Why Is Chillingworth Not Forgiven

Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale.

The book of Proverbs 28:13 says ,“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” This quote explains that anyone who keeps in their sin will continue to guilt and torture themselves by doing so. Hawthorne uses many different forms of imagery and allusions to show the significance of hidden sin. The reader can see how Hawthorne uses sin to change his character's physical and mental state. There were three characters he changed throughout the book: Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth.

Hester Prynne along with Reverend Dimmesdale are is forgiven because their “conscience” seems to have forgiven them. Pearl, who symbolizes their “conscience” kissed Dimmesdale on the lips after he confessed his sins to everyone. “Dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thou wouldst not yonder, in the forest! But now thou wilt?” This shows that he believes Pearl would only acknowledge him if he had confessed his sins to all and not just her. Therefore, he believes that Pearl contains the gateway to forgiveness with God, if he can get her to forgive him then he is forgiven. Owing to the fact that Pearl cried when

While he was wronged by Chillingworth, he is to blame for perpetuating his cycle of guilt and despair. He had the opportunity to stop his cycle of dismay in the seven years of pearl’s birth and his death. I know “more than once, Dimmesdale had gone into the pulpit, with a purpose to never come down from its steps” and if her had confessed it would have relived his guilt and lessen his blame (99). His guilty conscience led to his own demise. This moral battle prevents him from revealing his sins causing an “A” to imprint on his chest, hidden from the world, while mine was out for the world to judge. While he tried to repent he never fully came to terms like I did. However, he has forgiveness unlike Chillingworth. During the conversation I had with Dimmesdale I revealed to him that Chillingworth is my husband and Dimmesdale told me “I do forgive you Hester” (135). Dimmesdale has goodness in his heart and knows the wrong he has done so the blame placed upon him is inadvertent due to his character. Even when Dimmesdale died he knew both had to pay for the sin that was “so awfully revealed” upon his death, he had fate he now could be

When Pearl kisses Dimmesdale, it was as if he had forgiven himself. Later, it shows as if the people had forgiven Dimmesdale for his actions, for they buried Hester next to him. Dimmesdale couldn't forgive himself unless the cause of his guilt forgave him as well. For his guilt/conscience to forgive him, he had to own up to his sin. I believe God has also forgiven Dimmesdale.

      Mankind is prone to some degree of sin. A question that has always plagued mankind is how one can achieve redemption from sin. Any sin becomes compounded when the perpetrator does not take responsibility for it. In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, perhaps the greatest sinner was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Although characters like Hester and Dimmesdale manage to rise above their sin, Chillingworth loses himself in it until there is no more to him than revenge. As he loses his humanity and tries to take Dimmesdale’s, Chillingworth becomes a more demon-like figure. Pearl, who is very perceptive, calls him Satan, “yonder old Black Man” (92), and he takes on devilish characteristics like “a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man’s soul were on fire”

“ Yonder woman, sir you must know, was the wife of a certain learned English man”. Chillingworth remains unforgiven because he knew sending Hester alone and not coming right after her was wrong. Chillingworth knew that the people would also blame him for what happened between Hester and Dimmesdale so he made his fake identity, Roger Chillingworth,

Chillingsworth came back for revenge on Dimmesdale and Hester because she had an affair with him. This shows the theme of the book, how sin affects one another and how we choose to handle it. Chillingsworth is on the receiving end of another person’s sin and in return he handles it the negative way. His motives are strictly to find pleasure in another person’s pain in order to feel some sort of justice for the initial hurt he felt. Later he finds that revenge is not the solution, because Dimmesdale found his own different solution for his pain in a way that didn't affect others. He confessed his sins in front of the whole community without any regard to the public shame he will immediately receive. This worked for him because it was a way to lighten his weight and clean his heart. This is a fault in our society because we spend so much time making life harder for others, believing it will make us feel better when in reality it only makes matters worse for everyone. We need to remember how each act of cruelty can affect another person, and just like the theme of The Scarlet Letter, the impact upon others all depends on how you choose to handle your own reactions. Anything can happen to us in this world, and sin is expected since we are fallen creatures, the only thing we have control over is how we choose to react to every event. You can be positive like Dimmesdale and look for a every chance of recovery or you can take your anger out on others, like

Puritans believed that few are chosen by God to be saved and that only God is the one that knows who are saved and who are not. They believe that if they live a humble life during their time on earth, they will have higher chance of going into Heaven. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces three main characters who have committed a sin. Out of Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, in the view of Puritan’s belief of sin, Chillingworth is the guiltiest sinner of all because according to Puritan’s belief, sin is unforgivable if the sinner does not repent even to their death.

The sin between Hester and Dimmesdale affected the whole town, but has affected Chillingworth more. Chillingworth in the beginning of the book has been pronounced dead, but he is, in reality not dead. He comes back to the town with Hester as she is getting punished for committing adultery. Chillingworth later talks to Hester in the prison to try and get the information of who Pearl’s father is. In this scene he asks Hester to not reveal that he, her husband, is alive. Chillingworth then swears to get revenge on whoever has committed the sin with Hester. We know that Chillingworth was not the best husband to Hester. He ignored his wife when they were together, as well as, he expected Hester to love him back even if he did nothing that

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the readers are able to notice how a single sin is capable of destroying three perfectly good lives. Chillingworth, Hester, and Dimmesdale are all guilty of submitting to, anger, and ambition, causing all to qualify as a sinner. Chillingworth’s sinfulness ways put him higher up than Hester and Dimmesdale on the scale of their evil acts. From the instant Chillingworth is introduced, he is dishonest with the Puritan society. Chillingworth is portrayed as though he doesn't know any kind of thing that may have gone on at scaffold. He asks one of the puritans: “…who is this woman? – and wherefore is she here to set up to public shame?” (Hawthorne 67). We learn in the following chapter that he does however

The concept of sin and redemption is one that many people interpret differently. In “The Scarlet Letter,” Arthur Dimmesdale, a reverend who committed adultery with a woman named Hester Prynne, found his own opinions of sin and redemption to change as he underwent his process of moving past his own mistakes. Although Dimmesdale initially argues that sins may be redeemed through publicly admitting fault of all parties involved and facing earthly punishment, he ultimately comes to suggest that repentance through a divine figure is the true path to redemption. In his first speech from the pulpit, Dimmesdale makes an argument that one is able to redeem himself through a public admission of sin.

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

Dwight L. Moody once said, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” Moody implies that when people truly have faith in God and the bible, they will be protected from sin. On the flip side, he says that those who sin cannot faithfully believe in the word of God. The characters in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, such as Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth relate to that quote in various ways. The characters each have their own battle with sin involving their relationship with God. The theme of The Scarlet Letter is that though sin can be forgotten, it can never be really forgiven.