Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Character analysis roger chillingworth essay
Character analysis of chillingworth
Character analysis roger chillingworth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Character analysis roger chillingworth essay
Prompt: In a five-paragraph essay, trace the development of Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne AND explain how he is perceived by other characters in the story. In the book The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth is portrayed a few different ways throughout the story. As the story develops, Chillingworth's personality begins to be viewed differently. In the beginning when Chillingworth shows up, he is perceived as the poor man whose wife cheated on him, but that quickly changes. In the first chapter he shows up in, Hester is with Pearl being judged on the scaffold. In this time, the readers start to feel bad for Chillingworth. Hester recognized Chillingworth because of his uneven shoulders, and this made the judgement even harder. The reason people feel for him, is because he has just found out his wife cheated on him while he was away. They also found that Chillingworth was with the Indians, and that is why he was gone from Hester for four years. In the next few chapters, Chillingworth upholds his false identity and keep everyone from getting suspicious about him. He did this by becoming the town’s doctor, and was quickly accepted because he was they only doctor they had. He picked on his learnings from the Indians during his time with them. One day when Hester and Pearl were sick, they sent …show more content…
This is where the readers begin to see the real Chillingworth. In this part of the book, Chillingworth wants revenge on Dimmesdale for getting Hester pregnant and making her wear the “A” on all of her clothes. Chillingworth was secretly happy whenever Dimmesdale became ill, and he was glad to see him in pain. Chillingworth maintained a “soft spot” for Hester through the entire thing until Hester realized he wanted revenge on DImmesdale. They had an argument over him wanting revenge, this caused the townspeople to become suspicious of him as
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.
"When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips." This is another quote that doesn't have to do with nature as in the outdoors but instead has to do with human nature. Chillingworth is doing the same thing that Dimmesdale does throughout the story, he is saving himself. Chillingworth knows that if he allows Hester to reveal his identity it will ruin his stance in the town and make his life miserable, so he makes sure that she knows not to say anything. “We have wronged each other.” Chillingworth tells Hester that they have wronged each other in reference to Hester's sins and their marriage in general. Chillingworth knows that he shouldn't have forced Hester into that marriage, he knows that she was young and beautiful and that he was old and ugly. He should have seen the adultery coming but he forced the marriage anyway thus hurting Hester. This is a connection to nature because once again Human nature is shown and that is guilt. It is Human Nature for us to feel guilty and upset when we hurt the ones that we care
This strategy exemplifies Hawthorne’s theme that sin must be taken responsibility for because being dishonest will only lead to more temptation. Chillingworth does admit to one of his blames of leaving Hester behind, but choosing his temptation over redemption has formed his obsession to making Hester lover’s suffer miserably with guilt, which fuels Roger’s vengeance. Secondly, Chillingworth’s internal conflict was illustrated through the changing of his appearance. Roger was once a kind, well respected, man of science; However, his vengeance has transformed his physical character into a devilish creature. When Hester and Pearl were visiting Governor’s Bellingham’s house, Hester notices the change over Roger’s features, “how much uglier they were, how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure misshapen” (93).
Years ago, Hester promised Chillingworth to keep his identity a secret, thus allowing him to do evil to Dimmesdale. Chillingworth believes that it was his fate to change from a kind man to a vengeful fiend. He believes that it’s his destiny to take revenge and thus would not stop until he does so.
Chillingworth states, “What should ail me to harm this misbegotten and miserable babe? The medicine is potent for good.” (4:42) Although Hester believes that Chillingworth may be trying to poison Pearl, she allows him to administer the medicine to her. Shortly thereafter, the novel states that “it soon proved its efficacy, and redeemed the leech’s pledge.” (4:42) This is a direct affirmation from the book that Chillingworth was helping Pearl and Hester. His resentment is directed towards Dimmesdale, as he is the one who caused Hester to have an affair. However, even in his insanity, he was still able to help Pearl. This further shows that he has a good character, and that the only thing causing his bad temper is his distress over Hester’s
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.
When he arrived in the town when Hester was first shamed on the scaffold for her adultery, Chillingworth was an unknown doctor who happened to be able to help Hester. He remained as a helpful physician, and eventually learned of Dimmesdale’s sins. Rather than publicly exposing Dimmesdale for what he had done, Chillingworth used his newfound knowledge to his advantage, exploiting Dimmesdale’s guilt to further shame him. “Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it. It was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread… To make himself the one trusted friend, to whom should be confided all the fear, the remorse, the agony, the ineffectual repentance, the backward rush of sinful thoughts, expelled in vain!” (92-93). Chillingworth was cunning in how he hurt Dimmesdale, and was sure his public portrayal did not threaten him in the least as a suspect of Dimmesdale’s troubles. He became a “trusted friend”, so he was able to get very close to Dimmesdale and even move in with him, further increasing his ability to hurt Dimmesdale more and more. But rather than being a doctor to aid Dimmesdale with his health as everyone thought him to be, Chillingworth instead turned darker and darker in his ways, paradoxically turning to hurt Dimmesdale rather than help him. He was virtually doing the opposite of what the
First of all, the woman he cared for admitted to betraying him when she said “I have greatly wronged thee” (69). Even though he knew she did not return his feelings, he thought she would be loyal, so he let her into his heart. However, Hester found love for herself while he was away, and that undoubtedly hurt him. This pain inside him created his need for revenge and he exclaimed “I shall see him tremble… Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!” (70). Quickly, he became an evil person consumed by his hatred. Hawthorne often compares him to the Devil by calling him “the black man”, further proving how evil he became. This was all caused by his broken heart and anger towards the two lovers. He died after Dimmesdale did because his evil purpose was gone and “All his strength and energy… seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up , shrivelled away…” (232). His death could have been avoided if he had either never loved Hester, or Hester had not fallen in love with Dimmesdale. Torturing Dimmesdale would not have become his sole reason for living therefore he would not lose his strength and energy once Dimmesdale did die. Just like the other two, Chillingworth did not have happy experiences associated with falling in love.
