In Puritan Society, those who committed acts against God and man were seen as evil and immoral. These acts ranged from adultery to murder to petty theft. The Puritans did not discriminate - sin of any nature was evil and deserved to be punished. Roger Chillingworth committed moral and mortal sins during his time in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Chillingworth psychologically tortured Reverend Dimmesdale, and watched him suffer for seven years. He constantly tormented Hester, and slowly began to change into a demonic figure, both emotionally and physically. His quest to discover and expose the man who sinned alongside Hester drove him insane. However, his descent into madness was not unwarranted. Chillingworth was not born evil, he just lacked …show more content…
the emotional strength to be an impartial 3rd party in exposing his wife’s lover. Chillingworth had been betrayed by Hester, and was extremely hurt. Through the full presentation of the character of Roger Chillingworth, readers see he was not born evil, and that extenuating circumstances led to his demonic downfall, allowing readers to be more sympathetic towards Chillingworth than they otherwise would be. In the beginning of the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes that Roger Chillingworth was not born evil.
Upon first meeting Hester in jail, Chillingworth poses as a doctor and cares for Hester and Pearl. Chillingworth admits he knew that Hester never loved him, and that he believes he is, in part, responsible for Hester’s sins. Chillingworth believed that Hester was a beautiful young girl, and acknowledges that he had been “misshapen since birth”, and knows she was forced into a loveless marriage with him. He blames himself for being unable to satisfy Hester’s needs, and says that they are even. Chillingworth’s acceptance and forgiveness of Hester’s sins establishes him as a sympathetic character prior to his evil doings. If Chillingworth was not born as an inherently evil man, his sins must have come from extenuating circumstances. While Chillingworth forgives Hester, he states he will discover the man who has wronged them both, and that “there is a sympathy that will make [Dimmesdale] conscious of [Chillingworth]. It is Chillingworth’s inability to forgive the man who impregnated Hester that truly began his psychological unravelling. Chillingworth was not born with nor did he enter the Massachusetts Bay Colony with evil …show more content…
intent. Chillingworth spent the majority of his life rather lonely.
He married Hester in a feeble attempt to soothe the loneliness that lived inside him. While he understood that Hester never loved him, he felt betrayed regardless. Whilst in the jail, he expresses to Hester that his heart was a “habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire”, and all he wanted was someone to love him. This confession allows readers to understand that while Hester never loved Chillingworth, Chillingworth did love her. The betrayal from a loved one can be enough to make even the sanest of men deranged. Hester’s affair also made it so Chillingworth felt as though he could not be seen with her, lest he would be judged harshly by his peers. He lived in the colony alone, “without other introduction than the learning and intelligence of which he possessed more than a common measure.” Chillingworth was forced to live alone in a foreign land, knowing only the woman who betrayed him and the child she bore. His new quest to find the father of that child was all he knew, and drove him to a psychotic
break. Roger Chillingworth had studied herbal remedies among Native American tribes, and had studied traditional medicine in Europe. He was a highly scholarly man. Due to his strictly academic nature, he was very unfamiliar with his own emotions. Chillingworth knew he was ignored the fact that he was in a loveless marriage for years. Chillingworth had denied the emotionally aspect of his life for too long, and was incapable of remaining rational “with the severe and equal integrity of a judge” when investigating a crime of lust that resulted in a direct “wrong infliction upon himself”. Chillingworth’s determination and obsession with uncovering the man who wronged him drove him to the brink. Chillingworth was unable to view Dimmesdale in a rational light, as he was far too consumed with his own emotions. He was far too emotional, and not cerebral. However, Chillingworth truly believed he would be able to discover the man and treat as an equal. It was Chillingworth’s lack of emotional intelligence that drove him to be evil. Without the full illustration of Chillingworth’s character, it is easy to write him off a completely immoral being. Chillingworth’s psychological torture of Reverend Dimmesdale that eventually led to both of their untimely deaths can be argued as an evil act, but it was not unpredictable. Chillingworth was not born an evil man, he was made into an evil man by his wife’s betrayal and his lack of emotional intellect. Chillingworth is not only a villain in this story, he is also a victim. The description of his life with Hester proves he has always been a lonely and rather sad man, and he thought his intelligence would make up for his emotional unavailability. Chillingworth died shortly after Reverend Dimmesdale, and he never truly did find happiness. His life was marked by “the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge”. The shame and loneliness and anger was far too much for Chillingworth to bear. Without the full presentation of his character, he would only serve as an antagonist and a ‘black man’, the Puritan name for Satan. It is thanks to his backstory readers understand that his evil was not born, but made. Chillingworth was a deeply disturbed character whose only life goal was circled around revenge brought upon by a deep loneliness and a lack of emotional understanding. Hawthorne established Chillingworth as a sympathetic character by demonstrating that even pure intelligence and impartiality, when thrown into the crucible of human emotions, is subjected to corruption because man, ultimately, is a sinner.
