Preview

Roger Chillingworth In The Scarlet Letter

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
959 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Roger Chillingworth In 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. All characters experience this but one such character is Roger Chillingworth or Mr. Prynne, as he is also known. The choices and character changes of Roger Chillingworth will be explained throughout this essay.
The first point 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 in The Scarlet Letter
…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. Chillingworth’s and Anakin Skywalker’s hate and greed both overpowered they often do. But, at the end of Star Wars Anakin makes up for his calamitous ways by killing the source of his evil, Emperor Palpatine. Chillingworth also performs a similar act in which he gives Pearl, his wife’s daughter all his wealth and land in England and the New World. Both characters allied with evil for good reasons but also came forth to their good nature in the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Roger Chillingworth is the evil character in the story The Scarlet Letter. His goal is to harm the man responsible for the scarlet letter on Hester Prynne. Chillingworth obsesses over trying to find the man who had the baby with Prynne. He tracks him down and emotionally tortures him using guilt. Roger Chillingworth drives himself insane from the emotional harm he caused the man. He obsesses over Dimmsdale and torturing him for revenge. Chillingworth wasn’t willing…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Scarlet Letter, a historical fiction novel written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author uses specific rhetorical devices to describe the physical deformities and eccentric behavior of Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth, a representation of human immorality, is a significant figure contributing to Hawthorne’s purpose of conveying the message that revenge not only hurts the intended target, but it also hurts one who attempts to carry it out. Through the use of specific diction, unique syntax, and extensive detail, Hawthorne illustrates the disadvantages of attempting to seek revenge.…

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    People have been trying to put a face to evil for many years. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, does exactly that with the character Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is the embodiment of evil. Throughout the story the reader sees embodiment of evil through his thoughts, actions, and appearance. Once this things are taken into account then one will see how Roger Chillingworth is the symbol of pure evil.…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The development of a character and how the character is perceived in a story really helps readers to figure out how the character is portrayed in the story. The Scarlet Letter is a story about a woman named Hester who has been convicted of adultery and has been sentenced to wearing the letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life unless something changes. We first see Roger Chillingworth when Hester is let out of jail to stand on the scaffold, also known as the place of public shame, as part of her punishment, yet no one knew that it was Hester’s husband. Roger Chillingworth is not as much a character, but more of a symbol of sin and how the sin of people can change the way they act and the way they look. Roger Chillingworth’s appearance, the way he acts, and what the townspeople think about him progressively changes through the course if the story.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony in Scarlet Letter

