Despite Hester Prynne’s role as the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth’s never-ending obsession and merciless evil create conflict. Chillingworth’s obsession constantly generates hostility between him and other characters. In chapter 4, The Interview, Hester, the woman who wears a Scarlet Letter for committing adultery, and Chillingworth talk alone for the first time since he has come from England about how they had both wronged each other. As Chillingworth asks Hester to identify the father of her daughter, Pearl, Hester vows that he will never know. Chillingworth responds angrily, “…I come to the inquest with other senses than they possess. I shall seek this man…Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!” …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Chillingworth dedicates all of his time to discovering the identity of the man that Hester will not reveal. Later in the book in chapter 10, The Leech and His Patient, Chillingworth tries to force Dimmesdale, a young, sick clergyman with whom Chillingworth lives and cares for, to confess that he is the father, repeatedly, because his suspicions lead to Dimmesdale as Pearl’s father. Dimmesdale asks Chillingworth where he had gathered certain herbs from, and Chillingworth responds that he plucked them from a grave where a person died without confessing his sins. Chillingworth then goes on to ask Dimmesdale for a confession of sins because the weeds sprang out of evil. A couple of pages later, Chillingworth asks Dimmesdale if he has anything that he wants to disclose. This scene depicts Chillingworth’s obsession with finding the true father of Pearl. Chillingworth could have hinted at Dimmesdale to confess just once and then stop since Dimmesdale did not divulge any secrets. However, he repeatedly tries to get Dimmesdale to confess throughout the remainder of the …show more content…
In chapter 4, The Interview, Chillingworth touches the Scarlet Letter on Hester’s breast while telling her that she should drink his medicine. Hester hesitates to drink the medicine because she thinks it might contain poison, but Chillingworth assures her that the concoction will not kill her because shame punishes her more than dying. Chillingworth seems to find pleasure in causing Hester pain: “As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester’s breast, as if it had been red-hot. He noticed her involuntary gesture, and smiled” (68). Chillingworth’s touch of the Scarlet Letter reminds Hester of her bad deeds. Burning is associated with wickedness; therefore, his touch burning Hester implies Chillingworth’s evilness. He also notices that Hester jumps back from his touch, and smiles. Chillingworth’s amusement at burning Hester creates tension and conflict between him and Hester that prevails throughout the book. In addition, characters call Chillingworth names synonymous to the devil multiple times throughout the novel, continuing people’s suspicion about his identity. Also in chapter 4, The Interview, Hester responds to Chillingworth’s mocking of her Scarlet Letter: “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?” (72). The Black Man means either the Devil’s
Hester Prynne is a character who gave up everything, even love, for her child. Hester Prynne sacrificed her peace, her beauty, her entire being for her child and this shows her determination and profound understanding of the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece, “The Scarlet Letter” shows the other side of the sinner’s story and not as a villain, but a victim.
Hester Prynne, the protagonist in the book The Scarlet Letter, has committed the sin of adultery, but learned to use that mistake as a form of strength. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, sent her to America and was supposed to follow her, but never arrived in Boston. While Hester was waiting on Chillingworth, she had an affair with the town minister, Dimmesdale. As a result, Hester gave birth to a beautiful daughter and was forced to wear the scarlet
In The Scarlet Letter, the main characters Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale are tangled in a web of deceit, which is the result of a sin as deadly as the Grimm Reaper himself: adultery. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, describes the feeling of deceit using the main characters; for each of the cast the reaction to the deceit is different, thus the reader realizes the way a person reacts to a feeling differs between each character.
Roger Chillingworth’s main internal conflict was his personal revenge towards Arthur Dimmesdale. Roger is a dynamic character who changes from being a caring and mindful doctor to a dark creature enveloped in retaliation. His character possesses a clear example of the result when a person chooses sin by letting his vengeance get the better of him. For example, Roger constantly asks Hester to tell him who has caused her punishment. As Roger visits Hester at the prison, he is determined to find out who Hester’s lover was, “...few things hidden from the man, who devotes himself earnestly and unreservedly to the solution of mystery” (64).
