How Did Roger Chillingworth's Change In The Scarlet Letter

681 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Morality in scarlet letter

The Scarlet Letter a novel about a woman shunned by puritan society, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The author was successful in displaying puritan society because during Hawthorne's early life he grew up in a puritan society. Roger Chillingworth, originally a kind man, returns from captivity only to find his wife was with another man; which has led him into a deep state of darkness by his plans of revenge. Roger Chillingworth, is a caring man towards Hester while they meet in the jail. Roger Chillingworth shows compassion to Hester during their discussion at the jail by showing her forgiveness for her adultery, following Hester stating that she has wronged him, Chillingworth speaks of how they have wronged each other saying, “Therefore, …show more content…

With Chillingworth’s progression with the forces of evil it is shown in certain physical attributes such as his eyes; “the spectator could see his blackness ll the better for it. Ever and anon, too there came a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man’s soul were on fire, and kept on smouldering duskily within his breast, until, by some casual puff of passion, it was blown into a monetary flame.” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 116). This red fire in Chillingworth’s eyes show the hatred and darkness that is burning up inside of him from his vengeance. Hawthorne also takes the time to specifically point out Chillingworth’s transformation towards a devil by writing “... Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of a man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil…”(Hawthorne, 1994, p. 116). The significance of the translation of this quote shows that not only is Chillingworth an evil man, but also that he has made a transformation to his new form of evilness from his past. With Chillingworth’s slow change displaying evil within himself from his former displays of kindness in the …show more content…

Throughout the novel Chillingworth becomes an expert of torture. Chillingworth’s torment is so dreadful that he hopes to carry it out and spends a great length of time performing it making it seem like a curse on Dimmesdale “ Never did mortal suffer what this man has suffered. And all, all, in the sight of his worst enemy! He has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse.”(Hawthorne, 1994, pp. 117). This long term torment slowly tears down Arthur Dimmesdale ripping him apart especially due to the fact that he does not know who or what is tormenting him. This is shown to the reader during a conversation that Chillingworth takes part in with Hester where he says “ He knew, by some spiritual sense,—for the Creator never made another being so sensitive as this,—he knew that no friendly hand was pulling at his heart-strings, and that an eye was looking curiously into him, which sought only evil, and found it. But he knew not that the eye and hand were mine!”” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 118). Throughout the novel Chillingworth is shown in a downward spiral into darkness to seek revenge on Dimmesdale and succeeded at this

Show More
Related

  • The Scarlet Letter - Roger Chi

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dimmesdale. At first his expression had been calm, meditative, and scholar-like. "Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they [people of the town] had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him.'; (Chpt. 9, p. 155) While pretending to be Dimmesdale's trusted confidant and physician, Chillingworth is actually slaying him by means of medicine and mental torture.

    Read More

  • Chilling Chillingworth the Crook in The Scarlet Letter

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    [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).

    Read More

  • Chillingworth Villain Quotes

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chillingworth contributes to those of guilt and alienation. For example, Chillingworth expresses his own guilt through the ironic searching of Dimmesdale’s. “He had begun an investigation… with the severe and equal integrity of a judge, desirous of truth… instead of human passions and wrongs inflicted upon himself,” (Hawthorne 121). It is conspicuous that Chillingworth, being engrossed in finding the truth of Dimmesdale and his adultery, which he observed through victimizing him, inflicted his own sin upon himself. However, Chillingworth does not only inflict guilt upon himself, but on Dimmesdale as well. The observable effects are “his inward trouble [which] drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred,” (Hawthorne 136). These effects, which Dimmesdale puts blame on his inward trouble, or sin, is caused in part by the victimization of Chillingworth towards him. Hence, Chillingworth has altered Dimmesdale’s original, clergy-like practices to those that are a derivative of sin and guilt. A testament of inflicted alienation upon Dimmesdale is seen in evidence brought up prior, on page 128 of The Scarlet Letter, “… a bodily disease, which we look upon as a whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Demonic Actions

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a respected physician, Chillingworth was “a man of skill in all Christian modes of physical science, and li... ... middle of paper ... ... powerful grip over him, dies peacefully, and Chillingworth dies soon after. To plot revenge in any situation is harmful. Chillingworth’s plot of revenge brings the downfall of Dimmesdale, as well as his own.

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Internal Conflict In The Scarlet Letter

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The fact that revenge destroys both the victim and the seeker is another theme presented in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale is the victim of Chillingworth’s revenge upon Hester and whoever her lover happened to be. Dimmesdale, beside his self-inflicted harm was also not helped by the fact Chillingworth enjoyed watching him waste away. However, Chillingworth is also subject to this destiny as evidence by his change in the novel. Chillingworth was considered wise and aged in the beginning of the novel, although, later he is seen as being dusky and evil.

