Roger Chillingworth

Roger Chillingworth

Roger Chillingworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a revolutionary man. His views on topics such as medicine are influenced by the natives which whom he lived with. These ideas, which are frowned upon by the Puritan society, begin to control his life. Chillingworth slowly progresses from an old, wise, physician, to a malevolent monster. Physically, he becomes more bent over while at the same time he also becomes more conniving in his thoughts. Chillingworth’s entire purpose for staying in town changes as he learns more about the father of Pearl. Chillingworth becomes contagious in a sense because the more time he spends with Arthur Dimmesdale, the more Dimmesdale begins to start to rot as well. The townspeople agree that Roger Chillingworth is no good, and that he is truly from the devil. Roger Chillingworth certainly changes and differs from the rest of society intellectually, mentally, and physically.

The reader's first image that they have of Chillingworth is with an Indian. Indians were considered savages and the Christians believed them to be from the devil because they connected themselves with nature. Coincidentally, Chillingworth uses many herbal ingredients in his remedies, including the ones which he gives Hester and Pearl when he goes to visit them in prison when he first arrives in town. "My old studies in alchemy, and my sojourn, for above a year past, among a people well versed in kindly properties of simples, have made a better physician of me than many that claim the medical degree," (67), he told Hester. Chillingworth and his medical ideas are certainly different than the typical thoughts of the townspeople. Not only did Chillingworth exemplify a differentiation in his medical beliefs by collecting herbs and ingredients from the earth, but also in his theory of genetics. When Hester and Pearl were brought to Governor Bellingham's place, Chillingworth suggests the theory of genetics as a way to determine the father. "Would it be beyond a philosopher's research to analyze that the child's nature, and, from its make and mold, to give a shrewd guess at the father?" (106), he asked. But this idea was considered ludicrous. "Nay; it would be sinful, in such a question, to follow the clew of profane philosophy," (106), Mr. Wilson replied to this idea. It is a bit ironic how Hawthorne placed the word ' sinful' in the response because it exemplifies completely different worlds of opinions. In this case, Mr. Wilson, a Christian, believes it to be a sin to believe in something in where there is no proof. However, Chillingworth, a man who has been living with the devils for one year, does not agree with the Christian system in determining the father of Pearl.

When the reader is first introduced to Chillingworth, he is described as “a white man, clad in a strange disarray of civilized and strange costume,” (56). Hawthorne portrays the Indian society and the Puritan society as two completely separate worlds. This view was shared by the Puritans because they never associated themselves with the people who live in their woods and consider them to be devils. It seems at first that Chillingworth is torn between both worlds because he was once a Christian man who was befriended by the people whom he had once considered almost enemies. His unique arrangement of clothing also shows that Chillingworth is uncertain what type of person he considers himself. One can wonder if Chillingworth realized that everything he thought about the savages was false, and that the Puritans may not have liked the savages because they never had a chance to know them. Aside from this, it is clear that Chillingworth will be forced to choose between the life of Christianity which he as always known and the people of nature who have taken care of him for the past year.

The most definite thing that changes about Chillingworth is his purpose for being in town. At first, Chillingworth discusses with Hester his plans to stay in down to find out the man who has done them both wrong. It was only planned to be an act of revenge, so Chillingworth could know the biggest sinner of all. He tells Hester that he plans to become a “man who devotes himself earnestly and unreservedly to the solution of a mystery,” (70). Yet as time progresses, Chillingworth’s goal becomes more twisted and turns into an obsession so immense that it becomes his only reason for living. Even after Chillingworth is almost certain that Dimmesdale is the father, he does not let the issue rest. Instead, he becomes dedicated to ruining Dimmesdale’s life. This passion takes over Chillingworth’s life. Soon, it is the only thing which is keeping him alive. By living with Dimmesdale and the fact that Dimmesdale has not confessed, Chillingworth is able to control him and pull him under his spell.