It is ironic how one mistake can lead to the demise of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel, the reader experiences the drastic changes the main characters go through after the adultery the adulterous act of by Hester and Dimmesdale. Since Hester had committed a sin, she must endure the punishment of wearing the scarlet letter. The sin caused Dimmesdale to become sick with guilt and her ex-husband Chillingworth to be consume with idea of revenge. Hester and Dimmesdale’s adultery physically and mentally alter the lives of themselves and Chillingworth’s.
Hester’s change is clear to the audience from as the story progresses to it conclusion. In the beginning of the novel, Hester’s …show more content…
In the case of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, Dimmesdale is the victim of Chillingworth’s revenge. Chillingworth is a scholar who practices medicine and wants to help others. In the prison, where readers first meet him, he is relieving the pain of Pearl, Hester’s daughter, nu giving her medicine. This shows how great of a doctor he can be because despite Pearl bot being his child he still treats her as a patient. When he ask Hester about the identity of the baby’s father, she refuses to tells him thus causing him to vow for revenge on the father of her child. “‘Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’replied Hester...Not the less he shall be mine”(70-71). His original of helping others morphs into finding the identity of the father and seek revenge. Using his vast knowledge of medicine, he slowly tortures Dimmesdale by poisoning him instead of healing him. The Puritan community views him as a miracle from God, but as time passes he is useless to them because his only focus is taking revenge on Dimmesdale. Chillingworth physical features gets worse over the year due to the deformity in his shoulders. Every scene with Hester and Chillingworth, she always notices his face is becoming darker and darker and his increasingly uneven shoulders. She would also refer to him as Black Man, or the devil and comment how ugly he has …show more content…
The difference between Hester and Dimmesdale is that Hester wears her sin and Dimmesdale conceals his from others in the community. The weight of guilt, grows heavy on him as the years passes, costing him his life. The community does not know the true reason on his illness. The community believes that it was due to his job or his congregation but it is because of his guilt. The audience can tell the change in Dimmesdale's demeanor toward the end of the novel. After the making the decision of leaving for Europe, he comes out of the forest feeling different, a feeling of a burst of excitement. While walking back to town, his urges have a control over him to do inappropriate things. His first urge involves telling the deacon blasphemous things about communion supper. His next urges of telling an old woman that their is no heaven and wanting to teach little kids inappropriate words. His last urge before going home is wanting to have intercouse with a young women. ”The good old man addresses him...black fruit betimes”(195-197). He wonders what has come over him to feel the way he does while going