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Guilt And Absolution In The Scarlet Letter

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Temptation, the root of all sin, is derived when morality is overshadowed by evil. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter, guilt and absolution are portrayed through the three main characters; Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Throughout the entirety of novel, these characters commit sin that contradict with and inflict infamy upon their religion. As a result of falling captive to the arousement of adultery, Hester was publicly humiliated and was forced to bear the letter “A” upon her chest to symbolize the immorality of partaking in the events. Roger Chillingworth is conveyed as a delightful, considerate, and law abiding citizen; however, he is the complete contradictory. In the novel, Chillingworth's …show more content…

As the story unfolds, readers may believe that Hester’s act of adultery should be considered the most horrendous sin. However, Hawthorne’s description of Chillingworth’s actions states, “‘Let, therefore, thy husband be to the world as one already dead, and of whom shall ever come. Recognize me not, by word, by sign, by look! Breathe not the secret, above all, to the man thou wottest of. Shouldst thou fail me in this, beware! His fame, his position, his life, will be in my hands. Beware!’” (Hawthorne 120). While Hester’s wrongdoing is advocated through an act of devotion, Chillingworth aimed to seek vengeance and administer misery and adversity in Hester and Dimmesdale’s lives. Chillingworth’s obsession leads him to physically and mentally eradicate Hester in order to retaliate against the woman who cheated on him. On the contrary, readers may believe that …show more content…

Chillingworth becomes devoted to avenging his marriage, this blurred his thoughts, compelling him to commit sinful wrongdoings. Soon after discovering Dimmesdale was the man Chillingworth had been looking for, he abused his power as a physician to impose agony into Dimmesdale’s life. Chillingworth truly affirms that the dreadful acts he inflicts upon Dimmesdale are not immoral; his beliefs are shown when Hawthorne says, “‘What evil have I done the man?’ asked Roger Chillingworth.” (Hawthorne 268). The revenge Chillingworth carries out seems justified to him, but the cruelty and abusive torment he puts Dimmesdale through is unethical. While Chillingworth mainly focuses his efforts on making Dimmesdale suffer, he does not cease to continue mentally consuming Hester’s heart. Hawthorne conveys Chillingworth’s abuse my stating, “‘I have left thee to the scarlet letter," replied Roger Chillingworth. "If that have not avenged me, I can do no more!’” (Hawthorne 272). Even though Hester had not caused Chillingworth any great disservices, he continued to threaten her and insured that he will prevail over her if she rebels in an attempt to thwart him. Chillingworth will stop at nothing to achieve his vengeance and in the process he implemented misery into Dimmesdale and Hester’s

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Hester wants to reveal the secret, but Chillingworth wants to keep it concealed in order to torture Dimmesdale even more (Hawthorne, 1994, pp. 118-119). This shows the devious aspect of his character. The association between Chillingworth and Hester transitions from a professional to personal relationship as the truth of Chillingworth’s real intentions comes to the

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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

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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

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Throughout the book Chillingworth reminds Hester of her wrong doing an example of this is when the novel states, “As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester’s breast, as if it had been red-hot. ”(Hawthorne 64) Chillingworth's efforts to please himself by making Hester feel guilty for her actions during his absence sways the way many things happen in the book, like at the end when he decides to join the voyage that Dimmesdale and Hester planned to escape

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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.

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Chillingworth took that expression to heart by, over a long period of time, torturing Dimmesdale emotionally for the crime he had committed. In the beginning, Hester kept the secret from Chillingworth, but he vowed to find out who the father was, saying “‘Never, sayest thou’… with a

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Chillingworth wants him to live with guilt the rest of his life. Chillingworth doesn’t even love Hester anymore, but he continues to torture Dimmesdale because he wants him to live with guilt the rest of his life. Chillingworth is an evil character that seems worse than Dimmesdale. Even though Chillingworth didn’t commit the crime

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Now, in Chapter 12 after dealing with Chillingworth's remarks and hate towards Dimmesdale, he is evidently fed up with his presence. As he, Hester, and Pearl are on the scaffold and Pearl points towards Chillingsworth. He makes this remark toward Hester, “ ‘Who is that man, Hester?’...’I shiver at him! Dost thou know the man? I hate him, Hester!’

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Another statement that Hawthorne makes in this section is that Chillingworth will not find anything except for mortality and corruption, but these were the things that he sought (125). This is giving the reader more insight on Chillingworth and his obsession. Chillingworth’s plan to infiltrate Dimmesdale’s home as his personal caretaker was to search for the truth. The once wise man had transformed once his obsession took control of him. Chillingworth’s

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He moves in with Dimmesdale, and claims he will care for him, but the public cannot see that his intention is to torture Dimmesdale. Hawthorne explains, “The intellect of Roger Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it. It was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread. 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 enemy” (126). He deliberately chooses to drive Chillingworth into insanity.

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Hester and Dimmesdale each are equivalent in the sin that they commit, but their lives and fates are different because Hester had to repent for her crimes while Dimmesdale bottled up his guilt inside. The indirect result of Dimmesdale’s concealment of the truth was Chillingworth’s torture, which played a large role in Dimmesdale’s untimely death. Chillingworth snapped when Hester did not reveal Dimmesdale’s crimes. Hester, in part, helped Dimmesdale in

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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

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Midway through chapter fourteen, a dialogue between Chillingworth and Hester is occurring and Hester states, “Better he had died once” (Pg. 117) referring to Dimmesdale which forces Chillingworth to retaliate in the argument which leads to a great revelation in chillingworth’s mindset. He opens his eyes to a mirror and realizes the man this has turned him into. “... lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he beheld some frightful shape.” (Pg. 118). Chillingworth sees the man he has become from the fact that Hester forced him to look back to see what he had done.

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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.

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In reality, he is the reason for Dimmesdale’s suffering. Chillingworth’s sin causes him to be so obstinate that he One may ask why Hester, Dimmesdale, or society are not worse sinners. When looking at each party’s sin it is easy to see who is the most corrupt. While Hester is unfaithful and Dimmesdale is culpable of living a lie, they both are able to accept their wrongdoing. The society is not guilty for their actions and beliefs as they are a product of their time.

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