Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

1) The story and the narrator have given us plenty of reasons to be wary of Chillingworth before now. How does this section of the novel alter your reading of him? Choose some examples from today's reading to demonstrate the narrator's darkening opinion of him. Discuss. Throughout chapters 9-12, there are many cases where Chillingworth is described as demon-like and evil. There is a rumor going around the town that Chillingworth is the demon of Dimmesdale’s soul, which is causing him to be as sick as he is. His need to find Hester’s lover is uncontrollable in his life. When Pearl sees Chillingworth through the window, she says, “Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already.” I believe she sees something in …show more content…
Discuss in detail. Up until these last few chapters, we weren’t told that Dimmesdale was the father. We had a suspicion and many reasons to believe it, but Hawthorne never straight up said that he was. When they sat on the scaffold together, it solidified the idea that they were both Pearl’s parents. Hester continues to hold Chillingworth’s true identity back because the agreement was still standing.
6) Discuss Pearl's response(s) to the minister and to Chillingworth during this incident. How does her behavior here show development from what we've read of her so far? Pearl wants Dimmesdale to stand on the scaffold with her and her mother the next day but he says he cannot until judgment day. She has always been very fond of Dimmesdale and for some reason knew that he was her father all along. She hates Chillingworth and has made comments that he is the devil or black man. Pearl has more understanding of what is going on. She isn’t a naïve child anymore, even though when she was supposed to be naïve, she had a weird sense that something wasn’t