The_Tormenting_Fiend

The Tormenting Fiend “All that we are is the result of what we have thought… If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him… If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” (Buddha) This is a perfect quote to explain what happened to Roger Chillingworth throughout the book “The Scarlet Letter”. The more evilness he allowed to consume him, the more pain he felt with his body, mind and spirit. I believe Roger Chillingworth to be one of the most hated characters but also one of the most interesting characters in this book. Roger Chillingworth symbolizes the self-destructive power of revenge, as well as the natural evil found in every person. The biggest symbol of his malice is his physical deformity. We learn about this when Chillingworth is first introduced while Hester is standing on the scaffold. Hester allows us to get a clear, distinct, visual of what he looks like. He was small in stature and it was evident to Hester that one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other. (Hawthorne 56). Here, Chillingworth is chillingworth, man, roger, revenge, evil, hester, hawthorne, book, one, dimmesdale, seems, obsession, mind, chillingworth’s, body, being, after, very, vengeance, physical, pain, mortal, himself, further, evilness, been, almost, whose, whom, throughout, thought, though, take, symbol, spirit