A Chilling Transformation
Chillingworth, the name alone evokes ideas of coldness, darkness, wickedness, loneliness, and this idea is no different from the man who carries this name, Roger Chillingworth, a man incapable of human love. Yet he had not always been this evil or wicked, and in fact he seemed to be quite the opposite. The reader learns that Chillingworth was an intelligent physician, a man dedicated to helping others, who would spend hours alone studying diligently, and one cannot feel sorry for him when he arrives at the colony to see his wife upon the scaffold. But what could drive a man to become the cold, distant, shell of his former self? It seems to be the age old story of love and heartbreak. This loss of love was not in the general sense of the word though but rather in the loss of his love to control Hester and her newborn child. His change is fueled by her adultery. When he realizes he can no longer control her due to her infidelity, he decides to execute an evil deed to control the mind and life of someone else: Dimmesdale. Chillingworth is a cold and calculating sinner who deceives the people of the Puritan society, though he reflects the evil they wish to cast out. Chillingworths transformation can even be seen in his interactions with nature and the fact that he seems to be linked with fire and darkness. To fully understand the complete transformation of Chillingworth we must look at all these aspects and how they tie together to create a great romance.
When the reader first encounters Chillingworth they are unaware of his true identity as Roger Prynne, the husband of Hester Prynne. Chillingworth appears at the worst possible time, when his wife is being publicly scorned for her adultery. He is filled with rage over this event and appears at this moment to become dark, his look became keen and penetrative. A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over themhis face darkened with some powerful emotion (1385). Not wanting to be associated with such a sin he reveals himself to be Roger Chillingworth and tells the towns people he had suffered a ship wreck and consequent bondage by the native Indians. When Hester is returned to the jail he is summoned to take care of her, but Hester is very scared for both her and her childs life. She learns though that Chillingworth wants no revenge on her; he feels they have wronged one another, him making her stay in an unhappy marriage and not being a good husband and her for being an adulteress. Rather he wishes to destroy the father of the child and when Hester refuses to unveil the father he swears he will find him, he bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as thou dost; but I shall read it on his heart (1393). Hester can see what she has done to him, she sees she has caused him to seek revenge and she realizes this no clearer than when the two meet in the woods seven years later. At this point Hester sees the full transformation of Chillingworth from a man she once loved to a man she now proclaims to hate.
But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished, and been succeeded by an eager, searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded lookIn a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil's office. This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analyzed and gloated over (1443).
Hester thinks of the caring, studious, thoughtful man he used to be and can see what he has become due to her infidelity. Due to his hate and a never ceasing look for revenge he has become a walking embodiment of the devil and his evil workings. Chillingworth feels there is nothing that can be done for his soul and that he was made to be a fiend. Hesters act of infidelity initiated Chillingworths transformation but from this infidelity came an important character: Pearl
Throughout the book Pearl and Chillingworth do not have very much interaction with one another but when they do it is very significant. Throughout the novel it is obvious that Pearl is very intuitive and has an uncanny ability to see things others tend to overlook. Such is the case in chapter five when Pearl recognizes Chillingworth as the Black Man. This occurs while Chillingworth and Dimmesdale are having an intense conversation on whether Dimmesdale is keeping a secret that is causing his illness. Pearl and Hester walk by their house and through the window Pearl sees the two men and proclaims "Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!" (1424-25). Pearl sees him as a Devil-like person who has hold of Dimmesdales life. The two do not interact again until the end of the novel when Chillingworth dies and leaves his entire fortune to Pearl. This is an intriguing move by Chillingworth and leaves the reader asking why he would have left his fortune to a child he never accepted or seemed to love. From this one of two assumptions can be made: he did it either to finally achieve his revenge or to redeem himself. If the reader believes he left his fortune to Pearl solely to appear a better father than Dimmesdale and eventually gaining his revenge, then Chillingworth does not seem to transform in Pearls view. But if the reader believes he gave his estate to Pearl as a way of trying to redeem himself for all the pain he caused, for never being a true father to Pearl, or for never being a good husband to Hester, then he experienced a huge transformation. If this were the case the reader would be able to see a main point in Hawthornes writing; that though some can fall into a life a sin or commit a sinful act they can be redeemed. Whatever the cause of this gift it is important to discuss the true father of Pearl and the revenge Chillingworth enacted upon him.
