Theme Of Identity In The Scarlet Letter

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

Physically deformed and mysterious, Roger Chillingworth finally met his wife after being separated from her for almost two years.  He showed no great anger towards her and took upon himself some of the accountability saying it was “...my folly and thy weakness,” (Hawthorne 52) which was the cause of Hester's sin.  Chillingworth's only feeling was one of revenge towards the man who had been Hester's lover.  Chillingworth was obsessed by hate and revenge so much that when Dimmesdale died “... the life seemed to have departed...” (Hawthorne 72) from him and he died within a year of Dimmesdale's death.  Chillingworth never felt guilt or attempted repentance because he “... violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart.” (Hawthorne 133).  He sought to destroy Dimmesdale's

He was Hester's husband and he never returned to her, which was shamed in the Puritan society. He didn't want anyone knowing his true identity, so he assumed the name Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth is known as the greatest doctor in their town, and in many of the surrounding towns. He lives this life kind of to forget his previous sins and to keep others from finding out. Roger Chillingworth wanted to keep this secret forever and the name he had before "should never more be spoken."(Hawthorn 237). He also disclosed to Hester that he was trying to kill the priest. He described him as being a "miserable priest" (Hawthorn 343) and he tells Hester that he was dying "in the sight of his worst enemy." Hawthorn (344). He is angered that Hester had an affair and had Pearl with Dimmesdale and he seeks the worst revenge possible. These issues progress the piece because they make the it more complicated and the characters, as well. Freud states that people's actions are "influenced by their unconscious" and this is especially true in the Scarlet Letter.

Roger Chillingsworth is The Scarlet Letter's equlivilant to Temple's Belacour. He is the mastermind behind his wife Hester's demise, and intentionally seeks harm on her. In the beginning of the novel, he goes to visit her in jail. He tells her, "Live, therefore, and bear about they doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women - in the eyes of him whom thou didst call thy husband - in the eyes of yonder child!" (Letter, 70). All he wants is revenge and his mission changes from making Hester's life miserable, to finding out the identity of Pearl's father.

In chapters 9-16 of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the story shifts more towards the plights and character interactions of the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Due to the poor health of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, as the town physician, had come to live with him, and the two had become close friends. For seven years, Chillingworth did his best to tend to the minister while simultaneously tormenting him with psychological barbs by expounding on the necessity of confessing one's sins. Dimmesdale is not aware that Chillingworth is Hester's husband or that he knows Dimmesdale was her lover, but he does not need this incentive to be plagued by guilt. The man routinely attempts to atone for his sins by self-flagellation, starvation, and sleep-deprivation, all in

As you already know in the book “The Scarlet Letter”,Hester Prynne has been branded the scarlet letter and now she feels that the letter is now a permanent part of her and her identity and this is true as society now sees her not just as Hester Prynne but as the woman with the scarlet letter.We all have these “letters” and these letters are based by our actions and beliefs.Sometimes we give ourselves our own scarlet letters on purpose as a sort of mask to society but sometimes we are given them by society.Now,today I will be talking about my own scarlet letter.This scarlet letter has been given not made.This letter was given to me not even based by my actions but with my birth,the letter was given to me from the moment my mother saw her ultrasound and saw her first two children in her womb,my letter is the letter T.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is set in the early days of Puritan America. Hester Prynne, a seamstress, comes to the New World before her husband in order to prepare a place for them. During his absence, she develops a relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale, a rising minister in the newly founded Puritan community. Hester becomes pregnant. The novel is widely viewed to be a story about her trials and tribulations; however, critic Randall Steward argues that, "…Hester is not the protagonist, the chief actor, and the tragedy of the novel is not her tragedy but Arthur's. He is the persecuted one, the tempted one. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed…His public confession is one of

Unlike Hester’s sin of adultery, which she redeemed through charitable and amicable behavior, Chillingworth’s misdeed is one of malice and remains largely unredeemed at the end of The Scarlet Letter. At the beginning of the novel, Chillingworth makes a point of befriending Dimmesdale only so that he may gradually siphon away the minister’s liveliness and vigor, a phenomenon that Hawthorne alludes to by comparing Chillingworth to a blood-sucking leech. As his hatred develops further, Chillingworth “[grows] emaciated, his voice… [becoming] a certain melancholy prophecy of decay” (9). This consequence of Chillingworth’s spite, which haunts him physically so that he becomes a gaunter, more harrowed and wretched version of himself, becomes increasingly

