ipl-logo

Chillingworth's Character Analysis Scarlet Letter

872 Words4 Pages

Analysis of Components of The Scarlet Letter

“Thou hast escaped me!”-Chillingworth says. Throughout the course of the Scarlet Letter many of the characters suffer personal struggle and make choices that affect the lives of others. One such character is Roger Chillingworth or Mr. Prynne, if you will. The choices and changes of Roger Chillingworth will be explained throughout this essay.

The first point I will make is about Chillingworth’s main conflict in the story. His wife Hester Prynne, a main character is an adulterer. Upon finding this Chillingworth goes to the colony where Hester lives. She believes he has come to kill her and her child of sin but he truly intends to torture her partner in crime. This conflict occurs on pgs. 85 and 86 of The Scarlet Letter with Chillingworth saying “He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as thou, dost, but I shall read it on his heart.” This quote …show more content…

This terrible hate ultimately consumes Chillingworth to a death one short year after Dimmesdale passing. It is so strange that hate and love can be related this way. The same thing is seen in the Sith in the Star Wars films. One main character turns the dark side where hate and anger are the keys to power in attempt to save his loved one. The somewhat same thing happened to Chillingworth in the novel. He loved Hester, but turned to hate her and Dimmesdale because of their relationship. Anakin Skywalker ultimately dies because of his hatred too. As said by Claudia Durst Johnson in her article The Meaning of the Scarlet A -“Chillingworth’s evil character- like something right out of melodrama- if also reflected in his physical appearance”. In Star Wars, as Anakin becomes more evil, he loses two legs and an arm, and becomes horribly scarred by burns. The relation between these two is strong as they both deal with similar events in their lives affecting them in virtually the same

Show More
Related

Roger Chillingworth Quotes

618 Words | 3 Pages

Therefore, the role Chillingworth obtains influences the plot of the story more so than other characters. Chillingworth seems to be a nice and genuine person throughout the beginning of the novel. He becomes Dimmesdale’s friend and helps take care of him throughout his illness. However, while he is being this nice person on the outside, on the inside he plots revenge against Dimmesdale and Hester.

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

Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Physiognomy In The Scarlet Letter

707 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the novel, Chillingworth’s ugly look is combined with his altruistic, as well as revenge-seeking and malicious nature. Chillingworth’s ugliness is described to be “—a deformed old figure, with a face that haunted men’s memories longer than they liked” (166), and his contradictory behaviours are revealed when the author writes: Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an

Read More

Compare And Contrast Chillingworth And Abigail Williams

964 Words | 4 Pages

They both attempt to put plans to action that are hateful and deceitful, Abigail with trying to curse Elizabeth, and Chillingworth with torturing Dimmesdale. However, Abigail is jealous of elizabeth for getting to keep John, while Chillingsworth is angry at dimmesdale for having the affair. Throughout both stories the two characters are both act evil but it has come from their

Read More

Chillingworth Paint It Black Analysis

475 Words | 2 Pages

Chillingworth knows that in his search for revenge he is getting closer to the Devil and is incorporating that, and this self reflection only serves to drive him farther into his goal. With Chillingworth interacting with the Devil and doing his work is thus isolated from the baseline society thus having no one to turn to but the Devil and his demons. This is dangerous because Chillingworth knows he has no one and will never give up his goal until it is completed, with the destruction of Hester and

Read More

The Devil And Tom Walker, The Man In The Black Suit,

833 Words | 4 Pages

Chillingsworth works day in and day out making Dimmesdale sick with work that people will find out what he had done. It's so bad that Dimmesdale starts to do self harm. Chillingworth even goes about so that hester knows what she had done was wrong too and he makes her life like she is walking on

Read More

How Does Chillingworth Change In The Crucible

249 Words | 1 Pages

His persona shifts from a “man of skill, the kind and friendly physician” to a man with “something ugly and evil in his face” (85+). The community believes that Chillingworth is in some form of Satan, and they believe Chillingworth was sent to test Dimmesdale’s faith. Chillingworth sparks an interest in the health of the young Reverend Dimmesdale and fulfills a “new purpose”. Chillingworth

Read More

How Does Chillingworth Find The Truth In The Scarlet Letter

506 Words | 3 Pages

Hawthorne immediately corrects himself, and says that Chillingworth is more like “a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man’s bosom” (125). These comparisons of Chillingworth to a miner and a sexton, and the truth to gold and a jewel emphasizes this obsession that Chillingworth must finding the truth. Chillingworth is “the leech” and he 's by Dimmesdale’s side making him sick. The longer Chillingworth stays with Dimmesdale, the worse Dimmesdale’s condition gets. This is his newfound passion and his persistence won’t allow him to end this hunt for the truth.

Read More

How Did Chillingworth's Change In The Scarlet Letter

1135 Words | 5 Pages

Although Chillingworth does change, his opinion does not. What changes is how far he will go in order for Dimmesdale to be tortured, for the sole reason that he is Pearl’s father. Since Chillingworth’s ideas he could be considered a static character in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale views Chillingworth’s sin worse than his own. In the Scarlet Letter Hawthorne wrote “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin.

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

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

The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter

686 Words | 3 Pages

He was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.

Read More

Bloodthirsty Revenge In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

885 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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

Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner

480 Words | 2 Pages

Chillingworth came back into town and learned his wife had conceived a child with someone. He then made up his mind to find the other adulterer and seek revenge on him. When Chillingworth learned that Dimmesdale was the other adulterer, he did everything he could to make Dimmesdale feel worse. This crime was directed at causing pain and suffering to another, making this a terrible sin (“Who”). Chillingworth and Dimmesdale committed two completely different sins.

Read More

More about Chillingworth's Character Analysis Scarlet Letter

Related Topics

Open Document