Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are an odd paring indeed. The latter, an older gentlemen brimming with knowledge from foreign European lands on medicine and herbs, is a stark contrast to the youthful features of the feeble Dimmesdale. Yet, they are together under one roof by the courses of fate and each man with his own objective. However, one objective is much more sinister than the other. We shall begin by describing the naive objective of Dimmesdale who believes that he will act as Chillingworth’s spiritual advisor. In exchange, Dimmesdale hopes for his health to improve with the aid of the intelligent Chillingworth. He is carrying the terrible burden of pains in his chest and deteriorating health as his the sin on his conscious translates into his physical well-being. Chillingworth goes on to attach onto Dimmesdale like a leech. This is symbolic in that leeches were seen as helpful at the time in that they sucked out the blood of a sick individual; on the contrary, they were often quite harmful to the individual’s health.
Likewise, Dimmesdale enters this bond believing that Chillingworth has his best interests in mind only to find that is not the case. Chillingworth’s sinister objective is to confirm the suspicions he has of Dimmesdale in the case of his wife’s unknown adulterer. Chillingworth is in a constant search of Dimmesdale’s soul for the secrets that lurk below. He expresses that he has found in the minister “a strong animal nature from his father or his mother” and that he intends to “dig a little further in the direction of this vein” (Hawthorne 118).
It is important to note that both men possess great intuition. When Chillingworth presses too much to discover the mystery that is buried below, Dimmesdale “whose sensibility of nerve often produced the effect of spiritual intuition, would become vaguely aware the something protruded his inimical peace” (Hawthorne 118). The main hidden connection between these two men is Hester Prynne. However, only Chillingworth is aware of the entire story as he knows that Hester is his wife and Dimmesdale the adulterer while Dimmesdale has no clue of Chillingworth’s relation to Hester. Chillingworth often references to Hester and to buried sins in order to cruelly remind Dimmesdale of his guilt. This subtle evil is first foreshadowed when Chillingworth initially visited Hester in her prison cell. She asked him whether he “hast enticed [her] into a bond that will prove the ruin of [her] soul” when she swears not to reveal that they are married (Hawthorne 72). Chillingworth answers in a malevolent way as he declares, “not thy soul, no not thine!” (Hawthorne 72). This leads us to conclude that Chillingworth was plotting out his revenge all this time. He now fulfills his evil promise as even the community believes he is the influence of the Devil upon their highly revered and virtuous minister. Chillingworth may even find his patience to be worthwhile as he finds what can be inferred to be a scarlet letter imprinted in Arthur Dimmesdale’s chest. It truly is an odd couple, the adulterer and the husband, living together with a bond leading to the minister’s seemingly inevitable ruin.
Work Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell, 1850. Print.
The Scarlet Reader 
Pingback: Dimmesdale’s Decent: the story of the American Puritan Church. | The Scarlet Reader
I believe that the comparison between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale is very interesting. The two men seem to be opposites. Chillingworth has never done anything wrong yet he seeks revenge, and Dimmesdale has sinned yet he seeks forgiveness. The symbolism of the leech is very important and appropriate for the book. It seems that as Dimmesdale grows weaker, Chillingworth grows stronger. I like that you covered these things in your post because they really encompass the men’s relationship
LikeLike
I think that the leech is a very powerful symbol in the novel, and I applaud you for describing the ways in which it is significant. I believe that the relationship between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth is unusual, and contains irony, as you mentioned in your post. I also think that their connection through Hester makes the relationship even more strange, although only Chillingworth knows the whole story.
LikeLike
Analyzing the dramatically contrasting relationship between the characters of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, I think they might be considered foils of each other. Dimmesdale is young, less wise although respected, and has a good and Godly heart and soul. On the contrary, Chillingworth is old, wise from years of lucubration, and has a heart that turns evil. I think that Hawthorne really points out these sharply contrasting characters by having them exist in a parasitic relationship. Your recognition of the leech symbol is good and gets me thinking about what the biological relationship between a parasite, such as a leech, and a host is. This is definitely not a mutualistic relationship although it may seem that way at first as Dimmesdale is providing spiritual guidance to Chillingworth and Chillingworth supposedly providing health guidance to Dimmesdale. Later we see that this toxic relationship can be characterized by the biological term “parasitism.”
LikeLike
Prior to this I hadn’t thought about the limited medical knowledge of the time. When you said that leeches were initially thought to be helpful but in actuality were harmful, it made a connection that I hadn’t even considered. Chillingworth initially looked like a helpful old man who made his home with the ailing minister Dimmesdale, supplying him with good “medicine” that was actually killing him. He is both literally and figuratively like a leech. Thank you for that.
LikeLike