The Scarlet Letter #3

The Scarlet Letter gives one a full range of emotions, from sadness, anger, to happiness. It includes characters who surprise and intrigue you, like Hester a women who committed adultery with a man who was not her husband, and had a child named Pearl. She was the only one punished for her sin, by being forced to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life. Her partner in crime Reverend Arthur Dimesdale, whom she committed adultery with was the father of her daughter Pearl, is also to blame but was not punished because Hester kept the truth a secret. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth had just come into town and was looking forward to seeing his wife who he had not seen for two years, found out about her sin and that she had a daughter from another man. He wanted Hester to keep his identity a secret, because he did not want anyone to know he was her husband. Roger Chillingworth felt that Hester was being punished, but the other man was getting away with sin. Therefore he took matters into his own hands and tried to uncover the secret, find out who Pearl's father is and get revenge. Dimesdale was slowly getting sick because of his guilty conscience, and Chillingworth being the town doctor, offered to move in with Dimesdale and take care of him. Chillingworth had a suspicion that Dimesdale was the father, and so he took advantage of the opportunity to get closer to him. Now if I were to ask myself, "Who do I feel more sympathetic for?" I would have to say Chillingworth, for the simple fact that he was cheated on. Roger Chillingworth, coming back from a trip, missed his wife and wanted to see her, finds out that she committed adultery and has a child with someone else. I do not blame him for wanting revenge and trying to make the other man's life miserable. I do not however, agree with the fact that he went too far, once he found out who the father was, and noticed how guilty Dimesdale felt and was getting ill he should have backed down and realized that he was too being punished emotionally. The novel came to a tragic end when Dimesdale died, Hester was left without someone she loved, and Pearl was left without a father. Both characters, Chillingworth and Dimesdale were hurt emotionally, because of two different reasons, and handled them in different ways. Chillingworth and Dimesdale made mistakes, one took matters into his own hands and tried getting revenge, and the other, committed adultery and kept it a secret causing him to have a guilty conscience, but one had a greater consequence then the other which resulted in a tragic death.