Roger ChillingworthRoger Chillingworth starts off as a man who is liked in Salem, but ends up differently. He is a man of determination of revenge and focuses on that a lot in the sermon.
He wants revenge on his wife’s mistress for committing adultery with his wife. His determination to find out who it is and plotting the revenge is shown throughout. In chapter 10, Chillingworth is telling Dimmesdale about leave that he found in a graveyard, “..
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I found them growing on a grave. They apparently grew from the dead person’s heart, reflecting by their dark color some terrible secret that was buried with him, and which he would have been better to confess during his lifetime.” This quote shows Chillingworth’s determination and hunger to crack who the mistress is that committed adultery with his wife. Although Roger already knows that Arthur Dimmesdale is the man who did this, his revenge is torturing him and constantly reminding Arthur of his sin. The two go on to argue about why the dead man in the grave didn’t confess his sin. Dimmesdale argument is that he couldn’t and God is the only one who judges on Judgment Day.
But Chillingworth keeps torturing Arthur by telling him “ why not find the freedom you speak of while still alive. “ Next, Chillingworth’s response to the meeting at the jail in the beginning of the book tells us that he more upset with the man who committed the crime then he is with Hester. He says “ But Hester, the man lives who wronged us both! That is the man toward whom I shall direct my vengeance. Who is he ?” In this scene, this is the beginning of Chillingworth’s journey to revenge.
It tells us who Chillingworth really cares about, the mistress. Chillingworth thinks that the for these seven years he’s been back in Salem, the on, y thing he’s needed to do is get revenge on Dimmesdale and ruin his life. He wants to spend everyday ruining Dimmesdale. He says this in the jail when he talks about “ the man wronging both him…