Preview

Roger Chillingworth Is A Villain

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
252 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Roger Chillingworth Is A Villain
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter", Roger Chillingworth,Hester's husband, is a villain because he becomes a man deficient in human warmth due to his desire to gain revenge against Hester's forbidden paramour:Reverend Dimmesdale. His vindictive desire and malice affects his external appearance and makes him torture Reverend Dimmesdale. Roger Chillingworth is a villain because he wants to exact revenge against Dimmesdale.When Chillingworth talk to Hester in her prison cell, he talks to her Dimmesdale,and how he has "wronged" both Hester and himself.He then vows that he "...shall seek this man..." and "...shall see him tremble".Chillingworth must feel that Dimmesdale is the only person here who has wronged him.He feels hurt
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Comparing Evil In The Scarlet Letter And Moby Dick
    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Evil In The Scarlet Letter And Moby Dick

    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
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Roger Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page

    Roger Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Irony in Scarlet Letter
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Irony in Scarlet Letter

    Each story with an inspirational protagonist must be countered by a sinister antagonist who wants to soil the positive efforts of the hero or heroine. Although some might argue that society would be the only rival to Hester and Dimmesdale, Hawthorne uses his words to prove otherwise, painting the villain Chillingworth as a dark, heinous figure. The first instance of irony that had me beside my self was the doctor Chillinworth’s words to Hester in Chapter 4 “’…as a man who has not thought and philosophized in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee,’”(Hawthorne 70). Chillingworth swears not to be intrusive in Hester’s struggles and presents himself as an innocent bystander in the town of Boston. The verbal deceit here…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    'Chillingworth In The Scarlet Letter'
    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages

    'Chillingworth In The Scarlet Letter'

    When Chillingworth is being like this it is making Hester feel very uncomfortable because she is thinking that she maybe, sold her soul to the devil by doing this with Dimmesdale and having the Scarlet A on her chest. This quote shows how the relationship between Hester and Chillingworth is, and how Chillingworth is treating Hester during the story. He basically tries to make Hester feel guilty about committing adultery. During this whole time, the only person that knows who Chillingworth really is, is Hester. Hester states, "…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is The Antagonist In Chillingworth's Letter
    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page

    Who Is The Antagonist In Chillingworth's Letter

    Chillingworth brought trouble to our main protagonist, Hester. A true antagonist is an individual who gets in the path of the protagonist’s goal. He held on to the past for eight years and devoted the rest of life to his revenge. Chillingworth’s idea of justifying the situation was to make the ones who hurt him suffer from what they have done. Basing off of this idea, it creates the perfect scenario for an antagonist to develop. Chillingworth gained antagonistic traits such as being relatable, taking pleasure in other’s miseries, not realizing their wrongdoings, and hiding their own secrets. It is difficult to imagine what Chillingworth felt, he was a scholar who worked hard in gaining knowledge. He felt that all of that work was useless after…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth a Man of Evil Essay Example
    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth a Man of Evil Essay Example

    In the novel the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's character Roger Chillingworth is supposed to represent the evil in the story. Hawthorne shows Chillingworth to be evil by several means. The physical description of Chillingworth shows him as an evil character. Statements are also made by Hawthorne referring to the inner content of Chillingworth that would lead the reader to feelings of his evilness. Another good way Hawthorne expresses that Chillingworth is evil is his name. There are many methods Hawthorne uses to demonstrate the evil qualities of Chillingworth.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth's Perspective
    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth's Perspective

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale
    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale

    "What evil have I done the man?" asked Roger Chillingworth again.”(Hawthorne, 141) Chillingworth has an urge to ruin Hester if it’s the last thing he does. "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over," said he, looking darkly at the clergyman, "there was no one place so secret, —no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,--save on this very scaffold!"(Hawthorne, 175) Chillingworth does not show the appearance that he is there to take revenge on Hester.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Roger Chillingworth's Evil In Scarlet Letter
    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Roger Chillingworth's Evil In Scarlet Letter

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, he describes the story as a "tale of human frailty and sorrow.  This is most likely due to the fact that all the main characters go through some sort of sorrow and hardship throughout the novel. Each is unique in it's own way and has a different effect on the character. Furthermore, each character has his/her own major flaw or sin. Roger Chillingworth, for example, had the flaw of seeking revenge. This completely consumed his life, and as you will soon see, he was unable to live without it. As his name suggests he is devoid of human sentiment. He is referred to as a leech because he feeds on the lives of others in order to accomplish his goals. Ultimately Roger Chillingworth comes to represent true evil. Roger Chillingworth's outlook throughout the story and his actions were very dependant upon his need for revenge. His vow to seek revenge had a negative affect on his life and the lives of others around him. Lastly, his fatal flaw led him to suffer dire consequences at the end of the novel.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Chillingworth's Revenge Quotes
    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Chillingworth's Revenge Quotes

