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How Does Chillingworth's Character Change Throughout The Scarlet Letter

403 Words2 Pages

Illnesses, such as Chillingworths’ physical deformity, have deeper meanings. Chillingworth’s shoulders may mirror his morality. A rebirth or “baptism” of character is implied when a person changes his or her name. Hester Prynne’s husband changing his name upon his return and discovery of Hester’s affair indicates that he does not wish to be known as the husband of an adulterer and has recreated himself as a different person entirely. Geography matters; it can represent the human mind. Hester and Pearl live on the edge of town in a concealed and isolated house. Hester feels she and her child are isolated from society and must remain out of sight; this is shown in her choice of home. Heart disease is rarely just heart disease. It signifies bad love, loneliness, cruelty, and cowardice. In Dimmesdale’s case, his heart condition is indicative of his lack of willingness to come …show more content…

He sucks the life from Dimmesdale through pressing him to reveal his secret -his affair with Hester- and in the process drains him of his health and well-being. It’s all political- Hester’s views on women's’ position in society are progressive for a woman living in the 1850s and more than likely reflect the views of Hawthorne himself. In this scene, the impending storm is more than just a comment on the weather, It is symbolic of the burden of a hidden affair that Hester and Dimmesdale are carrying, and the impending doom, or storm, to come. Actions, objects, and images can all be symbolic. There is an association built between events that occur during the day or in light versus during the night or in the dark. Socially unacceptable interactions occur only where they can be hidden. Light and daytime are associated with vulnerability. Dimmesdale is a Christ figure, and an ironic one too; he is seen as sinless by his community that values him as a minister, while truly he has committed sin (adultery). He must die in agony as a result of

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Roger Chillingworth Committed The Greater Sin In The Scarlet Letter

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Chillingworth came to Boston to dig up who impregnated Hester. He seemed to have very little interest in Hester, his main goal was to find out the truth about Pearl’s father. As he does this, he twists the mind of Reverend Dimmesdale and becomes toxic. He becomes obsessed with trying to get vengeance on Dimmesdale for impregnating Hester. As the years go on, even the physical

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Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes

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Dimmesdale suffers differently from Hester, because while she “bore it all” to the townspeople (181), his fears forced him to hide his sin, living a life full of “nothing but despair” (177). Hester, though made a social pariah of the town, has a more honest and healthy way of dealing with her sin. Because Hester is forced to face her wrongdoings under the watchful eye of her Puritan neighbors, she did not have the same guilt of secrecy that Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale, by hiding his sin, allows himself to become a captive to his guilt. The way that Dimmesdale dealt with his guilt was unhealthy for him, both mentally and physically.

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Character Analysis Of Reverend Dimmesdale From 'The Scarlet Letter'

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But finally at the end of the novel he is able to come at peace with what he has done and has a few significant last actions, words, and expositions. In chapter 23, page 234 Reverend Dimmesdale's last action is revealed to be, “With a convulsive motion he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast… Then, down he sank upon the scaffold!”. This action is filled with great power and emotion, which is able to accurately describe Dimmesdale.

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Dimmesdale’s decision to hide his sin was truly killing him from inside. He got weaker, more fragile, and pale and his suffering began to turn out to be more agonizing. The decision he makes not tell his sin to the Puritan community literally destroys him. In the end, he dies from a heart problem. This indicates that heart disease is a symbol of emotional distress.

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How Does Mr. Chillingworth's Character Change Throughout The Scarlet Letter

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Mr Chillingworth's unnecessary obsession with revenge takes him to a place that is very hard to get back from. Mr. Chillingworth grows more evil every chapter. His intent on torturing Mr. Dimmesdale causes him to become both physically and psychologically monstruous. “Hester Prynne looked at the man of skill, and even then, with her fate hanging in the balance, was startled to perceive what a change had come over his features,

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The young and beautiful Hester Prynne was once married to a man who had been missing for around three years and committed adultery with another man. Considering the time period this was no small action especially since her unnamed partner is Reverend Dimmesdale and in disguise her long lost husband is actually Roger Chillingworth. Both characters are covering up parts of their life that play a big role in who and why they are for their own individual reasons. Dimmesdale is cowardly covering up his crime in order to protect his holy name as well as himself from the shame and embarrassment that the truth will bring.

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Erin Joel Mrs. Janosy English 2H P 5 22 October 2015 Quote Explication Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119).

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Everyone has some sort of goal. Some goals can be achieved within an hour, day, or week. Some however take years to achieve. Although this may seem like a long time many will say that it is definitely worth the wait. Roger Chillingworth, in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on his main goal for many years.

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“(Hawthorne 109). His moral stage continues to be at stage 1 “Obedience and Punishment Orientation” because his selfishness still makes an overall reflection on his personality. He is more concerned about his own feelings than everyone around him opposed to his morality at the beginning of the novel. He expresses signs of jealousy because Pearl called out for him. Next, at the beginning of Chapter 18 after Hester has declared to Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her real husband and he becomes upset, eventually he forgives her and sees Chillingworth as the real sinner.

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This shows that Hester does not necessarily need to worry about what the people of Boston think of her or how she needs to redeem herself in order to fit back into the society. When Hawthorne says “The angel and apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure, and beautiful; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy; and showing how sacred love should make us happy, by the truest test of a life successful to such an end!” he is showing how there is no way for Hester to change her society. She should have love and joy, but instead she is faced with guilt, which leads to her downfall. Along with this, Hawthorne demonstrates how the people of Boston are actually the sinners while Hester and Dimmesdale represent the Angel and the Saint of the city.

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Although it is not stated in the text, Dimmesdale, similar to which is further elaborated on by Mary Diorio. She discusses the issues that Dimmesdale faces, such as how being a preacher and a man of God is pulling him down. Diorio demonstrates the challenge Dimmesdale must face, ultimately deciding that “His fear of losing his good reputation is greater than his love for Hester. (Diorio

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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

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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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This effects her every day life going out in public and getting ridiculed by all the towns people she is surrounded by. Hester Prynne doesn’t just have to live with a mistake right on her shirt, but people also help her remember past. She does have her daughter or her “sole treasure.” The young girls name is pearl and she is not exactly like the others. It isn't easy because her and her mother are considered different in the community so she is lonely but very

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