The gift of emotion and the curse of making mistakes define the base of human actions. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Dimmesdale while married to Chillingworth. Over the course of the story, each character shows his or her faults in different ways. Although all of the characters make mistakes and commit multiple sins, Chillingworth’s actions and unwillingness to forgive eventually make him the greatest sinner. When Chillingworth begins to torment Dimmesdale, he starts to find enjoyment in watching him suffer. For example, Dimmesdale’s tormented thoughts are narrated, “And all this time, perchance, when poor Mr. Dimmesdale was thinking of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass
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For example, his torture of Dimmesdale is one of his greatest sins. Chillingworth constantly torments Dimmesdale without ever telling him that he is really Hester’s husband. The narrator describes the thoughts of Dimmesdale, “And all this time, perchance, when poor Mr. Dimmesdale was thinking of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass would ever grow on it, because an accursed thing must there be buried” (Hawthorne 80). The thoughts of Dimmesdale are honest but tormented. Instead of confronting him in an honest way, Chillingworth lets his hate corrupt his thoughts. In a moment of realization, Chillingworth’s evil form is displayed in front of himself. The narrator describes this as, “The unfortunate man, while uttering these words, lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he had beheld some frightful shape, which he could not recognize, usurping the place of his own image in a glass” (Hawthorne 96). In this moment, Chillingworth finally grasps the magnitude of his own wrongdoings. Although it appears as the beginning of his purification, he never makes an effort to reverse the effect he has on Dimmesdale. Even though at certain times in the novel Chillingworth appears to begin recovering from his own evil, he never makes an effort to find peace within himself. This shows that Chillingworth is manipulative and deceitful in the deepest parts of his
For example, his torture of Dimmesdale is one of his greatest sins. Chillingworth constantly torments Dimmesdale without ever telling him that he is really Hester’s husband. The narrator describes the thoughts of Dimmesdale, “And all this time, perchance, when poor Mr. Dimmesdale was thinking of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass would ever grow on it, because an accursed thing must there be buried” (Hawthorne 80). The thoughts of Dimmesdale are honest but tormented. Instead of confronting him in an honest way, Chillingworth lets his hate corrupt his thoughts. In a moment of realization, Chillingworth’s evil form is displayed in front of himself. The narrator describes this as, “The unfortunate man, while uttering these words, lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he had beheld some frightful shape, which he could not recognize, usurping the place of his own image in a glass” (Hawthorne 96). In this moment, Chillingworth finally grasps the magnitude of his own wrongdoings. Although it appears as the beginning of his purification, he never makes an effort to reverse the effect he has on Dimmesdale. Even though at certain times in the novel Chillingworth appears to begin recovering from his own evil, he never makes an effort to find peace within himself. This shows that Chillingworth is manipulative and deceitful in the deepest parts of his