Roger Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

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Roger Chillingworth’s Development and Perception in The Scarlet Letter

In The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth is not so much a character as he is a symbol. Unlike other characters such as Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is a flat character that mostly serves as the devil’s agent on earth. As the story progresses, the townspeople’s perception of Chillingworth drastically changes. They go from viewing him as a gift from God to seeing him as a hinderance to Arthur Dimmesdale. Initially, when Roger Chillingworth arrives into the town, the townspeople see his arrival as an act of Providence. Hawthorne expresses this in this quote from The Scarlet Letter, "Individuals of wiser faith, indeed, who knew that Heaven promotes its purposes without aiming at the stage-effect of what is called miraculous interposition, were inclined to see a providential hand in Roger Chillingworth's opportune arrival." This quote reveals the hopefulness that the Puritans felt when Chillingworth came to their town. As Puritans in the New World, they were not accustomed to physicians being present since men of science were rarely drawn to the religious fervor that drew individuals across the Atlantic Ocean. At the beginning, Arthur Dimmesdale believes that Chillingworth will be able to help him heal. Furthermore, as Chillingworth becomes …show more content…

The townspeople’s perception of him also shifts from viewing him as a scholar to viewing him as Satan in disguise. Hester also goes from viewing him favorably to viewing him as a fiend set on destruction. These changes are symbolic of Hester’s own journey throughout the story as she shifts from a proud woman to an accepting character. The entire story has themes of change and transformation as is evident in Roger Chillingworth’s character

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