One of the greatest novelists in English literature, Joseph Conrad, once said that “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness” as a response to those who place the fault of humankind’s remorseful actions in evil entities, such as demons and devils. Furthermore, people will rely on the supernatural as a source to blame theirs or others disesteeming actions upon. For example, one may do this in order to mask the truth of his or her malfeasance, or do this as a way to explain an event of which they cannot fathom the motives of the offender. In the classic novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Conrad’s notion is proven to be true through the character Roger Chillingworth, who brings the capabilities of the wickedness of mankind into view and shows metaphysical evil to be superfluous.
In chapter 4, Chillingworth reveals one of his earliest signs of malevolence. After his delayed travel, Hester’s husband arrives in Boston to find Hester publicly disciplined on a scaffold for her conviction of adultery. Ashamed by his wife, he goes incognito as a doctor, taking the name “Rodger Chillingworth”. Now, it is the first opportunity Hester and Chillingworth have had to have a face to face communication with each other in two years. He visits her in prison to provide her with medical assistance, where he also construes his vengeance for the man his wife committed the affair with. He tells her, “Never, sayest thou?” rejoined he, with a smile of dark and self-relying intelligence. “Never know him! Believe me Hester, there are few things—whether in the outward world, or, to a certain depth, in the invisible sphere of thought—few things hidden from the man who devotes hi...
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...is still a man, having nothing to do with the supernatural. Moreover, the imagery Hawthorne contributes to this quote regarding “adding fuel to those fiery tortures” further sets a tone of the Devil. Since nothing demonic and super ordinary made Chillingworth the way he is, and he devised all of his nefarious plans by himself, one can come to the conclusion that
In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne confirms Joseph Conrad’s notion in that “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness”, to be true through the use of Hawthorne’s character, Rodger Chillingworth. Furthermore, one should own up to his or her actions, no matter how regrettable, and think reasonably when it comes to drawing conclusions. Instead of searching for blame, endeavor self reflection. Who is realistically a fault?
this quote is when Chillingworth pretends to be a doctor so he can talk to Hester. He wants Hester to be dishonest by saying her husband is dead so no one will know him. He does not want anyone to know he is the husband to a sinful woman which is hypocritical because since they are married they should share equal ownership and be there for one another. He also told her he would follow her to England but yet he never did. Deceitfulness is shown in his character making him a bigger hypocrite because it shows he lacks honesty and contradiction of his feelings.
“Not the less, he shall be mine.” {Pg.78} Chillingworth’s act of vengeance, slowly transformed his life into a life of endless obsession. A woman, named Hester who moves to Boston from England because of her husband named Chillingworth. Hester tells the colonists of Boston he will be arriving to be with her soon. Years go by and her husband doesn’t come. Hester becomes close with a man named Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant. The Puritans find out Hester has committed adultery but she doesn’t tell with whom. Hester husband finally comes to town and see Hester on the scaffold. Chilling...
“To the untrue man, the whole universe is false,--it is impalpable,--it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or, indeed, ceases to exist.” (Hawthorne 115) Throughout the hostile novel The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne used contrasting settings to represent opposed ideas that were central to the meaning of the work. Some have argued that when it came to the theme that secrets have a destructive effect on the secret-keeper and truth, by contrast, was natural, a character evaluation would best advocate these differences. However, two settings, Dimmesdale’s house and the secrets that lie within, and the scaffold representing the truth, better embody the adverse ideas posed by the point at issue.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the first American writers to pioneer the unprecedented and unforeseen gothic genre which resulted in the exposure of darker themes across America in the 19th century. This new genre sprouted the “brooding” romantics who revolved around the human’s capacity for evil as a main theme of their works. Being one of the “brooding” romantics, Hawthorne followed the Puritans’ belief that everyone is a sinner as a result of being a descendent of the Puritans associated with the infamous Salem witchcraft trials. Not only was he related to the despicable Puritans, but also, he had to live with the guilt that his dishonorable great-great grandfather, Judge Hathorne, was “the only one who refused to apologize for his role
Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of his society
Nathanial Hawthorne, an American author during the 19th century witnessed the power of sin to wreak havoc not only to an individual but a whole community. His novel The Scarlet Letter expresses this very idea by exposing the follies of mankind and the potentially detrimental effects of sin trough Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth who all affected by sin in different ways. Utilizing powerful symbols and light/dark imagery, Hawthorne conveys to the readers, through these characters, the power of how one’s response to sin can positively change an individual or gradually destroy one by spreading like a contagious disease and ultimately consuming the victim.
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
Chillingworth is not like the other characters of the novel The Scarlet Letter. He is a man that has no light within him or around him. Little Pearl describes him as a black man and warns her mother of him. “ “Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you!” ” (Hawthorne 92). Even his self description portrays that he is a dark person. Chillingworth’s smile is descried to be like it is conveying a secret and a fearful meaning as he smiles at Hester, passing her in the market place before the Election Sermon (Hawthorne 161). Chillingworth is full of vengeful darkness. The narrator of the novel states that, “at some inevitable moment, will the soul of the sufferer be dissolved, and flow forth in a dark, but transparent stream, bring all its mysteries into the daylight.” (Hawthorne 92). Throughout the entire novel, Roger Chillingworth tries to bring into the light all of the secrets that Hester Prynne is keeping. The darkness within him eventually kills
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.
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
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.
Throughout history, the effects of guilt on society have often prompted writers to express their emotions, beliefs, and ways they approach life through their literary works. While some authors use the concept of guilt to express their feelings and attract readers, other authors, like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, use the convention of guilt to teach the society a lesson. Like in Hawthorne?s ?Dr. Heidegger?s Experiment? and Poe?s ?The Masque of Red Death?, both authors employ the theme of guilt to teach a common lesson to the society that one cannot escape guilt. While Hawthorne primarily focuses on the idea of initiation in his story to teach that people cannot forget their guiltiness from their past, Poe utilizes the concept of alienation to teach that people must overcome their guilt, or else their guilt will plague them for the rest of their lives. However, both these concepts of initiation and alienation will later converge into a unified theme and lesson of guilt.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the reader is able to observe how one sin devastates three lives. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all guilty of succumbing to temptation, anger, and desire, causing all to fit the definition of a sinner. Yet, Chillingworth's iniquities raise him up above Hester and Dimmesdale on the level of diabolic acts.
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).
For example, on page 132 it says, “What evil have I done the man?...I tell thee...for my aid his life would have burned away in torments within the first two years after the perpetration of his crime and thine...his spirit lacked the strength that could have borne up, as thine has, beneath a burden like thy scarlet letter. Oh, I could reveal a goodly secret!...he now breathes and creeps about on earth is owing all to me!” Chillingworth believes that he’s didn’t do anything wrong and Dimmesdale would have been hopeless without him. He doesn’t realize that his actions were poisonous. What Chillingworth did was worsen Dimmesdale’s condition and was only able to get an exclusive view of Dimmesdale’s suffering. Chillingworth is a true antagonist as he wanted to witness Dimmesdale breaking down instead of “healing” him as he had