ipl-logo

The Gruesome Specter Of Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

679 Words3 Pages

The Gruesome Specter of Chillingworth The scandalous tale of man and woman encounters a mysterious character who seems to resemble a previous relationship and connection with the woman herself, Hester Prynne, the infamous adulterer in her Puritanical village. This remarkable sinful tale in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, readers encounter endless journeys with individual characters, trying either to redeem themselves in society, keeping their secret from unraveling, or trying to reveal the secret and simply bring vengeance to those who deserve it. The choices one makes on this journey will end in either a “sweet moral blossom” or “human frailty and sorrow” (42). Hawthorne’s use of words to foreshadow the future of each character questions whether the individuals will have a happy ending or live in misery and shame for the choices they have made. Roger …show more content…

Although Chillingworth was able to find the man who was responsible for the wrong doing towards Hester and himself it was too late for him to seek any actual retribution. When the novel is about to reach the end of its dramatic ending Chillingworth finds out about the fate of this man and shouting “Thou hast escaped!” (233). All the actions he took were for nothing because the man had died and passed away. Through this he found that revenge was not sweet because of the desire to hurt the man and with repercussions that associate with the acts of retribution. Chillingworth perplexes the reader’s mind as his true colors start to show. His sorrowful ending was made after involving himself in the scandalous tale of man and woman. This journey of Chillingworth continues to be read, and his specter still haunts those who read The Scarlet Letter. Was his fate truly sealed after those first acts of kindness were enacted or was it never

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Pathos In The Scarlet Letter

    315 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hawthorne uses many forms of rhetoric to portray his characters, but relies heavily on pathos in the instance of Hester Prynne. She’s a member of an inherently misogynistic society, and because she’s a woman, her every act is scrutinized. As punishment for her act of adultery, Hester is ordered to adorn her chest with a permanent scarlet letter. Although the audience is well aware of the atrocity of the sin she’s committed, Hawthorne’s writing sparks a feeling of empathy within the reader. Throughout the novel, the reader is exposed to several clear uses of pathos.

    Read More

  • Blindness In The Scarlet Letter

    1270 Words  | 6 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices Used In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1091 Words  | 5 Pages

    Chillingworth is described as having been “calm in temperament, kindly... a pure and upright man” (88), throughout his life. However, while living in the Puritan town, he allows his quest for vengeance to consume him, and “he now [digs] into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold; or rather, like a sexton [gravedigger] delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man’s bosom” (88). Chillingworth is determined in his search for retribution, so much in fact

    Read More

  • Chillingworth Scaffold Quotes

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    (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

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Revenge Quotes

    475 Words  | 2 Pages

    He went into the town to see someone he knew very well up on a scaffold showing her sinful mistake to everyone who could see. The woman on the Scaffold was not only someone Chillingworth knows but his wife, Hester Prynn. Though she was on the scaffold she was not alone, in her arms lay a small baby, Hester's baby. A pain ran through Chillingworth's mind, or maybe is wasn't pain it was anger. Hester did not see the baby as bad news, Chillingworth did force her into marriage and left her for 2 years in a new town, Hester is a very attractive girl and because Roger was so old and gone for so long everyone assumed he had perished.

    Read More

  • Roger Chillingworth Character Analysis Essay

    436 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Chillingworth Find The Truth In The Scarlet Letter

    506 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Guilt Quotes

    1003 Words  | 5 Pages

    This very message is repeated all throughout the book with Chillingworth, he was once a good man, but transformed due to the guilt he has set upon himself from marrying Hester, although he doesn’t blame her, he is after the sinner who didn’t fess up to the deeds. Visually to Hester, she has witnessed the alterations of a man who

    Read More

  • Ethos Pathos Logos In The Crucible

    857 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the time in which justice and order was enforced by governing figures, man has struggled with the conflict of balancing freedom and protection. Often times, those who seek answers to the disorderly find solace within religious beliefs; they find protection and answers to questions of security, where an omnipotent being took reign and watched over one’s life. However, when applied to governing forces, these laws based off religious beliefs regulating certain actions and desires restrict freedom. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller argue that conscience should supersede religion. Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter uses pathos to enforce this claim; whereas Arthur Miller argues the same claim using logos in his book The Crucible.

    Read More

  • How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter

    1458 Words  | 6 Pages

    However, he also uses these allusions to create a new side to his narrative as evident when he describes Hester’s resilience, and to create a new element in the plot as evident in his description of Dimmesdale’s penance and need for redemption. Therefore, Hawthorne demonstrates an effective use of allusions to craft a religious and detailed narrative for The Scarlet Letter by reviewing on parallels between the Bible and the novel’s main characters. There’s more to The Scarlet Letter than these allusions though, and there are many questions to answer about this book. These questions may never be answered fully, but by reading the novel itself, we might find the right places to start searching for answers and formulate our own opinions on the matter. What’s important from this novel is the realistic warning about what might happens when an individual place themselves too highly among others, a message Hawthorne writes to warn against the fervor of transcendentalism of his time.

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Sin Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    908 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the character Chillingworth as a hateful, evil antagonist whose sin of wrath is loathsome because of its deceitful revenge. Even though Chillingworth presents himself as a scholar and religious follower, he is

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth Is The Greatest Sinner

    392 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chillingworth knew that Hester was not in love with him, that the marriage was forced against her will, and he made no effort to repay her or to even commit. There was no reason

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hawthorne uses chapter twenty-two, “The Procession”, to put all the pieces of the puzzle of the conflict together. This is where the reader remotely begins to understand how the ending of the novel will come to an end. To reveal the conclusion to the reader, Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as, irony, simile, and diction. To expose the irony in this chapter, Hawthorne writes of Dimmesdale’s sermon. As Dimmesdale speaks, “if the auditor listened intently, and for the purpose, he could detect the same cry of pain.”

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth

    1264 Words  | 6 Pages

    In his plot of vengeance, Chillingworth wants to systematically destroy the Reverend, not allowing him the closure of outing himself to the public. This cruel and unusual punishment shows just how far the infidelity of his wife has pushed him over the limit, possibly into the realm of

    Read More

  • Reading Response To Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    The narrator portrays him as an intelligent but angry old man that does not have any interest in his wife any longer unless it is plotting revenge. One theme in this chapter is something that can slowly destroy people mentally, guilt. The irony that took place in this story is that Chillingworth is trying to find the father of his wife's child. The main theme in chapter three and four is obeying the law of the people and if failed to be done it will end in punishment. Journal Entry 3: Chapters 5-6 For the rest of Hester’s life she will be forced to wear a red embroidered “A” at all times on her clothes.

    Read More

More about The Gruesome Specter Of Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

Open Document