In the Scarlett Letter you know that Chillingsworth is getting revenge for what has happened, but who is he getting revenge on? At first you get the feeling that he is getting revenge on Dimmsdale for having an affair with his wife, but as the novel goes on you see that he may be doing this to Hester for cheating on him.
Chillingsworth first talks to Hester about not wanting her to tell anyone anything about who he is because he wants to find out who committed adultry with his wife. He makes Dimmsdale trust him and he ends up giving Dimmsdale "medicine" and is trying to help him with his illness by finding out if he is Pearl's father.
Then towards the end of the book, you see that he is maybe making Dimmsdale suffer to hurt Hester in some way. Also, he does everything he can to make sure Hester always knows he is around and that he is not leaving. So my question is that who is Chillingsworth more upset with? Hester, Dimmdale, or both?
It could go either way. I'm not sure that he knew he was hurting Hester, and to be honest she wasn't quite hurt by it until she met with Dimmsdale late in the book. I'm sure that Chillingsworth never expected her to find out about the true pain he puts Dimmsdale through.
Posted by: seth primack | 11/14/2011 at 06:21 PM