This is a perfect quote to explain what happened to Roger Chillingworth throughout the book “The Scarlet Letter”. The more evilness he allowed to consume him, the more pain he felt with his body, mind and spirit. I believe Roger Chillingworth to be one of the most hated characters but also one of the most interesting characters in this book. Roger Chillingworth symbolizes the self-destructive power of revenge, as well as the natural evil found in every person.

The biggest symbol of his malice is his physical deformity. We learn about this when Chillingworth is first introduced while Hester is standing on the scaffold. Hester allows us to get a clear, distinct, visual of what he looks like. He was small in stature and it was evident to Hester that one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other. (Hawthorne 56). Here, Chillingworth is presented as an ugly man who is thin, small, and possessed of an odd “peculiarity.” This seems to single him out from society, thou

This passage is very revealing of the nature of Roger Chillingworth. Roger was a man of science. All his emotion and feeling has returned toward his obsession for “vengeance.” It seems like his evilness has filled the void where his compassion should have been. This evil was hidden within him throughout the book. His obsession has begun to take control over his mind.

Chillingworth is constantly presented as a scholar and an observer. During his prison interview with Hester, Chillingworth even says that he is “the bookworm of great libraries” (Hawthorne 69). It seems as though he has attempted to use books to replace people. One book that was constantly talked about was the “Black Book” of the devil, which is compared to Chillingworth many times.

This passage emphasizes Chillingworth as a leech, both in the medical and in an animal sense. Through his search for vengeance, Chillingworth has thrived off of the pain and suffering Dimmesdale has perceived. The more guilty and sick he made Dimmesdale feel, the more alive Chillingworth felt. After Dimmesdale dies, Chillingworth found himself with no direction in life.

Nothing was more remarkable than the change, which took place, almost immediately after Mr. Dimmesdale’s death, in the appearance and demeanor of the old man known as Roger Chillingworth. All his strength and energy - all his vital and intellectual force - seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away,

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