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Hester And Chillingworth Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

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“I live in sin, to kill myself I live; no longer my life my own, but sin’s; my good is given to me by heaven, my evil by myself, by my free will, oh which I am deprived” (Michelangelo). This describes Dimmesdale, a pastor and the father of an outcome of sin, Pearl. Pearls’ mother is Hester, the wife of Chillingworth, a man of evil. The characters of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale are all connected by sin which alters the course his/her life. Hester is penalized for her act of adultery which leaves her publicly humiliated on the scaffold and forced to wear an A as an act of punishment. In the beginning of the book when Hester is on the scaffold she remains silent. She is thinking about her life before prison and her family. Hester receives hate and does not respond, but instead remains respectful and submissive. She accepts her punishment and does not break. When asked who the father of her child is she responds “I will not speak!” (Hawthorne, page 45) She is determined to stand alone through it all and speaks only on her behalf keeping Dimmesdale’s and Chillingworth’s secrets safe. Hester shows great strength and dignity. Her character is shown by the humiliation she faces everyday but through it all she remains the woman she is strong and humble. Her defiance becomes stronger. Hester shows strength on the scaffold as she …show more content…

Chillingworth disguises himself and works his way into Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s lives. Chillingworth’s actions do not coordinate with his words. He will say one thing but do another. He tries to play it off as this good physician that helps people when in reality he is only there for one thing, revenge. “A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!" (Hawthorne) Chillingworth takes a physiological approach to mentally harm Dimmesdale, he didn’t want to kill him; he simply wanted to watch him

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