Chilling’s Worth ( Or Chillingworth’s Chilling Worth)

Roger Chillingworth is a bad man, and chapters nine through twelve affirm that. In chapter nine, the narrator implicates Chillingworth in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury in the footnotes on page 116. Overbury was a famous English essayist whose mysterious murder lead to a scandalous trial in 1613. Chillingworth disappeared during the trial, changing his real name to Chillingworth and traveling throughout America. At some point he met and married Hester, after having learned from the Native peoples of America, and sent her ahead to settle in Boston. This is why in the first chapter Hester sees him walk into town with a Native at his side, and he puts a finger to his lips.

Hawthorne implies on page 116 that Chillingworth learned dark arts/ witchcraft from the Natives. He uses these skills on Dimmesdale when he has a hunch that he was the adulterer. Poor Dimmesdale who is tortured by his grief and remorse because of his sin, is only made worse by the nefarious practices of the “good” doctor Chillingworth. On page 126 when Chillingworth finds a symbol burned into Dimmesdale’s breast, he is reassured in his plot for revenge. Here is the man who stole his wife from him, sitting asleep in front of him, malleable and weak. Chillingworth acts as a catalyst for Dimmesdale’s descent into madness and ultimately encourages the process.

I’m not sure if Hester knew what she was getting into when she married Chillingworth. Perhaps she assumed that his façade of kindness and righteousness was genuine, and perhaps she didn’t know of his implication with the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, but one thing is certain. On that fateful day, as Hester mounted the scaffold to see her husband standing behind the crowd, she knew something bad was coming. It can be assumed that as Chillingworth changed from a genuine face to that of a cruel old man just in the time that he inhabited the village, surely the mask that he wore when he initially met Hester melted away in time. When Hester saw her husband, she had to assume the worst, especially as he wanted in no way to be associated with his cheating wife.

I predict that as the book continues, Chillingworth will only grow more evil. I think that perhaps he will become a symbol of true evil in the story: hell hath no fury like a manipulative, blood-thirsty man, scorned.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam, 1986. Print. Reissue 2003.

The Doctor and the Minister

Ian Coyne

Coyneandbill

The Scarlett Reader

This post focuses on the symbolism of Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s relationship in ch. 9-12

The Doctor and the Minister

The religious and scientific fields seem to be destined to be at odds, so when I read that Chillingworth was to room with Dimmesdale, I was expecting some sitcom-tier drama between the two. Perhaps Chillingworth would have big, unruly parties (much to the dismay of Dimmesdale) and the two would constantly converse in backhanded, snarky comments about the other’s beliefs. Instead, I found a lot of symbolism expressed through the pair and their interactions with each other. Not quite as exciting, but I’ll take it nonetheless.

First, let’s go over the similarities and differences that make the pairing of the two both unique and appropriate. Both men are decrepit in some way; Chillingworth is old and has bad shoulders while Dimmesdale has a debilitating illness. Both are also champions of their respective fields; Dimmesdale is a renowned preacher while Chillingworth is a renowned doctor. However, the similarities these two men share are also linked to their differences. While both are disabled in some way, Chillingworth’s affliction is passive while Dimmesdale’s affects him every day and he is constantly reminded of it. Also, the fields of study the two men are practiced in are also near polar opposites by definition. Faith focuses on the supernatural and unknown while science focuses on undisputed facts and what is known. Hawthorne presents these two men as two sides of the same coin.

Hawthorne throws a bit of symbolism into the pairing of the two throughout the last few chapters. One such example is the place where they decided to stay: the widow’s house on the cemetery. Not only does this mutual ground represent the neutral meeting place of two opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, it also makes a point on death and mortality. Even though they are opposite in their beliefs, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are both just human and will eventually die, as shown by the graveyard that sits just outside of the house. This morbid fascination also crops up when the pair are talking in Chillingworth’s lab as they often do. While Dimmesdale gazes out the window into the cemetery, Chillingworth never looks up from his work at his lab. This stark contrast most likely represents the nature of the two men and their beliefs: Dimmesdale focuses on the future, much like how Christianity focuses on the afterlife, while Chillingworth dedicates his efforts to the present, much akin to scientific study of the physical world. The rooms of the two men also add further symbolism to the situation. Dimmesdale’s is draped in tapestries of “the scriptural story of David and Bathsheba, and Nathan the Prophet” (Hawthorne 115), which are biblical stories of adultery, while Chillingworth has a sprawling lab set up his. With these rooms representing their different ideologies, when the two men travel into each other’s rooms it appears to represent the curiosity each side has for the other. Religion questions itself with the facts of the world while science wonders if some things truly can’t be explained.

Though I may not have gotten the scenario I hoped for, it was enjoyable fining all the little details that deepen the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale.

SOURCES

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Leech and his Patient.” The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell, 2003. 67. Print.

A Nighttime Vigil?

As I enter into another week of writing blog posts, it seems to be getting easier to pick topics to write about that are suitable for an honors level class. At the beginning of all of this, I found it very hard, not only to find a topic, but to also develop my own ideas on how that topic may be relatable to the outside world, as well as students and teachers who may be reading this novel right now. When I first started off in this class, I did not believe that I was able to handle the work load and the skill level. But after reconciling, I realized that I had the skill and ability to do it. This “reconciling” is also seen through Dimmesdale’s vigil in the late hours of night. After not standing on the scaffold with Hester Prynne, he is now coming to realization of the horrible act that he has committed.

