Chillingworth Scaffold Quotes

Izabella DeJohn
Michael Edwards
April 12, 2023
English 112

The Humiliation of Chillingworth

In the opening scene of The Scarlet Letter, where the main character Hester Prynne is forced to stand upon a scaffold in the center of town as an act of humiliation, the character Roger Chillingworth is introduced to the novel when he inquires of a local townsperson who the woman standing upon the scaffold is. Chillingworth, an English physician who had recently escaped the captivity of the Native Americans, was immediately recognized among the crowd of people by Hester Prynne. As Hester’s husband, Chillingworth feared being associated with a woman who had been publicly shamed; thus, he placed his finger on his lips as a gesture to Hester not to expose his identity. Ultimately, Chillingworth’s goal was to delve deeply into his

Hester finds community service, whereas the minister's sin-related repercussions cause him immense distress and a physical and emotional breakdown. Chillingworth steps in as the go-between to help Hester and Dimmesdale realize what they are going through. He evolves into someone even nastier than he was before. He devises a plan to undermine Hester's reputation, which was already in jeopardy. Tarnishing Hester’s reputation was Chillingworth’s way of getting back at Hester for the humiliation that she caused him. Chillingworth's change over the years makes him the true symbol of evil in the novel.
When Hester realizes that Chillingworth is torturing Dimmesdale, she confronts him, and he says, "I have already told thee what I am! A fiend! Who made me so?" (125). Chillingworth was not always a bad man, as he says. Hester’s scandal and betrayal hurt Chillingworth deeply, to the point where he became evil and sought revenge. Chillingworth was humiliated, and Dimmesdale and Hester were the two people that had made him that way, which is why he sought