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

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

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