The Scarlett LEtter

This is further worsened by the bad care and evil actions of Roger Chillingworth, and the Puritan's high expectations of their minister. Chillingworth is also affected by the "A" in a different way. It is a source of jealousy and evil toward Dimmesdale and his every action in the novel comes from his desire to hurt the minister. When his devilish face is shown, later in the novel, it shows that his actions are becoming worse than the actions of Hester and Dimmesdale. (Hawthorne; Bloom 26-27).
             There are many signs that Arthur Dimmesdale is physically deteriorating and should repent through confession. In the center of the novel's action, a meteor passes across the sky in the shape of the letter "A". To Dimmesdale this implies that he should wear the mask of shame like Hester does, even though the community interprets the "A" in the sky as angel, marking Governor Winthrop's entry to heaven. In Chapter 10 of the novel, Chillingworth discovers what is believed to be an "A" carved into Dimmesdale's chest. However, the reader cannot be sure if it is really there or why. Some reasons to explain this could be that Dimmesdale did it out of self-punishment and the inability to confess his sin, or it was simply a hallucination of Chillingworth, consumed with evil and hatred. This scene is left to be determined by the reader, but later in the novel, the minister is seen clutching his heart several times. This could be viewed as an attempt to cover his mark of sin and prevent exposure, or his nervous condition and weakened state. (Bloom 91-92).
             Pearl is also greatly affected by the scarlet letter, but in another way. Although she questions Hester about the "A", she is not told the true meaning. Pearl suffers a loss of identity and her mother's refusal to tell the truth keeps her daughter in the dark, not knowing of her illicit birth and her origins. Although the scarlet "A" keeps her in the dark, she also is a symbol of it.