Chillingworth Roger
The theme, "Within each person exists the capability for both good and evil" is illustrated through Roger Chillingworth. Originally born Roger Prynne, he lived in England as an old and lonely scholar dehumanized by a life of abstruse studying. He makes the mistake of marrying a young wife, a generation younger that he is. He sends her to America, to the Puritan colony of Massachusetts, with instructions to live quietly until he arrives. Due to "grievous mishaps by sea and land", and over a year's captivity by Indians, his intended arrival was delayed. When he finally arrives, he finds Hester Prynne, his wife, being publicly exposed as an adulteress. He sees Hester holding the child of another man. After his discovery, "Chillingworth moves closer to the scaffold and imperiously bids her to name the father of her child" (pg 113). Disappointed that his hope of gaining Hester's affection upon arrival was destroyed, he also hated the man that gained that affection. Unwilling to be associated with her
Chillingworth's quest is to find out if his suspicion is, in fact, reality. When she goes to Chillingworth and speaks to him about revealing his identity, he neither condones nor condemns her decision. While living together, Chillingworth constantly digs for Dimmesdale to release his secret, but he will not reveal it, and his condition becomes worse. Finally, Chillingworth catches Dimmesdale sleeping and thrust aside the vestment to discover the letter "A" upon his chest. This new knowledge does not set Dimmesdale free of Chillingworth's control. He knows he must get closer to Dimmesdale in order to find out, "The mysterious illness of Dimmesdale-mysterious to the town-is something he says he can treat, and so he becomes the minister's physician; he even lives with him" (pg 150). Hester notices the deterioration of his health, and thinks that her faithfulness, in keeping Chillingworth's identity a secret, is to blame. Soon after Hester is allowed off of the scaffold, Chillingworth treats her and the baby with some medicine. Dimmesdale gives an eloquent representation for Hester, and Chillingworth says "You speak, my friend, with a strange earnestness"(121). After Chillingworth moves in with Dimmesdale, his image in the community begins to change. Chillingworth begins to suspect that Dimmesdale is Pearl's (Hester daughter) father when Reverend Wilson and Governor Billingham are trying to take Pearl away from Hester. Since the town needed a doctor around the same time Dimmesdale became sick, Chillingworth's interest in Dimmesdale helps his acceptance in the community; however, the community did not know his intentions. While doing so he tells Hester to keep his identity a secret and tells her about the anger he has inside.
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Acceptance Essays