Throughout the novel, Chillingworth dedicates all of his time to discovering the identity of the man that Hester will not reveal. Later in the book in chapter 10, The Leech and His Patient, Chillingworth tries to force Dimmesdale, a young, sick clergyman with whom Chillingworth lives and cares for, to confess that he is the father, repeatedly, because his suspicions lead to Dimmesdale as Pearl’s father. Dimmesdale asks Chillingworth where he had gathered certain herbs from, and Chillingworth responds that he plucked them from a grave where a person died without confessing his sins. Chillingworth then goes on to ask Dimmesdale for a confession of sins because the weeds sprang out of evil. A couple of pages later, Chillingworth asks Dimmesdale if he has anything that he wants to disclose. This scene depicts Chillingworth’s obsession with finding the true father of Pearl. Chillingworth could have hinted at Dimmesdale to confess just once and then stop since Dimmesdale did not divulge any secrets. However, he repeatedly tries to get Dimmesdale to confess throughout the remainder of the
Villains come in all forms of malevolence throughout all types of literature. They help to drive the plot of the story and influence the themes and purposes as desired by the author. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character assigned the appellation of Roger Chillingworth is the main antagonist. He is first seen attending the public humiliation of Hester Prynne, who is the protagonist of the book. Chillingworth is established as a physician whom Hester had previously cheated on. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth is seen as being controlling over Arthur Dimmesdale, who testifies to one of the book’s main themes of guilt. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical drama The Scarlet Letter renders Roger Chillingworth as the villain who
Nathaniel Hawthorne created themes in The Scarlet Letter just as significant as the obvious ideas pertaining to sin and Puritan society. Roger Chillingworth is a character through which one of these themes resonates, and a character that is often underplayed in analysis. His weakness and path of destruction of himself and others are summed up in one of Chillingworth's last sentences in the novel, to Arthur Dimmesdale: "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over... there were no place so secret, no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me, save on this very scaffold!" (171).
When the reader first meets Roger Chillingworth standing watching Hester on the scaffold, he says that he wishes the father could be on the scaffold with her. “‘It irks me, nevertheless, that the partner of her iniquity should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side” (46). At this point, Chillingworth wishes that Mr. Dimmesdale was also receiving the sort of shame Hester is being put through. Throughout the first few chapters of the novel, however, Chillingworth’s motives become more and more malicious. By the time Chillingworth meets Hester in her prison cell, he has decided to go after Mr. Dimmesdale’s soul. Chillingworth turns to this goal because Mr. Dimmesdale did not endure Hester’s shame on the scaffold. Had Mr. Dimmesdale chosen to reveal himself at the time of Hester’s shame, he would not have had to endure the pain of Roger Chillingworth’s tortures of his soul.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the deceptive Roger Chillingworth could most certainly be considered a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the novel, Roger Chillingworth everlastingly remains misleading as to whether he lies on the side of good or evil. Even at the end of The Scarlet Letter, the knowledge of Roger Chillingworth is extremely nebulous. The mysterious Roger Chillingworth, although ultimately emanating to be evil, attests to be a challenge when determining his morality. Roger Chillingworth attempts to beguile us by enacting the role of a physician, and ensconces his relationship with Hester Prynne. He lives with Arthur Dimmesdale, vindicating that he is serving Arthur Dimmesdale a helpful medicine, while he is actually depleting the very life from his bones. Roger Chillingworth, therefore, achieves his moral ambiguity through deception, cleverness, and an unknown history.
The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was filled with many evil influences. Many people were able to withstand temptation, but some fell victim to the dark side. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, are what we define as sin (Gerber 14).
As the novel progressed, Chillingworth fits the profile of ‘vengeance destroys the avenger’. When Roger Chillingworth is first introduced to the reader, we see a kind old man, who just has planted the seeds for revenge. Although he did speak of getting his revenge, when Hester first met her husband in her jail cell, she did not see any evil in him. Because Hester would not tell him who she had slept with, Chillingworth vowed that he would spend the rest of his life having his revenge and that he would eventually suck the soul out of the man, whom she had the affair with. “There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares” (Hawthorne, 101) As the novel develops, Roger Chillingworth has centered himself on Arthur Dimmesdale, but he cannot prove that he is the “one.” Chillingworth has become friends with Dimmesdale, because he has a “strange disease,” that needed to be cured; Chillingworth suspects something and begins to drill Dimmesdale. “… The disorder is a strange one…hath all the operation of this disorder been fairly laid open to me and recounted to me” (Hawthorne, 156).