His Revenge

Chillingworth, the villain in the book of Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was more human than devil. The author did a good job with his description of Chillingworth as an evil character. It is true that he was a perverse man, but he had his reason to become mad. From his perspective, he returned after disappearing for one year, and what he last was expecting was his wife to be pregnant by another man. This drove him insane, with a desire for revenge. He did not become a villain out of nowhere, there are reasons for it, just be in his place. Being cheated on is not a pleasant feeling, and he drowned himself looking for revenge, it became his only life purpose. He had the opportunity to fulfill his goal and he took it, and he did not want a quick one, no, he wanted one that could satisfy him. He wanted his justice in his own way. Justice for his broken heart. Even if he had to fall in the depths of hell, or even though it was consuming him, he would do the impossible to fulfill it. Chillingworth tortured his wife and lover, even though he could have revealed his identity and fulfilled his aspirations quickly, he refused to do it because he wanted to have a perfect revenge.

Chillingworth’s first objective was not to make Hester life a hell because she was already living in one with her Letter, instead he wanted to make an inferno to her lover. Hester was abused, discriminated against, and hated by the whole town, just because of the scarlet letter. So it was not necessary to make more of a hell of her life; however, Chillingworth took a long time to find the lover, but when he did, and found out it was Dimmesdale, his friend, he jumped and danced with excitement; “But with what a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror! With what a ghastly rapture, as it were, too mighty to be expressed only by the eye and features, and therefore bursting forth through the whole ugliness of his figure, and making itself even riotously manifest by the extravagant gestures with which he threw up his arms towards the ceiling, and stamped his foot upon the floor!” (Hawthorne 92). Chillingworth could have exposed Dimmesdale’s secret, but if he did that, he would not have gotten the pleasure out of screwing with Dimmesdale’s mind. Chillingworth seems to take more of a psychological approach to mess with Dimmesdale’s mind. This approach was his type of revenge and it was effective. Dimmesdale was torturing himself physically and mentaly  because of guilt, and Chillingworth got joy from seeing this. It is true that Cillingworth did something wicked, but he is not to blame. It is part of human nature to take advantage of someone who did something terrible to him. For example, people would respond if someone pushed him, either by returning the push or saying something about it. It is a natural instinct. Roger Chillingworth was with the Native Americans for a year and the only reason he wanted to go to Boston was to find his wife. Then he was heartbroken after knowing her loveable one cheated on him with another guy. Surging to a new purpose, to find his own justice and vengeance. 

Hawthorne gives the reader an example of the thought process behind vengeance of Chillingworth and what he thought was justice. Chillingworth wants the adulterer to be punished for their sins, he will not let even the heaven to deal with Dimmesdale with their own method of retribution. He is the judge, and he is going to punish Dimmesdale in the way that he thinks is fair. He imagined his revenge every single day until he planned the perfect vengeance; “which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (Hawthorne 131). Roger Chillingworth is the manager of his vengeance, and he wants to find retribution for his hollow soul. A love that was not correspondent. A beautiful slower that was taken from his hands, and he wants to torture the guilty. The author makes Chillingworth the embodiment of obsession of vengeance. He was obsessed more and more until his soul was on fire. Fueled by his own obsession, corrupting his heart into a dark and cold one. He seeks justice so much that drives him mad. He is a man that lost everything and he clung in anything he could, and it was vengeance. Letting evil corrupt his soul.

Roger calls himself an evil being to Hester, he doesn’t care anymore if he loses his humanity. He could even sign a pact with the devil to accomplish his vengeance even if he needs to sell his soul.  He blames her for this transformation “‘And what am I now?’ demanded he, looking into her face, and permitting the whole evil within him to be written on his features. ‘I have already told thee what I am! A fiend! Who made me so?’ (Hawthorne 116).  He was once a happy man, but now is inexistent. The Devil was only seen in his eyes and he did not care about it anymore. His soul turned black. His being consumed by his own obsesion, and he is letting it. Chillingworth’s purpose is his revenge and it seemed that he would use any means necessary, but then, he did not. When he could stop Hester and to confess the truth he did not. He did anything to make Chillingworth do his speech and die miserably. Hester went to him saying that she wants to stop her lover’s hell, insinuating that she will tell the truth to him, he knew and it looked like he did not care. Dimmsdale died happy, feeling relief of telling the truth, while Chillingworth died with agony because he did not have his perfect revenge. He became unhappy thanks to Hester, and died unhappy. He deserved better but he did not. He died lonely and in pain. 

Roger Chillingworth was a despicable man, but he had good reasons for being one. The author made him the incarnation of obsession and that obsession led him to desperation. A path of fire that darken his soul. He was a villain with reasons, he wanted to feel his lost joy from the man who took it from him. He was a human even though he considered himself as a devil being. A man looking for his own justice. Willing to cross the path through hell to accomplish his obsessions. Even if it will cost his soul. Chillingworth did what almost anyone would do. It is true that he was wicked, but Hester made the man that was in the story. He was happy before he knew about the betrayal of her wife. He was destroyed, and he was desperately looking for a new purpose-revenge.