Roger Chillingworth from The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a prime example of evil. Another character from the American classic Moby Dick by Herman Melville- Captain Ahab- can be contrasted, as he is an example of evil that does not exactly appear in the same ways. Roger Chillingworth and Captain Ahab are both evil characters with many differences such as their motives, degrees of harm done, and views on religion. A prominent difference in the two characters is the difference in motive. In The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth is attempting to avenge his wife by slowly poisoning the man whom she committed adultery with. Though this is not what she wants, he seems to believe that this will serve as adequate vengeance.
Roger Chillingworth committed the greater sin in the Scarlet Letter. Chillingworth was a malicious man. After the news that Hester had committed adultery, he became more and more like the “Black Man.” He lied about being a doctor and his identity. Additionally, Chillingworth was the overall cause for Dimmesdale’s death, after seven years of torturing his mind.
Some of the worst forms of malice come from love. Abigail Williams from The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great example of this. Abigail is a young girl who was caught practicing witchcraft in order to make John only love her. In the puritan times this would mean death. So, to combat this she calls multiple townspeople witches, saying she had seen them with the devil.
A good example of a character is Bertrande. Coras describes Bertrande as “ “given the weakness of sex, (was) easily deceived by the cunning and craftiness of men.” (Davis, pg 110). He (Coras) considered her ignorant of Arnaud 's true identity, hence innocent of wrongdoing.” (Finlay, pg 555) Davis however describes Bertrande as known more as an honorable and independent character who acts more like a hero rather than evil.
Gary throws a fish at him and gets away from the devil. Gary later is scared for his own death for he may have to meet with the devil again. The devil in The Scarlet Letter is also different. The devil is more like the common person because I believe that Chillingworth has the duties as the devil does. He makes sure he Dimsdale lives with the sin that he had done.
Eventually, he comes aware of what he has done and leaves his property to Pearl and Hester. “Nothing was more remarkable than the change which took place, almost immediately after Mr. Dimmesdale’s death, in the appearance and demeanour of the old man known as Roger Chillingworth” (253). It is obvious that Chillingworth develops an understanding of his sins after Dimmesdale’s death which made Chillingworth’s life without a purpose. To conclude, revenge and sin are one of the most disturbing crimes a man can commit; therefore, symbolism, figurative language, and imagery were used to verify the awful character of
A quote in the novel exposes the outcome of sin committed among the characters, “…relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow,” (Hawthorne, 1850, p. 60). Through Dimmesdale’s self-torment, the reader is able to recognize the amount of guilt he feels from the affair. It was a crime of passion, and the sin he committed in his moment of weakness ultimately led to his destruction. Chillingworth is instrumental in expressing another theme, the lust for revenge is due to his “hatred, by a gradual and quiet process…a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility,” (Hawthorne, 1850, p. 256). Chillingworth’s one-sided intentions get him nowhere and being drowned in hatred ultimately leads to his death.
During this time when Chillingworth is searching for the truth, he exposes Dimmesdale’s chest and founds exactly what he was looking for the scarlet letter imprinted on his chest. On page 125 starts Chillingworth’s discovery with finding the truth. This
The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Daniel Hawthorne many villainous acts occur that contribute to the plot and direction of the text. One antagonist in the novel is Chillingworth, the “departed” husband of Hester Prynne. Chillingworth and his constant mission to gain his wife's love and to reveal the father with whom Hester's baby was conceived by leads him to take some villainous actions. Chillingworth took many actions to obtain his goals, examples of this are constantly exemplified throughout the novel, one example is Chillingworth’s unrelenting hatred towards Dimmesdale.
At first Chillingworth is portrayed through the introduction as a civil man, almost feel sorry for him for the fact that his wife cheated on him, and that she is now imprisoned, Hester even calls him, “the Black Man that haunts the forest round about [the town],”(Hawthorne 94), however, these words foreshadow the dive to insanity Chillingworth later takes after he sets his sights on revenge. Although Chillingworth’s arrival to Massachusetts is not a happy one, the reader can’t feel bad for Chillingworth because during his conversation with Hester, Chillingworth didn’t approach Hester with the intent on being a good husband, but rather as a physician. The lack of love Chillingworth displays to Hester, sheds light onto the how riddled with guilt Chillingworth really is, the mere opposition to comfort her, provides Chillingworth’s first step towards his mental downfall. Some people may argue that Chillingworth never saw a downfall into his own mental state, and that he was passing the punishment that Dimmesdale had deserved. However, the punishments that Dimmesdale was receiving was more torture than anything else, which exemplifies the civility he has lost.
“The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.” - Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” and The Scarlet Letter both contain ordinary characters that demonstrate the inborn moral ambiguity in everyone. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is branded a criminal for her sins.
Many characters from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, changed throughout the progression of the novel, — including Chillingworth, Hester, and even Pearl herself. No character, however, has changed as much as Dimmesdale has. Towards the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale tries to ignore his sinful actions. Near the middle of the book, the clergyman, with the ‘help’ of Chillingworth, is able to realize his wrongdoings, and starts obsessively thinking of those wrongdoings. Around the end of the novel, with the help of the forest’s freedom, is able to finally repent correctly for his sin.
Chillingworth, like Dimmesdale, also believes that sinners should be held accountable and atone for their actions. However, this is where the similarities in their mindsets end. While Dimmesdale would plead for compassion for sinners, Chillingworth would rather publicly condemn and deface them. He often speaks of how Dimmesdale will one day face the consequences for his actions, but leaves the ghastly details of his plan for exposure mostly unknown. Chillingworth wants Dimmesdale, the sinner, to suffer to the extent that his will to continue living is destroyed and, when he’s at his lowest, unmask him publicly.
Many stories in literature are not complete without an Antagonist. The Antagonist can be the embodiment of evil or just a roadblock for the main character to overcome. In the short story Sweat, written by Zora Neale Hurston, features an abusive husband, Sykes, as the Antagonist. Sykes dominates and abuses his hard-working wife, Delia. Whereas, Edgar Allen Poe, author of The Cask of Amontillado, uses an ambiguous relationship between Fortunato, a man full of ego and arrogance, who wrongs protagonist Montresor.
One major difference between the sins was that Chillingworth’s sin was directed to hurt and pain another person. Dimmesdale simply committed adultery out of passion and love for another. Dimmesdale also felt an immense amount of guilt and pain for the sin he did. Chillingworth felt no guilt for what he was doing to Dimmesdale and sinned time after time again, eventually leading Dimmesdale to kill himself. This showed how much more serious the sin Chillingworth committed was in the story (“Who”)
Revenge strips men of their morality by causing them to see another person as an object for their torment. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth’s vengeance consumes him and it becomes his life’s goal to torture his adversary. Chillingworth is the worst sinner because he seeks to end Dimmesdale, lies to maintain his sinful scheme, and never admits his wrongdoing.