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The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth Is The Greatest Sinner

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Chillingworth is the greatest sinner because of his Sloth early on in the book, and his wrath throughout it all. Chillingworth commits sloth before the novel even begins. After getting captured by Native Americans, he still waits over two years before going up to see Hester. This is Sloth, he made a commitment of marriage, and did not seek any method of communication. “Thou knowest,” said Hester—for, depressed as she was, she could not endure this last quiet stab at the token of her shame—”thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.” 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 …show more content…

Chillingworth is lazy, and allows his aspiration in science to take priority over godly emotions and affairs, therefore he has sinned. Chillingworth also commits the deadly sin “wrath” through his constant torture of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale has sinned, but he repents; Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale repents, he sees the “A” seared onto Dimmesdale’s chest. “With what a ghastly rapture, as, it were, too mighty to be expressed only by the eye and features, and therefore bursting forth through the ugliness of his figure… but what distinguished the physician’s [Chillingworth) ecstasy from Satan’s was the trait of wonder in it!”(130) Chillingworth has seen the “A”, he knows of Dimmesdale’s repenting and yet he ambitiously seeks further torture. As his antipathy amplified, Chillingworth perpetually imbued Dimmesdale with a fiery warmth of regret for the scandalous iniquity he had wrongfully commit; Yet, Chillingworth’s “righteous” acts are not righteous at all, in fact he commits sin tenfold that of Dimmesdale just through these acts. Chillingworth poses himself as a kind man attempting to heal the Reverend, but this is a lie, a lie directly to the face of God. Chillingworth does not care for the health of the Reverend, his true underlying intentions are to seek information from

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