Scarlet Letter Identity Quotes

In the 1850’s, America was undergoing a massive internal changes via the industrial revolution. With this new era, American culture was drastically changed as women started to take a more prominent role in American society. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempts to stimulate this change by illustrating the positive influence of a strong female character in a Puritanical society through his heroine, Hester Prynne, by putting her in a scandalous situation capable of drawing out the worst in people.

“On one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him." Chapter 1, pg. 46

Thomas Carlyle, a famous Scottish philosopher known for his poetry, and morality once said, “It is through symbols that man consciously or unconsciously lives, works and has beings.” This quote relates to Pearl in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne because of her ability to make her own moral choices apart from those of her mother, or the townspeople. Throughout the novel, the letter A, the rose, and nature all symbolize Pearl and her morality. To begin, the letter A is presumably a symbol for Pearl. Pearl is an uncontrollable little girl who has behavioral issues and acts similar to a demon child.

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,

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

He,(Dimmesdale), is “a rare case…I must search this matter to the bottom” (Hawthorne, 158). When Chillingworth overheard Dimmesdale having a bad dream, he entered his quarters and “laid his hand upon his bosom, and thrust aside the vestment, that, … had always covered it even from the professional eye” (Hawthorne, 159). What Chillingworth saw there, no one knows, but we know that he saw Dimmesdale’s sin on his chest. “… With a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror … (with) the extravagant gestures with which he threw up his arms towards the ceiling, and stamped his foot upon the floor” (Hawthorne, 159). When Chillingworth becomes the Devil, he is doing many strange things. Chillingworth is keeping himself secluded, and is seen lurking around town in a creepy manner. Roger secluded himself from everyday life to keep his plot for revenge focused. His plot is working too, Dimmesdale’s “… soul shivers … at the sight of the man” (Hawthorne, 240). Chillingworth is also spending a great deal of time in the “forest trees … searching for roots and twigs, for his strange medicines” (Hawthorne, 145). The townspeople even see that Roger Chillingworth is pure evil. When the town first meets Chillingworth, they think he is a kind old doctor that would not harm a soul. “ At first, his expression had been meditative, scholar like” (Hawthorne,

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

Holding on to sin can lead to isolation and alienation. Hester falls in love with another man and commits adultery.

Chillingworth’s goal was to “ruin” (65) Dimmesdale's soul, an act that continued to fuel his vengeance and fill his own soul with darkness. His entire demeanor was affected by this purpose; while he did attempt to hide what he felt internally by acting “calm , gentle, [and] passionless”, he failed and showed his “active” “malice” that “led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal has ever wreaked upon an enemy” (116). The significance of the immorality of his plan further shows how he was inhumane, more like a Devil than a person. Chillingworth “brought himself” “below” “her level” “ by the revenge which he has stooped for,” (138) because it filled him with such hatred that it drained him of morality and humanity, making him lower than Hester and ultimately less powerful. Hester on the other hand, wanted to repent for previous transgressions, doing this by utilizing her flaming passion for charity. She became known as one “who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, [and] so comfortable to the afflicted” (134-135). Her Scarlet Letter stopped being interpreted “by its original signification”, and now “meant Able” (134) instead. This new purpose in life brought her higher than Chillingworth and put her in a higher position of power due to its emphasis on

Chillingworth will not bear the shame in regards to his unfaithful wife, nor be burdened with supporting and providing for her. He is truly a cruel and twisted man. This unfaithfulness to his wife is not his only shame; he also is responsible for the daily, mental torture of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale. “She doubted not, that the continual presence of Roger Chillingworth, –the secret poison of his malignity, infecting all the air about him, –and his authorized interference, as a physician, with the minister’s physical and spiritual infirmities, –that these bad opportunities had been turned into a cruel purpose” (Hawthorne132).

‘Honesty is the best policy’; ‘Always be yourself”, are common phrases many parents tell their children and as common as they may be, being honest and being true yourself contributes to individual happiness and contentness. ‘The Scarlet Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that dives deep into these key themes of honesty and integrity and the consequences of doing the opposite action. One of the main characters, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is a minister in 17th century Puritan New England who has deteriorating health because of his lies and guilt. Dimmesdale commits adultery with a beautiful woman in the town, Hester Prynne, whose husband, Roger Chillingworth, returns from Europe later on. Pearl, who is a product of Hester and

Jennifer Weiner, a writer, once claimed that: “Whenever people with money have power over people with less money, you have the potential for exploitation.” The same is true for the social status of individuals. The character Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, among the lowest social status in the Puritan community of Salem, is exploited by the higher status individuals in her community and therefore they are an antagonist. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author suggests that the antagonist is not Roger Chillingworth but rather Puritan society itself because society fails to attempt to understand Hester’s situation, prevents the reunification of Hester and Dimmesdale and refuses to reshape its opinion and alienates her until she becomes beneficial to it.

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

Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale appear very similar in how they act, how their actions influence them, and how they respond to these actions. They both untruthfully seem like honorable men to the townspeople, and act as if they truly do conduct themselves in this way. By behaving like this, they delve further into sin and suffering; however, instead of divulging who they really are, they both continue making these mistakes of dishonesty. For example, when Chillingworth comprehends that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl, he decides to take revenge, but this choice causes “a terrible fascination, a kind of fierce, though still calm, necessity [to seize] the old man” (Hawthorne, 120). Dimmesdale, too, suffers from deteriorating health

Pearl is the one in control of the scarlet letter, through the novel. She has a fixation on the letter since she was a baby and carries it through the book, causing there to be no escape from the symbol for her mother. She is also a living representation of the scarlet letter, through her fixation and her physical appearance. She is one of the aspects controlling the stigma of the letter. Pearl is the scarlet letter shown through her fascination, appearance, and control.