The narrator presents Roger Chillingworth in a mysterious way. He gives the reader mixed feelings when reading the dialog between Hester and Roger. After finding out that Roger is Hester’s estranged husband, the reader doesn’t know what to expect from this new and complicated character. After meeting up face to face for medical assistance for Hester, they have a long awaited deep conversation about their past. During their conversation, he suggests that Hester drink medicine but she is hesitant and admits that she thought about if he were to poison her. He explains to her, “Even if I imagine a scheme of vengeance, what could I do better for my object than to let thee live-than to give thee medicines against all harm and peril of life-so that

In the excerpt, I admire the value of dignity and confidence Hester possesses, due to she doesn't give into society and let them establish her identity as ignominious, rather instead she makes her own identity, through the values she possesses. Furthermore, she states if she is virtuous it will fall naturally, therefore it shows her value of confidence and dignity about herself, through showing no denial about the sin she has committed. In addition, she states it is not up to the high authorities to determine the removal of the scarlet letter, which elicits her value of dignity, by not letting her identity be determined as ignominious by society, and rather choosing to reside the scarlet letter on her chest and declare her own identity as someone confident.

As The Scarlet Letter progresses, the scarlet letter takes on a human identity in the form of Pearl, her existence externalizes Hester's punishment. Hester acknowledges that Pearl is her living, breathing punishment. In The Scarlet Letter, she says, “He gave her in requital….Ye shall not take her! I will die first” (94 ,Ch 8). Hester’s love for Pearl makes her beg the ministers and governor to allow her to keep Pearl. Her argument was that God gave her Pearl, and whilst Pearl brings her joy, she is also a reminder to the crime she committed, like the scarlet letter that she wears on her breast. Hester has been agonizing over how she will repent for her sin, since the beginning. Yet, she agonizes more over the idea that perhaps her sins

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s innovative novel The Scarlet Letter proves that society affects an individual’s performance of their identity. This is evident through how the townspeople respond

Revenge consuming and absorbing the rest of Chillingworth’s life, turned him into a fiend. When Dimmesdale finally died, Chillingworth was also set free in a sense and vanished leaving Pearl his inheritance. Before the story started, his wife, Hester, mentioned that he was a decent man. After a while he begun to transform into a barbarian like creature. Chillingworth was hated by almost everyone in the novel. To sympathize with him, someone would need to understand betrayal within their life. The opposing side also has their reasons for disliking Chillingworth and not understanding him because of his revenge. Even if Chillingworth is the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, he is not the dreadful man the story makes him out to be. Revenge may

Confucius once said, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the characters named Roger Chillingworth finds out that his wife, Hester Prynne, believes that he is dead and has an illegitimate child with another man named Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth finds out and feels betrayed so he takes matters into his own hand and decides to seek revenge on the man who had relations with his wife. Chillingworth befriends Dimmesdale and administers his revenge directly, however this does not stop revenge from also going after Chillingworth. Chillingworth is an example of the book’s theme of revenge being bad for the soul and body. Chillingworth’s acts of revenge for a long period of time cause his physical health to slowly decline and his outward appearances to take on a devilish look. Roger Chillingworth is the living embodiment of the theme of revenge and Chillingworth shows that revenge alters a person 's appearance, revenge is bad for a person 's soul since it is the work of the devil, and that revenge will ultimately be a person 's demise.

In the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the antagonist characters display parallel story lines through their searches for the enemy. Roger Chillingworth, the former husband of Hester Prynne and the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, works against his wife in order to find her untold second lover. Frankenstein is a contrasting story in which an unnamed monster is the antagonist towards his human creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Yet despite quite different story lines, the two characters possess traits that exibit parallels between them. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth displays the startling passionate characteristics of an unwavering drive to seek out his foe, madness as his focus on his search takes over his entire being, and terrible anguish when his task is unexpectedly over, all of which are reflected in the daemon created at the hand of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein.