Character Analysis of Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter

Imagine a young woman having to wear a big letter A on her at all times for a single sin she committed. This happened to Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, written in the 1800s. It is amazingly still read today. Nathaniel Hawthorne was known for making famous short stories. These short stories include Young Goodman, The Birth-Mark, and Feathertop. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter takes place in the 1800s and is set in Puritan New England. This novel tells the story of a young woman named Hester Prynne being outcasted by society for her sins. The Scarlet Letter teaches that sin, forgiveness, and redemption are timeless ideas. Throughout the story, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the character Roger Chillingworth to portray the major themes of sin, isolation, and revenge.

In the novel, Hawthorne uses Chillingworth’s character to demonstrate how sin can hurt someone’s life. Hawthorne states, “I shall feel him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares” (Hawthorne). Hawthorne uses this quote to show how sin is affecting Chillingworth. He wants nothing more than to find the father and make him pay. Chillingworth’s sins slowly torture Dimmesdale by sparking his anxiety and guilt. Hawthorne wants the reader to learn that sin leads to guilt and pain. Hester’s sin against Chillingworth drives him to seek revenge against the father. 

According to Hathorne, revenge is a devouring cancer, destroying the mind, body, and spirit; he uses Chillingworth to show this. Hawthorne says, “There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin” (Hawthorne). He uses this interaction between Dimmesdale and Hester to emphasize how bad the sin of revenge is. Even after all of the sins Dimmesdale and Hester committed, he still believes Chillingworth’s sin of revenge is much worse. His revenge motive is driven by his inability to love which causes him to hate. Chillingworth's seek of revenge drives him into isolation.

Throughout the book, the author shows the theme of isolation with Chillingworth. Hawthorne writes, “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). This quote shows how Chillingworth has burning hatred and desire for revenge in his heart that drives him into isolation. He is too focused on getting revenge on Dimmesdale that he does not care for anyone in the town besides him and Hester. All in all, Hawthorne uses Chillingworth to show major themes throughout the book.

In conclusion, Hathorne shows the themes of sin, revenge, and isolation using Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth’s sins hurt Hester and Dimmesdale by not allowing them to live their life. Chillingworth is constantly seeking revenge against Dimmesdale for what he did. He becomes obsessed with revenge which drives him into isolation. This is important because Hawthorne is teaching the reader that sin is ultimately just going to lead to more pain and suffering. The letter A Hester wears on her has a lot of sin behind it.