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthrone’s Scarlet Letter is praised as one of the most revolutionary and compelling literary works in modern American history. The narrator’s omniscient, descriptive lingustics enfore the story’s captivating plot as well as invokes insights on the moral fiber of each character. For some, the novel is an inspiration to readers in regard to the powerful protagonist, Hester Prynne, with her feminism and strength in the face of adversity; or by her daughter’s pure spirit, or even the devotion of the minister Dimmesdale to his congregation. As popular and coveted is the complex plot, Hawthorne’s literary talents excel within each paragraph. The story is historical in its characters and what they represent, but is exciting because of its constantly misleading irony. The author uses irony systematically throughout the book to keep the reader guessing, whether verbal irony in Chillingworth’s words, situational irony - Hester and Dimmesdale’s burst of joy before a tradgic ending - or the dramatic irony of Dimmesdale’s secret relationship with Hester. The deceptive techniques used by Hawthorne are what makes this elderly tale so relevant today.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dimmesdale represents the good in the novel and Chillingworth is the bad. Chillingworth in a sense is the scarlet letter and Dimmesdale is the cause of the scarlet letter. It is thought that Dimmesdale might be the scarlet letter because he is the one that committed the act of adultery when in fact the scarlet letter can be seen in Chillingworth. Dimmesdale is the cause and he feels the pain and suffering that come along with the letter, but he is remorseful and sorry for his actions. The scarlet letter represents evil and sin which is represented by Chillingworth. Hester and Dimmesdale wear the scarlet letters that in turn hinder them and we see the one hurting them is in fact Chillingworth. These two characters represent the two aspects of nature and everything in the world, good and…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, as disappointed as he was that Hester committed adultery, he felt more anger against the person who lay down with Hester. This is possibly due to jealousy because the person who did this with Hester was able to get her to love him, while Chillingworth in all his attempts was not able to get her to love him. Chillingworth stated that he plans to find the man, and when he does, he does not want to report him to the authorities. The reason he gives for this is that if he tells on the man who committed adultery with Hester he says it would be, “to mine own loss, betray him to the gripe of human law.” In other words, the betrayer’s consequences would be at the hand of proper authorities, and not in the control of Chillingworth. This shows a very depressing, vengeful future for Chillingworth instead of the positive one that he had been hoping for. It is very plain to see that Chillingworth changes greatly after the finds Hester on the…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chillingworth worth gave the idea that he was a physician but he was there to seek revenge on Hester because he thinks she has been unfaithful to him. These characters in this novel proves that the outwards appearance is…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since his first encounter with Hester, Chillingworth promises himself and Hester that he will seek the man that partook in their sin and without and sympathy, make him suffer. Chillingworth cold-bloodedly poisoned Dimmesdale by pretending to be a helpful physician, which provided him opportunities that “turned to a cruel purpose” (Hawthorne 174). Chillingworth is hurt by Hester’s betrayal and therefore feels like he, in a way, has to return the pain by torturing Dimmesdale. In this time period, women were expected to wait for their husbands even when they were uncertain of their existence. Although it was Hester’s “responsibility” to anticipate their husband’s arrival, Dimmesdale, as a minister, should not have committed adultery with her, knowing that she was…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The character of Roger Chillingworth has been presented to audiences as a spiteful and conniving old man through imagery by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne does not stop at just imagery either , he uses his full literary Arsenal in chapter 10 to ensure the audience is aware of Chillingworth's true and vile nature.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He first vows to seek revenge on the father of Pearl during chapter 4 saying, "Thou wilt not reveal his name? Not the less he is mine. He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as thou dost; but I shall read it on his heart.  (75). This was the first but not the last time for which he will declare his revenge for Pearl's father. This fatal flaw leads to his sins of both anger and envy. "I must seek this man ¦there is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!" (75). This is one example of Chillingworth's envy throughout the novel. Chillingworth shows his anger in the novel when Hester refuses to tell Chillingworth who the father of her child is. He vows that he will get his…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Dimmesdale was a very important character in The Scarlet Letter. He encountered many problems and resolved them throughout the novel. He changes a lot throughout the novel, physical and mentally. While reading the novel, the reader can relate to Dimmesdale by his actions and feelings. Minister Arthur Dimmesdale explains the moral of the story, and helps the reader understand what the novel is about.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap Classes

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages

    6: Chillingworth's original wish to see justice changed during the course of the novel. At first he wanted to see the shame that the offender should take, but by chapter 13 Chillingworth wants revenge of Dimmesdale, who he has figured to be the offender. He wants revenge on Dimmesdale, he wants him to suffer.…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter IX, pages 121-127, of The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne gives the reader better insight as to who truly is "Roger Chillingworth," and his effect on Boston 's beloved Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the aspects of relationships, religion, community, discipline and punishment in the puritan community of 17th century Boston. A young woman, Hester Prynne is led from the town prison with her infant daughter. She was being punished for adultery. While waiting for her husband Hester had an affair with the priest, Dimmesdale and gave birth to a baby. The missing husband called himself Chillingworth settled in Boston at that time and decided to take revenge. Later, Chillingworth found out that Dimmesdale was the secret lover of her wife. Driven by hatred, Chillingworth became Dimmedale friend to torture him. Dimmedale himself also suffered from the censure in his heart. Years later, Hester and Dimmedale decided to flee to Europe and live as a family. But Chillingworth also booked the ticket, claiming to go with them. On the day before they could left, Dimmedale finally confessed to the public and died. One year’s later Chillingworth also died. Hester and Pearl left Boston.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays