Roger Chillingworth

"His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it"

- Chapter 9

Roger (Prynne) Chillingworth is a major character and main antagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. He is the husband of Hester Prynne, and had arrived in America with a changed identity.

He becomes a local doctor, but as he finds out about his wife's adultery, he plans to take revenge on her love affair, and turns into a more twisted, evil man.

Description
Roger Chillingworth is viewed as one of the principle antagonists in American literature. As his name suggests, Chillingworth is the definitive example of evil. From the start, when he took the job as a physician, the Puritans looked up to him as a blessing. But when he plans his revenge, he becomes more sadistic than he was before. Some examples of these include his medical practices and experiments deeply resembling witchcraft, as if he is actually practicing it to harm others.

Chillingworth is not a Puritan like Hester and Dimmesdale. He was held hostage by Native Americans after his arrival in Boston, and despite him fitting in such as wearing Puritan clothing, he is unable to convert and be part of their society and religion. Even if he was originally a scholar, Chillingworth managed to study about medicine and herbs, and also uses them as black magic to torment Dimmesdale and to keep him alive in order to achieve his vengeance on him.

Because of Chillingworth's ruthless acts of revenge, he may often be compared to the Black Man or the Devil. He couldn't connect with anyone in his youth and only wants to cause self-inflicted torture on Dimmesdale. He also made sure his victim never escaped from him, especially when he attempted to board the ship leaving Boston where Hester and Dimmesdale were in. His appearance and personality make him ominous to everyone; even to his young wife Hester. In death, Chillingworth's satanic attitude, however, has subsided.

Arrival at Boston
Roger Prynne grew up in England. As an adult, he studied alchemy and became a scholar. He married a younger woman named Hester Prynne and moved to Amsterdam with her. After the establishment of the Boston Colony, Prynne send his wife ahead as one of the emigrants, while he stayed behind in Amsterdam to finish with his affairs and would join her soon. He ends up leaving her alone in Boston for 2 years and hardly stays in touch with her. He eventually boards a ship to Boston but had been shipwrecked at sea and when he does arrive in America, he is captured and held hostage by the Native Americans. At some point, he may had escaped and to protect his true identity, he changes his surname to Chillingworth.

Chillingworth enters Boston disguised in Native American clothing. He goes to the marketplace and stands behind a crowd, where he sees Hester standing on top of the town scaffold with her baby in her arms, being publicly shamed for adultery. He is shocked to see her, and when they look at each other, he places his finger to his lips and makes a gesture to keep her quiet.

He asks a stranger in the crowd about Hester's crime and identity, and claimed that he had been a prisoner by the Natives before arriving in Boston. The man is surprised that Chillingworth hasn't heard of Hester's sin and the former scholar hears about her history (even though he may had already knew about it following his marriage to her). He asks the man again who the baby's father is, but he says that the father's identity is unknown, and thinks that Hester's husband has come to Boston for investigation. The stranger also notes that Hester didn't receive the extremity of righteous law, which would have her executed.

Chillingworth predicts that the identity of Hester's lover will be revealed, and repeatedly says, "He will be known!"

After Hester is taken back to her cell, the prison guards allow a doctor to come in and help her. Chillingworth poses as a physician and visits Hester in her prison cell. He calms her crying baby by giving her some medical treatment and offers his wife a sedative. The two of them talk, with Chillingworth forgiving his wife for betraying him and scolding himself for thinking he could make her happy. He asks her to reveal who the father is, but Hester refuses. He then tells her that he will find out who the father is himself, and he makes her swear an oath that she will not reveal to anyone her husband's identity.

Treating Dimmesdale
3 years pass. Chillingworth, along with the local minister Arthur Dimmesdale and John Wilson, arrive at the Governor's house. They meet a young girl named Pearl, and the men tease her, calling her a "demon-child", but they stop when they realize that the girl is Hester's child and she appears afterwards. The men ask her why Hester should keep Pearl, and she states she will teach her daughter an important lesson from her sin. Chillingworth and the others are skeptical as Wilson questions Pearl of religious subjects and the Governor Bellingham suggests that the girl should be removed from Hester's care. As Dimmesdale steps forward and defends the mother and daughter about Pearl's importance towards her mother, Chillingworth is suspicious of Dimmesdale's passionate words and that doing more analysis on Pearl could reveal her father's identity to him. But the men refuse, with Wilson saying that God will discover the truth himself.

Chillingworth becomes Boston's physician, since the townsfolk have little access to medical care, and they welcome him with enthusiasm; unaware of his secret past. He has intelligence of medicine not only from his European science training, but also learned about traditional medical remedies during his time with the Natives. The townsfolk start to refer to him as a "leech", due to the fact that most doctors of that time would use leeches to drain blood from their patients.

Dimmesdale visits Chillingworth after experiencing heart problems and feeling sickly. The doctor starts to treat the young man, and the Puritans are grateful that Chillingworth could cure the respected minister. The two men move in together afterwards, and the physician can monitor him closely. As time went by, the Puritans notice that Chillingworth has changed from a kind, helpful and deformed gentleman into an ugly, evil old man. They also feared that he could be sent by the Devil.

As Dimmesdale's health worsens, Chillingworth digs deeper into the minister's health and mind. He suspects that his condition could have something secretive, and he asks Dimmesdale to tell him his secrets to heal his soul but the minister refuses. The physician spends all of his time looking after his patient, and when he wasn't with Dimmesdale, he was out collecting herbs and weeds to make medicine.

One day, Chillingworth brings back an unusual-looking plant he found at an unmarked grave in the cemetery and into his study. When Dimmesdale questions him about it, Chillingworth claims that the dark weeds are a sign of a deceased person's unconfessed sin, and the men talk about confession, sins and redemption, as well as taking secrets to the grave which gets uncomfortable afterwards. They hear a cry outside and the men spot Hester and Pearl walking near the graveyard, with the girl playing around the headstones and placing burrs on her mother's scarlet letter. She tosses a burr at the window and says that the Black Man has possessed Dimmesdale and would get her and her mother. Chillingworth states that Hester isn't a woman who has a buried sin, but that she is wearing it exposed on her breast.

Chillingworth probs his patient and suggests he won't help him as long as he keeps hiding something, and Dimmesdale once again refuses to reveal anything and leaves the room with Chillingworth smiling with success. He later apologizes to his patient for the way he behaved and they make up. But a few days later, while Dimmesdale was asleep, the physician sneaks up on him and tears open the minister's shirt he is wearing. He sees something on his patient’s chest that makes him rejoice with excitement.

Torturing Dimmesdale
Now convinced that Dimmesdale could be Hester's lover and the father of Pearl, Chillingworth starts his act of revenge by cruelly torturing his patient, and make him as miserable as possible. As Dimmesdale suffers, he starts to loathe the physician who is vengefully torturing him, and in addition, starts to torture himself.

One night, as he spots Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl standing on the town scaffold, Chillingworth coaxes him to get off. He claims that his patient must had been sleepwalking, and when the two men make their way home, Chillingworth said he was at the Governor Winthrop's deathbed before he found Dimmesdale. When at the beach one day, he encounters Hester and Pearl. He informs her that the council has been recently discussing of allowing her to remove the scarlet letter from her chest, but she replies that she would keep it on until it's worthy. He notes on his changed appearance by remembering back when he used to be a kind scholar, and that he has lost his "human heart".

When reprimanded by Hester on his cruelty towards Dimmesdale, Chillingworth claims that he saved the minister's life by not revealing his link to Hester from the beginning. He ends up admitting to tormenting Dimmesdale but blames him for making him a fiend and even blames Hester for causing his downfall. He also says that Hester must now reveal his identity, and he leaves it up to her. Hester begs him to stop torturing the minister before he leaves.

Back at their home, Chillingworth is told by Dimmesdale he no longer needs medications from him and the physician is afraid to ask him if he knows his real identity.

Downfall
On the day of inauguration for a new governor, Chillingworth may had found out about Hester and Dimmesdale leaving Boston after the minister delivers a sermon. He tells the shipmaster that he is among the passengers on the same boat his wife and lover are on, and that the ship would need a doctor. The shipmaster puts his name on the passenger list, and when Hester finds out, Chillingworth gives her a menacing smile.

After Dimmesdale completes his sermon and goes up on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, Chillingworth tries to stop him. He then looks on in shock as Dimmesdale confesses his sin to the crowd by revealing an "A" symbol carved onto his chest, and the physician cries out, "Thou hast escaped me!" The minister dies in Hester's arms.

Frustrated from failing to complete his revenge, Chillingworth wastes away and dies a year after Dimmesdale, leaving a large fortune to Pearl.

Personality/Appearance
Roger Chillingworth is an evil, twisted and cruel man. His constant acts of vengeance and anger towards Dimmesdale changes his traits rapidly, and that he may had taken pleasure into torturing the minister, both physically and mentally. His surname is an ominous reference to fear and evil, as it may be possible he changed his name to secretly menace fear towards others. His devilish behaviour of making his victim suffer terribly could have left a black mark on his image, and if his cruelty was discovered by the townsfolk, he could have faced consequences, such as being banished or even executed. But either way, his evil side has been secretive from the Puritans and would do anything he can to be monstrous towards his patient. He could have even be the Black Man himself rather than The Leech. He resents the minister for his love affair to Hester and the thought of her loving someone else makes him furious with jealously. He gets obsessed with his revenge and is determined to complete it successfully.

From his younger years, Chillingworth was a kinder and respected man. While his marriage to Hester Prynne was loveless, he still cared about her and her reputation, especially when he finds her an illegitimate mother in Boston. It was the only time he had been more sympathetic and protective towards his wife and to Pearl, the daughter that wasn't his. These included when he gave Hester some medical treatment following her public shaming and even leaving Pearl a fortune after his death. The townsfolk had even mistaken him to be a thoughtful and humble man when he offered to look after Dimmesdale.

He has very high intelligence. He gained most of his training back from his scholar days and he is very skilled at making medical supplies and treatments. He also has his intelligence from his morality in spiritualism and religion, such as when he discussed with Dimmesdale about sins and redemption when they spot Hester and Pearl in the graveyard outside of their house.

Chillingworth is known to be a small man with misshapen, deformed shoulders that made him different from the other Puritans.

Relationships
Hester Prynne- Roger's wife. He is much older than her when they married and he barely interacts with her. After sending her off to Boston, he ignores her for a couple of years without staying in contact. When he finds out about Hester's love affair and illegitimate pregnancy, Roger has his wife make an oath he won't reveal his identity to anyone and will find out about the father himself. In addition, he is a bit protective and caring to her reputation and to her child.

Arthur Dimmesdale- Roger's patient and his victim. He took the minister into his home to look after him, but since he is convinced he is Hester's lover, Roger took this opportunity to be cruel and manipulative by tormenting him and making him miserable. He is wanting to carry his vengeance out on Dimmesdale for as long as possible, and won't let his victim leave him, even placing his name on the party list of passengers departing Boston which included Dimmesdale and Hester.

Appearances in Film/TV
In the 1926 and 1934 film adaptations, Chillingworth is portrayed by Henry B. Walthall.