Roger Chillingworth’s suffering arose from a domino effect that he had no control of. Roger was merely a casualty of a sin that he had no partake in, but it turned his life upside down for the worse. The big punch that started Roger’s suffering was the affair between Hester and Dimmesdale. His suffering from this event was unlike the suffering it caused Hester and Dimmesdale as they suffered for their own sin, but Roger Chillingworth did not suffer from his own sin. Roger’s suffering comes directly from his own wife having a child with another man, an event he had no say or action in: “his young wife, you see, was left to mislead herself” (Hawthorne 97). Left all by herself Roger’s wife, Hester, mislead herself as no one was there to watch
Also Chillingworth tries very hard to find out who her secret lover is and even tries asking Hester. “‘ Thou wilt not reveal his name? Not the less he is mine,’ resumed he , with a look of confidence , as if destiny were at one with him” ( Hawthorne 70). This quote says that Chillingworth tries to ask Hester who her secret lover is and even though she refuses to answer him, he feels confident that he will find out. This means that Chillingworth is going to harm her secret lover after he finds him. Therefore he will do whatever he can to torture him and get his
Reflecting on these events, he turned his back on them when they stood on the scaffolding in the beginning, when he went to give Pearl a kiss on her forehead, and during the middle of the night after Hester and him talked. Unlike Dimmesdale, Chillingworth expresses no remorse whatsoever. Both men are well-educated as pastors and the other as doctors. These men seem to resemble both sides of the human society. The lack of faith is that Dimmesdale is a pastor and therefore must believe that God is in control and that his heavenly riches are better than anything else that can be offered to him.
Years ago, Hester promised Chillingworth to keep his identity a secret, thus allowing him to do evil to Dimmesdale. Chillingworth believes that it was his fate to change from a kind man to a vengeful fiend. He believes that it’s his destiny to take revenge and thus would not stop until he does so.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne constantly attributes the qualities of a thief to the mysteriously shady character, Roger Chillingworth. Throughout the novel, we see that regardless of who he is around, or where he is, he is repeatedly referred to countless of times as ?the old Black Man? (131). This nickname that he is given displays quite evidently that Hawthorne had no doubt intended for Chillingworth to assume the role of a cold, and shadowy personage akin to that of a lowly thief. As thieves are well known for and need to be, they are usually silent, stealthy, and more often than not, baffling, in the sense that no one else knows their cunningness and what they really are thinking of when they commit their crimes. These attributes match up directly to Roger?s personality, and throughout the novel, we see that he gradually grows to become the exact impersonation of a thief. The below examples serve to demonstrate these similarities. In the first few chapters, all the way to the tenth chapter, the reader suspects that Chillingworth has a hidden motive in tagging along as Arthur Dimmesdale?s physician. However, toward the end of chapter eleven, we realize that the mysterious Chillingworth was not simply following Dimmesdale around to hear in on other people?s confessions but also to spy on the reverend minister and his activities! After a period of time, the physician digs up something from Dimmesdale?s past that we are not aware of just yet. However, the reaction which we see upon Chillingworth?s face after his discovery is curious indeed, with him ?
When the reader first meets Roger Chillingworth standing watching Hester on the scaffold, he says that he wishes the father could be on the scaffold with her. “‘It irks me, nevertheless, that the partner of her iniquity should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side” (46). At this point, Chillingworth wishes that Mr. Dimmesdale was also receiving the sort of shame Hester is being put through. Throughout the first few chapters of the novel, however, Chillingworth’s motives become more and more malicious. By the time Chillingworth meets Hester in her prison cell, he has decided to go after Mr. Dimmesdale’s soul. Chillingworth turns to this goal because Mr. Dimmesdale did not endure Hester’s shame on the scaffold. Had Mr. Dimmesdale chosen to reveal himself at the time of Hester’s shame, he would not have had to endure the pain of Roger Chillingworth’s tortures of his soul.
