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The scarlet letter critical interpretation
Critically analyse The Scarlet Letter
Critically analyse The Scarlet Letter
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The contexts of a person’s soul consistently reflects on their outward appearance. Since the moment, he enters the Puritan town in Boston, Rodger Chillingworth is characterized as a symbol of the devil. As the antagonist of the novel, Chillingworth’s vengeful heart is the origin of his unattractive outward appearance. His deformed appearance and demonic, mysterious power contrasts vastly to the protagonist Hester’s beauty. In the beginning of the novel, Chillingworth is deemed as an intelligent and principled man, but as the novel progresses he dissolves into a vengeful fiend. Hawthorne reveals this through Chillingworth’s physiognomy which deteriorates throughout the novel. Rodger Chillingworth obtains a favorable first impression as an asset …show more content…
His physical stature is slightly deformed which represents his tainted soul “one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other… the slight deformity of the figure, “(Hawthorn 58). This symbolizes that Chillingworth has a darker side which has remained dormant inside of him. As his time in the town increases even the townspeople, who hold him of the highest regard, begin to notice that something inside Chillingworth begins to change “calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy,” (Hawthorn 129). His transformation first begins in his mind where dark thoughts flood, corrupting him and making his wife’s betrayal an obsession. Chillingworth always has had these feelings buried within him but, it took a dramatic event to unleash his vindictive personality. His physiognomy deteriorates along with his mental health “old Rodger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty transforming himself into the devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil’s office,” (Hawthorn 156). Since Chillingworth has been spending seven years lurking in the shadows doing devious tasks he is modeling himself to be the devil. This obsession of …show more content…
When Chillingworth learns that Dimmesdale was the man who commits the adulteress act with his wife he becomes fixated on getting revenge. His thirst for revenge was the only objective on his mind “This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence,” (Hawthorn 157). Due to his fixation on revenge Chillingworth’s physical features have declined as he is now appearing as a mere replica of the devil as he begins embracing the evil that lurks within him. Dimmesdale has no other objectives each day besides causing chaos and this takes a toll on his body. After Dimmesdale delivers his sermon Chillingworth attempts to stop Hester and Dimmesdale from sharing the truth about their relationship in fear that they become happier than him. As Chillingworth rushes to the marketplace and his appearance is noted as he “thrust himself through the crowd, --or perhaps, so dark, disturbed, and evil was his look, he rose out of another region, --to snatch back his victim from what he sought to do!,” (235). Now, there is no point of return for Chillingworth not a glimpse of his previous self can be found in the fiend standing in the marketplace. The devil has crawled into his heart clutching it, causing his physical
position later in the book. His back is deformed, and one shoulder is higher than the other, giving him a hunchbacked appearance. Chillingworth is not physically attractive and very slender. His eyes have a 'strong, penetrating power,'; (Chpt. 10, p. 157) and he is a loner. 'Old Roger Chillingworth, throughout life, had been calm in temperament, kindly, though not of warm affections, but ever, and in all his relations with the world, a pure and upright man.'; (p. 157, Chpt. 10) He enjoys studying and the pursuit of knowledge.
Roger Chillingworth's features begin to display his inward deformities externally as the novel progresses due to his attempts at finding the man who violated his marriage. When he is first seen in the novel, "there was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself and become manifest by unmistakable tokens." He also has a left shoulder which is slightly higher than the right originally, which only gets more ugly and misshapen with the rest of his body. Chillingworth then takes up residence with Dimmesdale and begins his quest to punish the minister and find out the true identity of this man. After he begins his quest the townspeople observe "something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him.” Soon his wife, Hester, finds "the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished and been succeeded by an eager searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look."
[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).
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
Secondly, Chillingworth’s actions were motivated by hate and a lust for revenge that overpowered him in the end. Therefore an awful change must have taken place in the doctor since “human nature loves more readily than it hates” (156). The actions of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth were all motivated by a deep passion for one thing or another. However, the difference in their actions was that the adulteress and the minister acted out of love for each other while her husband acted out of anger and jealousy. Also, the physician underwent such a change that “there came a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man’s soul were on fire, and kept smoldering duskily within his breast” (166). Eventually Chillingworth’s heart became so twisted and contorted that there were very noticeable differences in his personality.
Hester, talking with Chillingworth for the first time in seven years, is shocked at the changes in his appearance and his soul. Hawthorne writes, “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 it was blown into a momentary flame” (132). Chillingworth has become overtaken by his quest for revenge, and he has become a shell of his former self, “A striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil” (Hawthorne 132). He has ruined his life trying to get back at Arthur Dimmesdale, and he is resigned to the fact that it is his fate to live as a miserable, evil man set on exacting
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...
When Roger meets with Hester in the prison, he tells her, “I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee… the scale hangs fairly balanced” (Hawthorne 70). Chillingworth shows kindness towards Hester and accepts that it is partially his fault that she was not faithful. This act of forgiveness seemed to have taken all the light out of him, because from this point forward, his life was consumed with darkness. When Hawthorne describes Chillingworth, he says, “there was something ugly and evil in his face…haunted either by Satan himself, or Satan’s emissary” (117). Chillingworth was the antagonist of the story because he let the evil take over. By letting his life be consumed with seeking vengeance for Dimmesdale, he allowed the evil in him to win. Chillingworth’s vengeance shaped his appearance and even his looks displayed the darkness that was within him.
...rth's crimes against the Lord are more malevolent than those committed by Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale. Chillingworth's quest for revenge and truth leads him down a path of sin, and in the Puritan perspective, down the path to Hell.
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
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).
In The Scarlet Letter, many characters are unmasked to show corrupted sides of themselves. This corruption usually comes from self-inflicted torture, such as Dimmesdale and his need to punish himself secretly while he remains in a position of power and respect in the community and church. Chillingworth lets himself grow steadily more corrupt as well and revels in the power he holds over Dimmesdale. He lets the power and appeal of revenge take over his entire self, fearing any kind of life without that meaning. Chillingworth becomes a man who, finally seeing his own fear behind losing his power, “lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he had beheld some frightful shape, which he could not recognize, usurping the place of his own image in a glass. It was one of those moments when a man’s moral aspect is faithfully revealed to his mind’s eye” (132). Chillingworth recognizes his own darkness, but he allows it to consume him without any search ...
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.
Chillingworth and Dimmesdale stood in the crowd watching her. Chillingworth is incensed over her sinfulness and vows to find out the identity of her partner so that he can have his revenge. is tormented by Chillingworth. As a result, Dimmesdale suffers from failing health as well as from guilt. He tries to confess and cannot find the courage to do it.
“At old Roger Chillingworth’s decease (which took place within the year), and by his last will and testament, of which Governor Bellingham and the Reverend Mr.Wilson were executors, he bequeathed a very considerable amount of property, both here [Boston] and in England, to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne”(Hawthorne 247). As a fairy tale with the heroes purpose to complete his goal and finish the story. Once dead, he leaves a good amount of money and land to little Pearl. Assuring a good future to her. By doing so he redeems himself in a sort of way with his final act. Expressing that he might act as the “devil” himself but still has some goodness within him. If he was not, he would not have done what he did before dying. He could have died and not given it to anyone, but instead he did not. As he had discovered punishment for his presumption when he decided to pursue his own revenge against Dimmesdale. When Dimmesdale escapes his grasps going to the scaffold to confess his sin. Chillingworth is inflicted as this happens. He already knows that evil has consumed him, and torturing Dimmesdale is his only reason for living. “At this instant, old Roger Chillingworth thrust himself through the crowd-or,perhaps so dark, disturbed and evil, was his look, he rose up out of some nether region-to snatch back his victim from what he sought to