One of the Puritan societys biggest objectives was to bring evil to light and remove it from its society. This method worked with Hester, even though she wasnt a great sinner, but yet it let Chillingworth walk amongst them for many years though he was the biggest sinner in the novel. When Chillingworth first arrives many people in the community are extremely happy because they feel he can help Minister Dimmesdale with his declining health:
Such was the young clergyman's condition, and so imminent the prospect that his dawning light would be extinguished, all untimely, when Roger Chillingworth made his advent to the town. His first entry on the scene, few people could tell whence, dropping down, as it were, out of the sky, or starting from the nether earth, had an aspect of mystery, which was easily heightened to the miraculous (1417).
Dimmesdales friends and the Puritan people thought Chillingworth was such a blessing they convinced the two to live together, unknowing this would only increase his illness and lead to his eventual death. Not only did many citizens of the community see his arrival as a blessing but so did the higher officials and ministers of the town. Many times throughout the novel Chillingworth is seen with these governors and ministers; such is the case in chapter eight when he is at the house of Governor Bellingham with Mr. Wilson and Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth is cunning and knows he needs to befriend the higher officials in order to possibly find the father of Pearl. This is an important addition in the novel because it shows the idea that evil can disguise itself and be found in the places one would last think and possibly Hawthorne wanted to bring to light the hypocrisy within the Puritan community. But it is important to note that many people of the community did not trust Chillingworth and thought he was the reason the minister continued to sicken. Many thought that while he was captured by the Indians he had learned many new medical remedies in the dark arts, which had started his transformation toward evil. Those that believed Chillingworth was a man of evil said one could tell simply by looking at him. They believed since he came to town he had progressively become more and more devilish.
At first, his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him. According to the vulgar idea, the fire in his laboratory had been brought from the lower regions, and was fed with infernal fuel; and so, as might be expected, his visage was getting sooty with the smoke (1421).
The doubtfulness of his work continued to grow when the ministers health continued to decline and many believed that he was haunted either by Satan himself, or Satan's emissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth (1421). The people could only look on as they questioned who would win in this battle of good versus evil and hope their Minister would reign supreme. The addition of how Chillingworth is viewed by society is important because it shows the different views people hold about evil. The fact that the majority of people simply overlook the evil of Chillingworth fuels the conclusion that evil is all around us but very few can notice and react to it. Chillingworth does not reflect the ideal of the Puritan society but he does reflect dark aspects of nature.
Chillingworths nature as a human being is dark and cynical and this is reflected in his relationship with nature. In the novel the forest is representative of natural law and authority and this allows each character to act as they wish while in it. In the case of Chillingworth it represents his darkness and his friendship with evil. He is often seen walking through the woods collecting weeds, plants and other herbs to make remedies and medicine. This shows that his medicine to help Dimmesdale was always filled with bad intentions and that he only kept him alive in order to continually torture him. There is a correlation between Chillingworth and the Black Man because both are said to dwell in the woods. It is also interesting to mention that when we first see Chillingworth he is leaving the forest and heathens. This is interesting because one could think he had developed the precursors for his evils in the dark forest. Chillingworths physical characteristics are often compared to dark aspects of nature such as fire and nighttime. The comparison to fire is relative to his transportation because it represents the evil in him but also the destructive force of his nature. Chillingworth is also commonly active during the night showing his dark deeds and how they need to be covered up. The changes that happen in Chillingworth have tendencies toward realistic and romantic.
The idea of romance is important in the Scarlet Letter and also in the character transformation of Roger Chillingworth. The main aspects of romance in Chillingworth are seen in his physical descriptions. An important feature of Chillingworths appearance is his physical deformity, one of the mans shoulders rose higher than other (1384), which throughout the novel becomes more apparent. There is an element of romance in the idea that Chillingworths physical deformity hints at a deformity of the mind and spirit, that his outward appearance represents his true identity. Also romance is used often to describe the fire or reddening of his eyes, but since this cannot really happen it is a way to show the outward influence of his evil. Ultimately, Chillingworth represents true evil. His sole concern is with revenging the loss of his one love and after Dimmesdale escapes his clutch he has no choice but to die. His sin is different and the most evil because he aims to hurt others while Hester and Dimmesdale was a sin rooted in love. It is said that the desire for revenge will turn a mans heart to evil. This is true in Nathaniel Hawthornes The scarlet Letter when Roger Chillingworth becomes consumed with revenge for the defilement of his marriage vowels. His want for revenge eventually turned him into a devil who could no longer understand the difference between evil and good. He merely sought revenge and did everything he could to get it. He tried to play God. In the process, he became a devil.
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