Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel he uses intricate descriptions of each character's actions and thoughts to develop them as complex characters and to further develop the plot. However, in chapter four of Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, he uses the personal conversation between Hester and her husband Roger Chillingworth to both introduce Chillingworth as one complex character and reveal their past and future actions to the reader. Thus, the dialogue in chapter four is contextually and thematically significant because it both develops complex characters and shapes the plot of the novel.
             In chapter four of Hawthorne's novel, the dialogue reveals the attitude and relationship between Hester and Chillingworth. It explains what Chillingworth has been and what he will become. Many have considered him a scholar after studying medicine with the Native Americans; a knowledge seeker who leaves his youthful wife to become something else. However, his title as a physician will later contribute to his transformation into another form of sinner. Though still seeking knowledge, when attending to Hester Prynne and her daughter Pearl's health, it is vengeful knowledge; and knowledge for use of a false or vengeful purpose (and for self-gain, in Chillingworth's case) – is the ultimate sin. Chillingworth thus, becomes a symbol of evil due to his vengeance. The dialogue continues to reveal his future self-destruction as he seeks knowledge about this unknown man. Similarly, the dialogue reveals Hester's previous and current attributes in her relationship with Chillingworth. "Thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any." (Hawthorne, 68), illustrating that Hester was, and had always been honest about her "love" for her Chillingworth, acknowledging that she never felt love for him, nor had she ever pretended to. The dialogue also reveals, (though disrega...