[having] a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror? (135) at the same time. Hawthorne goes further beyond this description by comparing this sudden outburst of emotion to Satan?s ecstasy by saying that the only factor which ?distinguished [Chillingworth?s] ecstasy from Satan?s was the trait of wonder in it? (135). As the reader delves deeper into the book, we come to the conclusion that Dimmesdale is indeed the father of Pearl, the product of the horrendous sin consummated through Dimmesdale?s and Hester?s illicit affair. This point brings us back to Chillingworth?s reaction to realizing this earlier at the end of chapter ten. Although this shocking news explains why Chillingworth might have been angry or horrified, it does not clarify why Chillingworth did not attempt to murder or poison Dimmesdale whilst he had the chance, especially since the reader knows from a point made by Chillingworth earlier in the book, that after Chillingworth had sought out the man who had an affair with his Hester, he would have his long sought-after revenge (73).
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.
Letter, Hester Prynne mentions that never loves Roger Chillingworth, (Hawthorne 63). As a consequence, in Hester Prynne’s eyes, her marriage is a false relationship. But afterwards, when her husband hides the reality of their relati...
In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne vividly displays to the reader that Hester's decision to keep Roger Chillingworth's identity was a foolish miscalculation. Hester's Judgment of preserving Chillingworth's identity causes and concludes disorder throughout the Scarlet Letter. The disorder caused by Hester Prynne'a unwise decisions provides firm evidence that Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne's husband, is the antagonist in the Scarlet Letter because of his true intentions of concealing his true identity. Since Hester Prynne helped Roger Chillingworth contain his true identity, she paid the price later on for her choice she made. The outcome of her choice effects Arthur Dimesdale, Pearl, the community of Salem, and herself. In the final analysis, Hester shouldn't have kept Roger Chillingworth's identity hidden because her choice
She was condemned to wearing a scarlet “A” on her breast to remind her of the sin. Receiving this information from a stranger, Prynne’s face contorts with a dark emotion as he motions to Hester to keep his identity a secret- “He slowly and calmly raised his finger… and laid it to his lips” (Hawthorne 57). He later clarifies his meaning when visiting Hester in jail under the guise of her physician- “Breathe not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband!” (Hawthorne 71). Prynne is steadfast in his decision to conceal himself to exact revenge on Hester’s unknown lover. Noting the signs in Rev. Dimmesdale that indicate he harbors a secret, Prynne assumes the identity of Roger Chillingworth, gifted physician, and gets close to him. Chillingworth uses the
In “The Scarlet Letter,” the main character Hester get punished for adultery. In the beginning, she thought that her husband has died so she fell in love with Dimmesdale. However, her husband did not die and came back. Her husband, Chillingworth, later finds out that Hester has a secret lover. Therefore tried to find out who he is. At first Chillingworth does not reveal himself as Hester’s husband because she was being punished for adultery and he did not want to be ashamed. Later he tries to find out Hester’s secret lover by asking her but she will not tell him which makes him for desperate and angry. When he finds out that the secret lover is Dimmesdale, he finds out a secret about Dimmesdale.
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne's first interaction with Roger Chillingworth in Massachusetts occurs whilst she standing on the platform of ignominy. Chillingworth, her husband, as if “dropping down, as it were, out of the sky, or starting from the nether earth,” suddenly appeared after a lengthy disappearance, having sent his wife to the Bay Colony ahead of himself. Ironically, Chillingworth appears at the exact moment when Hester is carrying Pearl in her arms, baring her to the Colony. As the reader is introduced to Pearl and Chillingworth, it seems that Pearl’s character traits derive little foundation from her genetic father, but are rather similar to Hester’s perception of Chillingworth. Hester, cognizant or
While Hester tries to protect Dimmesdale by not giving the name of Pearl's father, she actually condemns him to a long road of suffering, self torture and disappointment. She does this by letting him keep the sin he committed in secret while he watches her being publicly punished. Chillingworth observes Dimmesdale's desire to confess, as well as his lack of willpower to do so. Dimmesdale rationalizes not confessing; all the while Chillingworth is torturing with constant reminders of his hypocrisy. Hester never voluntarily confesses to committing adultery, and never feels any remorse for it. Her public punishment comes not as a result of her having any contrition, but rather her apparent pregnancy. She stays in the town to be close to Dimmesdale, as a reader would find on page 84, "There dwelt...the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union..." She also stays in town to convince others, as well as herself, that she is actually regretful for her sin even though she knows in her heart she is not. She does this to appease her guilt. As Hawthorne puts it on page 84, "Here...had been the scene of her guilt...
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.