Throughout these last couple of chapters, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth have been talking heavily about sin, and it seems as though Chillingworth is becoming more and more suspicious of Dimmesdale’s past. At the same time, Dimmesdale is feeling the guilt inside building up, because he knows that what he has done to himself, as well as Hester, is something that cannot be ignored forever. It is ironic though that he decides to reconcile with God on the same place where Hester was announced her punishment seven years earlier. Is this because he feels as though in order to free his own sin, he must confront the very same pain that Hester felt years ago? Or is it because it is the only place where he can find privacy, even though it is in the middle of the town?

To me, Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold at night to avoid all of the commotion of the town during the day, but he also wants to avoid being caught by the townspeople and having them realize that he is the “secret man” who committed adultery with Hester. It is funny how even though he did this at night, still (ironically) Hester and Pearl walk up to him on their way home from the Governor’s funeral. Once in his presence, Pearl asks him a very simple question two times, “Will you stand with us at noon tomorrow?” Dimmesdale replies very simply with, “I will on the great judgement day” (Hawthorne 139). This comment is very simple and straight forward, but very complex at the same time. The “great judgement day” is referring to the puritan belief that once you die, God will judge you and decide if you are worthy to enter into heaven or hell. At the same time, he is also telling them that when that day comes, he will be there with both of them. This is because all three of them are the entities of adultery. You have Hester and Dimmesdale who are the ones who committed the act, and then you have Pearl, who is the byproduct of the actual sin. Therefore, when that final judgement day comes, all three of them will be judged together for the sin of which all of them are a part of. This vigil also had moments that were signs of God being present. The “A” comet that flashed across the sky made Dimmesdale realize that this sin will always be with him forever no matter how many times he reconciles. As we look back on this entire scene, I want you as the reader to take two things away from it. Even though Dimmesdale has held this vigil to look back and reconcile his sin, it will always be with him, and also, the scaffold is most likely going to have another large part in the upcoming scenes.

We all make mistakes in our lives that we are not happy with, but at the end of the day we as human beings react either negatively or positively to these situations. Even though Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale have committed this horrible sin, I applaud them for looking back on the situation, taking their punishments, and trying to move on. This is a hard lesson to learn in life. When you make these mistakes, do you just accept the outcome and live with it the rest of your life, or do you meet it face to face and conquer it right then and there? To me it shows much more of who you are if you accept it and stay strong.

Dimmesdale’s Decent: the story of the American Puritan Church.

Charles Baker

charlesbbaker

The Scarlet Reader

This post focuses the relationship of the history of the Puritan Church and Dimmesdale.

Dimmesdale’s Decent: the story of the American Puritan Church.

In chapters 9-12, Arthur Dimmesdale began a deep slide into the depths of madness. Triggered by Chillingworth’s revenge attempts, Dimmesdale enters a positive feedback loop of negative reinforcement. Essentially he is growing more and more unsure of his surroundings and his sanity. Every realization he has drives him to a new one and furthers him from reality. I found this interesting, as I believe that Hawthorn is showing the downfall of the Puritan church to the Salem events up onto this point. Hawthorn was very against the rigid, religious society and this is directly shown by the fall of the leader of the church.

Dimmesdale first is harmed by the guilt impregnating Hester, as they were not married. This guilt has caused him to begin ailing in health. When the “good” doctor Chillingworth shows up (notably with a native American), he sets up his aforementioned revenge by pretending to treat Dimmesdale. He actually causes further harm by pushing on his guilt. It is this that causes Dimmesdale to step into his positive feedback loop. Dimmesdale even feels as though Chillingworth is harming him, saying:

[Note, I added underlines to break up the text as this book is very dense and I felt it would make the excerpt easier to understand]

“Mr. Dimmesdale, conscious that the poison of one morbid spot was infecting his heart’s entire substance, attributed all his presentiments to no other cause (his illness). He took himself to task for his bad sympathies in reference to Roger Chillingworth(for feeling that it was his fault).” (Hawthorn 128 )

Dimmesdale now begins to practice metacognition and self reflect on his flaws. Without a release to this, he draws further and further into insanity to the point where he sees hallucinations and can no longer understand reality. This even goes to the point of self harm, when

“inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred. In Mr. Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge (whip). Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders, laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much the more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh.” (131)

Essentially this is saying he is whipping himself, punishing himself for his own sin.

The second important part of the comparison is found in the way Roger Chillingworth represents the outside, Native American influence on the community. He arrives in town with a Native American and proceeds to carry out some of their medical practices.

In this analogy, Dimmesdale represents the Puritan church in America and Chillingworth represents Native Americans. The Puritan churches grew to help people originally, and were well established in America, but with the native influence, they began to grow fearful and lose their way. It wasn’t just American Indian attacks on towns, but also the treat of people assimilating the native culture. This would be bad for the Puritan church because the church saw itself as pure and any tampering to this would have harmed their appearance in the eyes of God. This fear of both native attacks cultural blending becomes a problem to the point when the church looses its sanity and begins the which hunts. That is how it happened historically, but I believe that Hawthorn is foreshadowing the next stage of the church chronologically.

At the end of the chapter, a meteorite is seen to show the letter A, and many interoperate this as an angel. Angels are prominent biblical figures that act as identifier for change. From the conception of the Messiah and his reincarnation to the conception of John the Baptist and when Moran appeared to Joseph Smith, angels represent a time of change. By presenting the angel, he shows that a change will come in this turmoil and may save the town. The angel will also bring great change to the society.

I am very eager to see if this  change is going to be social or religious (if it happens); and, if religious, would it be a reference to the development of the Baptist church seen in the First Great Awakening that occurred in this time.

Works cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell, 1850. Print.

The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments. Trenton: I. Collins, 1791. Print.

The Leech and the Liar

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.

http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/mmd/media/3351/MMD1195_l.jp