    Even Pearl realizes this, calling him “The Black Man” and notes how the devil “hath got hold of the minister already” (Hawthorne 122). It starts to become very obvious that Chillingworth has lost it when a seven year old can connect the dots. During Hester and Chillingworth’s conversation, Hester exclaims to the physician about how his hatred “has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend! Wilt thou yet purge it out of thee, and be once more human?” (Hawthorne 157). Now, Hester and Pearl both realize the enemy Roger Chillingworth has become. It is almost as if he wears his obsession and hate like a sleeve on his arm, for all to…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Distorted Visions In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Distorted Visions In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    An example of this is Dimmesdale telling Hester, "Happy are you, Hester, that wears the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!"(167) In a labyrinth of delusion, he selfishly ignores the pain and hardships that Hester faces because of her exhortation from society. His hatred and guilty conscience cause him to see Hester, the woman he loves, as the one who is free of the weight of the level of oppression that he experiences daily from the sin they share. He resents the sin to the point that he cannot help but associate the passion he has for Hester with it and then partially blame her. Another example is how Hester, having never “felt… love, nor feigned any” (68) for Roger Chillingworth, is able to clearly see " 'the hatred that has transformed’” (151) the man she agreed to marry, from a “’wise and just man to a fiend'"(151). She never feels love for him in the form of blinding passion , so she is able to see him for who he really is. Although they are bonded together by marriage, there is no real relationship there to blur her logic. Hester is later a victim of distorted views when she is overwhelmed with her "troubled heart" (87) to the point that she questions "whether Pearl was a human child” (83). The emotions that come with sin, exclusion from society, and raising a child alone delude her into thinking that Pearl may be “ an airy sprite" (83). Her daughter, Pearl is the only thing keeping her going at this point and Hester is fully aware that this is in fact her human baby. Influenced by her emotions and Pearl’s challenging demeanor, she cannot even think logically to recognize how unlikely it is that her child is anything other than human. Emotions involved in relationships have a way of making things seem far from what they really are as Hawthorne reveals throughout the…

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Scarlet Letter Roger Chillingworth The Greatest Sinner
    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter Roger Chillingworth The Greatest Sinner

    Roger Chillingworth has a strong, well-rooted want for revenge for the crimes the injustices done to him, and he goes to such a magnificent extent to fulfill that revenge that his soul was filled with evil. Chillingworth, who initially was a calm and decent man, consumed by his revenge, had "a kind of fierce thought [that] seized the man" (Hawthorne, 120), that completely controlled all of his actions. This fierceness and determination for evil doings is a very strong sin. This lust for revenge also transformed Chillingworth's natural human nature that "loves more readily than it hates" (Hawthorne, 149) into one of only hatred and…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Scarlet Leter Tone
    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Leter Tone

    Hawthorne views Roger Chillingworth as psychotic and cold. This is also made immensely clear on several occasions. However, these traits are most emphasized when Hawthorne brings to the audiences attention the "dark complexion" (Ch. 8) that is upon Chillingworth. While acting as a medical supervisor for Dimmesdale, Chillingworth seeks a "more intimate revenge" (Ch. 11) that was colder than any enemy had ever endured. His psychotic ways show when Hawthorne states that [satan himself was in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth] (Ch.9) as he digs through Dimmesdale's heart.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter Essay: Chillingworth's Significance
    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Scarlet Letter Essay: Chillingworth's Significance

    Consequently, Chillingworth’s character transforms into something darker, almost diabolical, and is echoed on henceforth in the novel. For, “think not that [he] shall interfere with Heaven’s own method of retribution, or, to [his] own loss, betray [Hester’s lover] to the to the gripe of human law. Neither do thou imagine that [he] shall contrive aught against [her lover’s] life, no, nor against his fame; if, as [Hester] judge[s], [her lover] be the man of fair repute. Let [her lover] live! Let [her lover] hide himself in outward honor, if he may! Not the less, [her lover] shall be [his]!” (Hawthorne, 64) Considering this, Chillingworth harkens satisfying justice done for Hester and her lover’s sin, but absolutely desired to…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Conflict in the Scarlet Letter
    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Conflict in the Scarlet Letter

    Human nature, while impressively complex, also has various poor qualities. Often these imperfections result in conflicts which are in turn depicted in works of literature. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, set in an old Puritan community, is centered on several conflicts of human nature that result from the adultery and punishment of Hester Prynne. There are three major conflicts each for which Hawthorne created a specific main character to illustrate: Pearl, Hester's illegitimate daughter, depicts the conflict purity versus sin, Roger Chillingworth, Hester's former husband, depicts good versus evil, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who sinned with Hester, depicts the conflict love versus hate. Each of these characters has distinct qualities and actions that Hawthorne uses to establish and elaborate conflicts of human nature in The Scarlet Letter.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics