Scarlet letter info
characterization of the townspeople as unforgiving and bloodthirsty individuals serves to heighten the guilt felt by the novel's sinners. Roger Chillingworth is an erudite, scholarly physician, and Hester's husband. His and Hester's marriage was arranged by Hester's parents, despite the large difference in age of the two. Chillingworth is much older than Hester. The couple did not love each other, but decided to marry anyway. For this, Chillingworth feels guilty. Chillingworth's major sin, the worst sin committed by anyone throughout the novel, was deciding to seek revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale accuses Chillingworth of the worst sin by saying: "He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart" (Hawthorne 185). When Chillingworth enters Salem, he sees his wife on the scaffold holding a baby and wearing an adornment of shame on her bosom. He bids her to not reveal his identity and he forgives her for her sin. However, he tells her, he will seek out her fellow sinner. Chillingworth says to Hester: "I shall seek this man, as I have sought truth in books; as I have sought gold in alchemy. There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unaware
She is shunned by the town and is denied a father throughout the entire story. He feels less guilt than most characters in the book, but he is a major cause of the misery in the lives of the other characters. The young minister is tortured mercilessly and eventually decides that he must confess to his sin. Because he has no outward sign that he has committed a sin (a sign such as Hester's pregnancy), the youthful minister is tempted to conceal his shameful action. Lewis Leary states: "Hester, clearly, cannot hate her sin. Because he was taken over by jealousy and the need for revenge, Roger Chillingworth passed away after Dimmesdale's death. His guilt can not be easily forgotten (139). The minister is also causing Pearl, his daughter, pain by not accepting her as his child. Pearl is the only character in the novel that is not affected by her own guilt. He wishes that he had an outward sign such as Hester's scarlet "A" so that he would no longer be able to deceive the people (181-182). He succumbs to this temptation and allows Hester to accept the punishment alone. However, the guilt of the other characters shapes and molds Pearl's life by influencing the other character's thoughts and actions. At times, even Hester denies that Pearl is her daughter. Hester's character dealt with the guilt most efficiently. Hester realizes that she will pay for her sin by feeling the pressure of guilt for a long time.
Common topics in this essay:
Oedipus Ragussis,
Roger Chillingworth,
Ragussis Pearl,
Dimmesdale Dimmesdale,
Chillingworth Chillingworth,
Chillingworth Hester,
Prynne Puritan,
Election Day,
Dimmesdale Hester's,
Nathaniel Hawthorne's,
roger chillingworth,
hester prynne,
mister arthur dimmesdale,
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reverend mister,
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heart minister,
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Acceptance Essays
