ChillingworthPower Of Sin

2 Pages 429 Words

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the origin of sin in Roger Chillingworth’s character and his desire for revenge. “Spending long hours in his poorly lit study” he was a “man of science”, devoted to the pursuit of learning. Before he left Hester at their settlement, he was so wrapped up in his own studies that he close-mindedly became a man of reason, without conscience or compassion for her or anyone else. His will power on the other hand, was enticed by revenge and like a scientist, he found a way of going about getting this revenge.
Chillingworth is the “man of science”, characterized by pure intellect and reason with no concerns or feelings about others. In chapter 9, Hawthorne describes the scarcity of Chillingworth’s scientific peers in the New World: “Skillful men, of the medical…profession were of rare occurrence in the colony. “ These men of science have lost their spiritual view of human beings because they are so wrapped up with the scientific intricacies of the human body. Chillingworth lived in a world of scholarly pursuits and learning and is a prime example of one of these scientific men. He cut Hester out of his life long before the Indians imprisoned him to pursue his studies.
Like a lab rat that is subject to horrible experiments, an innocent soul was subject to experimental torture in the name of revenge and not scientific pursuit. So horrible were the minister’s feelings about himself that he died out of shame. He was no longer capable of bearing the grief that infected him.
It surprises me that Chillingworth never considered forgiving Arthur Dimmesdale for pursuing love- a perfectly reasonable part of humanity. Dimmesdale’s demise at the end of the book was a direct cause from Chillingworth, who used the power of sin and secrecy against him. Like a scientific investigation of his subject- the minister, he calculated his every move in understanding him, like ...