Chillingworth states, “What should ail me to harm this misbegotten and miserable babe? The medicine is potent for good.” (4:42) Although Hester believes that Chillingworth may be trying to poison Pearl, she allows him to administer the medicine to her. Shortly thereafter, the novel states that “it soon proved its efficacy, and redeemed the leech’s pledge.” (4:42) This is a direct affirmation from the book that Chillingworth was helping Pearl and Hester. His resentment is directed towards Dimmesdale, as he is the one who caused Hester to have an affair. However, even in his insanity, he was still able to help Pearl. This further shows that he has a good character, and that the only thing causing his bad temper is his distress over Hester’s
Chillingworth is trying to convince Dimmesdale not to confess he’s Hester’s lover because he’s afraid of losing his source of power. Once Dimmesdale refuses Chillingworth and confesses to everyone, “Old Roger Chillingworth knelt down beside him, with a blank, dull countenance, out of which the life seemed to have deported.” (Hawthorne p. 251) Chillingworth feels worthless and becomes lifeless once Dimmesdale confesses. It’s as if Chillingworth’s soul (or whatever was left of it) left his body and he became nothing. Chillingworth allowed his obsession to consume him so much that once he lost that source, he lost his life. After Dimmesdale’s death, Chillingworth shrivelled away because he no longer felt a need to stay. He’s described as, “This unhappy man [who] had made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge, and when… there was no more devil’s work on earth for him to do, it only remained for the unhumanized mortal to betake himself whither his Master would find him tasks enough…” (Hawthorne p. 254) Chillingworth was wrapped in a cloak of corruption, and once his revenge was finished, he felt unfulfilled and empty. He allowed his obsession to become his only aspect in
This strategy exemplifies Hawthorne’s theme that sin must be taken responsibility for because being dishonest will only lead to more temptation. Chillingworth does admit to one of his blames of leaving Hester behind, but choosing his temptation over redemption has formed his obsession to making Hester lover’s suffer miserably with guilt, which fuels Roger’s vengeance. Secondly, Chillingworth’s internal conflict was illustrated through the changing of his appearance. Roger was once a kind, well respected, man of science; However, his vengeance has transformed his physical character into a devilish creature. When Hester and Pearl were visiting Governor’s Bellingham’s house, Hester notices the change over Roger’s features, “how much uglier they were, how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure misshapen” (93).
Hester and Chillingworth were married before the beginning of the novel. Chillingworth, previous to his marriage, was a completely introvert man. "I - a man of thought - the bookworm of great libraries - a man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge... I came out of the vast and dismal forest and entered this settlement of Christian men, the very first object to meet my eyes would be thyself, Hester Prynne...." (52-53)
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in a 1600’s, religious town in Massachusetts. Due to the strict religious code of this town, Reverend Dimmesdale, the well-respected priest in the town, can not find the courage to reveal his adultery to the townspeople. Roger Chillingworth is angry about Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair and seeks to take revenge on the Reverend. Although they suffer the effects of different sins, they both struggle to find absolution for their sins. Hawthorne's diction and internal conflict show that no matter the negative effects of one sins one can still find redemption in oneself and the world around them.
From the very moment Chillingworth is introduced, he is deceitful towards the Puritan society. Chillingworth appears in the novel, seeming to know nothing of the scene at the scaffold. He asks of a townsperson: "...who is this woman? - and wherefore is she here to set up to public shame?" (Hawhtorne 67). Yet, we find in the next chapter that he indeed knows who Hester is, because Chillingworth is the lawful husband of her. He decieves the people of Boston to avoid the humiliation his wife brought upon him. In this respect, Chillingworth sins against the eight commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour" (Gerber 26).
In a town full of Puritan believers, three sinners arose: Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth (Prynne). The three all defied the Puritan God, and lived to face their consequences. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sins were closely tied, but Chillingworth 's was of a vastly different nature. Hester 's sin was adultery, as she had cheated on her husband Chillingworth. Likewise, Dimmesdale 's sin was sexual immorality. He knowingly had relations with Hester, a married woman. Generally, their sins are more tame in nature, as it was a consensual relationship, and did no harm. Dimmesdale also sinned against his God. He hid and lied by omission while publicly preaching about the dangers of lying. His sin of hypocrisy did no harm to others, but created distrust in his
...seemed at once to desert him; in somuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun. This unhappy man had made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systemic exercise of revenge; and when by its completest triumph and consummation, that evil principle was left with no further material to support it, when in short, there was no more Devil’s work on earth for him to do, it only remained for the unhumanized mortal to betake himself wither his Master would find him tasks enough, and pay him his wages duly”. It is almost as if Hawthorne and wrote him to be a picture of the devil so that there would be some kind of antagonist in the story that knew the whole story between Hester and Dimmesdale. This is why Chillingworth is the greatest sinner in the story.
As the novel progressed, Chillingworth fits the profile of ‘vengeance destroys the avenger’. When Roger Chillingworth is first introduced to the reader, we see a kind old man, who just has planted the seeds for revenge. Although he did speak of getting his revenge, when Hester first met her husband in her jail cell, she did not see any evil in him. Because Hester would not tell him who she had slept with, Chillingworth vowed that he would spend the rest of his life having his revenge and that he would eventually suck the soul out of the man, whom she had the affair with. “There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares” (Hawthorne, 101) As the novel develops, Roger Chillingworth has centered himself on Arthur Dimmesdale, but he cannot prove that he is the “one.” Chillingworth has become friends with Dimmesdale, because he has a “strange disease,” that needed to be cured; Chillingworth suspects something and begins to drill Dimmesdale. “… The disorder is a strange one…hath all the operation of this disorder been fairly laid open to me and recounted to me” (Hawthorne, 156).