Roger Chillingworth, a fake name used to disguise himself as being of relation to Hester Pryne, is none other than the vampire discussed in How To Read Literature Like A Professor. Chillingworth is, truth be told, Hester Pryne’s husband. He careers an aura of danger, mystery, and attractiveness. Commonly the victims of the ‘vampire’ are pretty, helpless young women. The person playing the victim in the case of The Scarlet Letter is Arthur Dimmesdale, a young man that is in fact helpless thanks to a new found sickness that has evolved in his system. In the first chapters of The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth tells Hester Pryne “I shall seek this man, as I have sought gold in alchemy…I shall see him tremble… he must needs be mine!” (page
While Dimmesdale was being interrogated verbally but mentally as well by the malevolent physician Roger Chillingworth. The physician was becoming very aggravated by the pastor’s replies and therefore left. Dimmesdale looked out of the window and saw Chillingworth standing at the same location as Pearl, the devil spawn. Chillingworth left something on the grave then proceeded to his room. The ailing pastor forced his failing body to walk to the grave.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exposes the blindness of the Puritan people through the treatment of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale’s external characters. Hester Prynne is labeled as an adulteress and mistreated by society because of their unwillingness to see her true character. Chillingworth, the husband of Hester, leads the town to believe he is an honorable man and skillful doctor, when his true intents root from his vindictive nature Finally, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover and the father of her baby, acts as the perfect man therefore the town views him as an exemplar model, while he is truly a sinner. In the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a strong, resilient woman, though the members of her community
When Chillingworth visits Hester in prison, he claims that “his [the adulterer] fame, his position, his life, will be in my hands” (53). Chillingworth makes a vow to Hester that he will find the man who enticed her and will destroy the individual’s life and soul. As the novel progresses, Chillingworth establishes himself as the town doctor and Dimmesdale develops a mysterious illness that perplexes and worries the townspeople. His illnesses leads to Roger Chillingworth becoming his medical advisor, “as not only the disease interested the physician, but he was strongly moved to look into the character and qualities of the patient, these two men...came gradually to spend much time together” (84). Chillingworth takes advantage of the fact that Dimmesdale needs medical attention and establishes himself as a friend, with the intention of finding out personal information about Dimmesdale.
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.
This aphorism, much like what one could find in a fable, uses sage advice to connect the reader personally with the story. Aphorisms in general, and this in particular, offers universal truth independent of context. Many passages in The Scarlet Letter, set hundreds of years in the past, can be easily related to modern day, but rarely are they directly applicable. The aphorism serves to remind the reader that while Hester Prynne’s story may or may not be true, it is not entirely based in fiction.
Oftentimes, an event that seems and feels negligible can have an immense impact on a person’s psyche and physical actions. A passage from chapter 20 of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents this phenomenon through Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The passage shows Dimmesdale’s change from a weak, broken man to one with boundless energy as well as his change of view on life through symbolism. The change in Dimmesdale is seen immediately after he exits the forest, for he is described as having “unaccustomed physical energy” (Hawthorne, 188).
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
Furthermore, in the story of The Scarlet Letter, Hester, has a child with the town’s minister Arthur Dimmesdale, however, Chillingworth, the actual husband of Hester gets wind of this news and immediately sets out to find out who committed
The Monstrous and Malicious Man It is human nature to feel the dire urge to act out revenge on the ones who hurt us, but how far is one willing to go to make someone feel the same sufferable pain? Roger Chillingworth, a doctor, a husband, and a revenge seeking monster who was out to destroy someone who indirectly hurt him. Roger Chillingworth, of The Scarlet Letter, becomes obsessed with avenging the sin between his wife, Hester and the town’s well respected minister, Dimmesdale, that he takes on a Devilish form that reveals his true evil intentions. Roger Chillingworth develops into a monstrous character as the novel goes on, but he was not this way until after hearing the news about his estranged wife. Chillingworth’s first appeared at
Inhyeok (Daniel) Lee Mr. Soldi CP English III October 17, 2014 Bloodthirsty Revenge portrayed through Roger Chillingworth In his novel Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes several allegories throughout the story. Allegory is a literary technique that Hawthorne uses to connect the characters with symbolic presences. It gradually builds up the tension between characters, and also arouses curiosity of readers.
Roger Chillingworth plays an important role to the plot of the novel The Scarlet Letter. He is more of a symbol rather than a main character throughout the entire novel. This is due to the fact that he represents how all Puritans should act, at least on the surface. While he is becoming part of a community, he is also planting revenge on Hester and her lover. At first his plot was to reveal Hester’s lover, but that plot turned him into something more vile and evil than before.
The place of isolation can become the place of revelation. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne's life after having a child, Pearl, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, was away and having to live with an A on her chest for adultery. The father of the child, Arthur Dimmesdale, had to live with the guilt and beat himself because of it and the truth remained a secret to almost everyone, except Chillingworth, who planned to get revenge on him because of his sin. Chillingworth became evil and changed because he wanted revenge on Dimmesdale and the guilt made Dimmesdale feel sick. Dimmesdale died after he told everyone the truth and Pearl gained a sense of compassion when she saw him dying.
In the romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Roger Chillingworth as the prime example of pure evil. Chillingworth is characterized as a symbol for evil because Hawthorne illustrates him and his thoughts as being associated with the devil and Hell. Through Hawthorne’s descriptions, Chillingworth’s malevolent ideas and eagerness to expose Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale are revealed. Consequently, Chillingworth serves as the antagonist in the novel because of his plot to seek vengeance on and torment Dimmesdale. Through the use of figurative language and syntax, Chillingworth’s description and his actions symbolize him as a mysterious and wild evil doing the devil’s bidding.
The Scarlet Letter Essay Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale were two of the main sinners in The Scarlet Letter. Both characters kept their sins secrete throughout the story. These sins included adultery, revenge, and even murder. Out of the two sinners, Chillingworth was the worst, because he never felt guilt for the terrible things he was doing. Dimmesdale spent his entire life in guilt and remorse for the sins he had committed (“Who”).
We are all sinners. Although one may try hard not to sin, all humans eventually succumb at some time or another to sin. While people may not able to avoid the fate which awaits them, the power of free will allows people to decide how they will respond to sin. While some may respond with guilt and regret, others may react with a sense of redemption and a renewed sense of responsibility. Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American author during the 19th century witnessed the power of sin to wreak havoc not only to an individual but a whole community.