    Read More

  • Symbolization of Chillingworth as the Devil in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 Pitiless, to him, the Unforgiving!” The capitalization of the words "Pitiless" and "Unforgiving" confirm that Chillingworth is Satan in human form. Symbolically, on an additional, more perceptible note, Chillingworth steals one of Dimmesdale's gloves and drops it on the scaffold in the middle of the town. The sexton returns it to Dimmesdale saying, "Satan...

    Read More

  • How Does Roger Chillingworth Treat Pearl

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel The Scarlet letter was written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The author refers Roger Chillingworth as evil, Devil-like, and a fallen man who lost everything in society. Even though Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale is Pearl’s legitimate parents, Roger Chillingworth is the best guardian for Pearl because; he looks at Pearl like his own child, he was not intending to hurt Pearl from the beginning, and gave Pearl all his properties when he died therefore Pearl could have a better life.

    Read More

  • The Evil within Roger Chillingworth

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne represents a man of the name Roger Chillingworth who has suffered and subdued every pain a man can handle. His life starts out as a simple man married to a young women who goes by Hester Prynne, They are planning to move to the “New World” while as Hester Prynne ventures to the new world, Roger Chillingworth is wrapping things up back home. Hester awaits Roger’s arrival for two years and now is pronounced dead at sea. Hester is now faced with the guilt of adultery the ultimate sin and her lover Arthur Dimmesdale the minister of the church. Roger is then discovered alive and well being as he was captured by the native americans, and this is where Roger Chillingworth discoveries Hester Prynne with a strange infant in her arms.She was on a scaffold being presented with the sins she committed. As Roger heard the unbearable truth of her sins his heart was broken and seeked revenge for the father.

    Read More

  • Chillingworth as Hero of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter?

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is far too easy for a reader of The Scarlet Letter to simply brand Chillingworth as evil.  The reader must pay attention to the complexities of the position which Chillingworth is forced into to understand that he is not evil or bad, at least not completely.  Chillingworth is only  a human put into a terrible position which he reacts to.  In fact, it is not beyond reach to say that under his circumstances, Chillingworth was actually the hero, the protagonist; and Hester and Dimmesdale are the true villains.

    Read More

  • Roger Chillingworth Analysis Essay

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    The audience experiences Roger Chillingworth in a dramatic yet critical way to justify change and retribution in one character as the consequence of cloaking deep sin and secrets. When first introduced in the story, the narrator refers to Chillingworth as “known as a man of skill” (97) through the point of view of the people in the Puritan town of Salem. He is brought into the story when the town was in a time of need of a physician to help the sickly Reverend Dimmesdale; his arrival is described as an “opportune arrival” because God sent a “providential hand” to save the Reverend. Society views Chillingworth as though as “heaven had wrought an absolute miracle” (97). The narrator feels when Chillingworth arrives in Salem he is good and has no intention of harm of others. Perhaps if the crime of the story had not been committed he would have less sin and fewer devils like features. Although this view of Chillingworth changes quickly, it presents the thought of how Chillingworth is before sin destroys him. Quickly after Chillingworth discovers Dimmesdale’s secret, his features and his character begin to change. The narrator’s attitude changes drastically towards the character from altering his ideas of the kind and intelligent persona to an evil being by using phrases such as “haunted by Satan himself” (101). The narrator portrays the people of the town believing Chillingworth is taking over the ministers soul in the statement “the gloom and terror in the depths of the poor minister’s eyes” (102). Throughout the book, Chillingworth ages exceedingly and rapidly. At the very end of the story, the narrator reveals another change in Chillingworth’s character; he searches for redemption by leaving Pearl a fortune a “very considerable amount of property” (203). By doing this, it shows

    Read More

  • Revenge in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Justice Explored in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme Hawthorne builds up in Chillingworth is not simply his pain and torment. It is a more important representation of the weakness in the values of the people in Puritan times, and how their perseverance for "justice" skewed their views on life and forgiveness. Because of his mindset, Chillingworth torments himself with his goal to destroy Dimmesdale just as much as Dimmesdale tortures himself for their seven years together. Chillingworth is ruining his own life and does not realize it, because he no longer sees the value in life as he tries to ruin one.

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Names In The Scarlet Letter

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also meaning that he has committed adultery with Chillingworth’s wife. Chillingworth is taking advantage of the poor mental and physical health of the Reverend for the purpose of getting justice and revenge on the man whom his wife cheated on him with. On numerous occasions, Chillingworth torments Dimmesdale by mentioning and “beating-around-the-bush” of the idea that Pearl is his daughter. He even goes to the malicious action of physically tearing apart Dimmesdale, and maybe even killing him, with “magic and poisonous drugs” (Hawthorne 234). By the torture of Dimmesdale’s spiritual and bodily states, Chillingworth’s cold-hearted nature parallels with his negatively connotated

    Read More

  • Sins of Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter

    2123 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about How Did Roger Chillingworth's Change In The Scarlet Letter

Open Document