear, as Hawthorne tends to express every theme in the novel. The two are closely tied together in the case of Roger Chillingworth. In The Scarlet Letter,

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).

Roger Chillingworth’s soul is immediately taken captive by revenge as soon as he finds out about Hester’s infedelity (I would go w infidelity). He is transformed into a devilish figure overcome by a passion to torture Hester’s partner in crime, Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne shows Chillingworth’s evil intentions, “The intellect of Roger Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it…which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (Hawthorne 127). In The Scarlet Letter,

Roger Prynne Chillingworth is the antagonist of the novel. His conflicts would seem different than the other main characters’ conflicts. For instance one internal conflict of his would be his thoughts of revenge. Chillingworth has this monomaniacal desire for revenge on the “unknown” father. His plans were

The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was filled with many evil influences. Many people were able to withstand temptation, but some fell victim to the dark side. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, are what we define as sin (Gerber 14).

From the very beginning of the novel, it can be learned that Chillingworth seeks reveng we on whoever committed adultery with his wife. Hawthorne proves this when Chillingworth says, "It irks me nevertheless, that the partner of her inequity should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side. But he will be known!-he will be known!-he will be known!" (43). Van Kirk realizes that when Chillingworth arrives in the colony and learns of Hester's situation, he leaves her alone nearly seven years as he singlemindedly pursues Dimmsdale. She also notices that once Chillingworth decides to pursue Hester's lover and enact revenge, he pusues this pupose with the techniques and motives of a scientist. Moving in with Dimmsdale he pokes and prods. She puts things in a different perspective when she says, "As a scientific investigator, he cold-heartedly and intellectually pursues his lab specimen.

"Hester looked at the man of skill, and even then, with her fate hanging on the balance, was startled to perceive what a change had come over his features, --how much uglier they were, --how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen..." (Pg.103).  Hester is not the only person to notice the change in Chillingworth; many of the townspeople recognize the changes in him as well, "At first his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed, and which still grew more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him" (Pg. 117). Slowly but surely Roger Chillingworth is changing from a man with normal interests, to a man with an evil obsession; every day he is getting closer and closer to the dark side.

Hawthorne uses dark supernatural elements to characterize Roger Chillingworth. Hester’s affair makes Chillingworth an envious and vengeful man, and his need for revenge turns him into a fiend. Chillingworth’s physical appearance changes for the worst in the course of seven years, “old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil” (Hawthorne 156). Chillingworth’s appearance changes from a studious and scholarly man to a stooped and deformed creature with red glowing eyes. Pearl observes Chillingworth’s hideous and terrifying features and suspects that he is the Black Man. Not only is Chillingworth’s appearance effected by the supernatural elements of the devil, his demonic character is exposed when he leeches onto Dimmesdale. Chillingworth seems to embrace his demonic identity when Hester condemns him for torturing Dimmesdale and making his life hell. Chillingworth admits to doing so, but refuses to stop because Dimmesdale deserves it. Hawthorne uses the evil supernatural elements of the devil to make Roger Chillingworth a symbol of the Black Man. His reason for doing so provides grave conflict in the lives of Hester, Pearl, and especially Dimmesdale. The comparison of Chillingworth to the devil

Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, arrives in Boston as a captive of the Indians. He claims to be a doctor, and therefore be of good use to the Boston townsfolk. As he arrives, he is not greeted by a kind sight. He sees Hester up on the scaffold being shamed of adultery and having to just accept the nasty words and phrases people are throwing at her. He decides to speak up and say, “Speak woman...Speak and give your child a father!” Since it is Chillingworth being cheated on, his knowledge of Hester, from the two years he has been gone, swings from her being a loving wife and respecting him, to her being a lying and perfidious