The first thing that caught my attention was the way that Hawthorne described the change in attitude toward Hester. Where she had initially been rejected by the Puritans because she had been an adulterer, she had now become a beloved member of the town. Between trying to continue through the long, but fantastically crafted sentences, these were the chapters in which I could feel the story beginning to pick up a little bit. Things were beginning to turn around for Hester, which was nice, but things were still pretty bad. The way that Hawthorne describes Chillingworth's physical transformation was striking. As much as I dislike Chillingworth's person, he is an amazing character. I've always been fascinated by the villains in stories and Chillingworth is a great one. He is less violent outright than he is just creepy and he makes me slightly uncomfortable when I read his dialogue. He is so well created as a character that I can understand where he would come to represent the Faustian legend and it's awesome. The way that he is manipulating Dimmesdale within an inch of his life but no more is true villain material. I think Pearl really becomes an interesting character in these chapters for me, especially in chapter fifteen. Her constant interest in the "A" on her mother chest is such that she makes an "A" of her own out of seaweed. However hers is different, whether it be for play or as Hawthorne's way of showing that Pearl is Hester both reminder and escape from the baggage that comes with the letter. In all the basic story of this book interests me, even though the structure of Hawthorne's writing isn't really my style anymore.
Question 2: What crime has Hester committed which, if known to the Puritans, would have resulted in her death?
Hester has begun to reject the values of Puritan society. She has begun to speculate on its role in her life and on its beliefs. This was, to the Puritans, the worst crime of all, for to rebel against society fell in the same vein as cardinal sin. The expectation of the time was that rules were meant to be followed religiously, religion reigned supreme, and that religion led the rule makes, therefore rejecting the rules was the worse crime a person could commit.
Question 7: What favors does Chillingworth feel he has done for Dimmesdale?
Chillingworth feels that he has done Dimmesdale a favor by not outing him for his sins. He feels that with one point of his finger, Dimmesdale would be dead or shunned, so he is helping him by keeping silent.
I agree that Chillingworth is a fantastic villain. Initially, Chillingworth was wronged by Hester and Dimmesdale, so there is a sense of justice in Chillingworth's revenge. But like any good villain, he takes the revenge to the extreme. I think that Chillingworth's character is made even better in the way that he openly acknowledges how he has become a fiend-like person. He embraces his evildoing and transformation, which relates well to Hester, whom you also mentioned. Hester begins to embrace her darker side as well when her thoughts turn against Puritanical society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Karina and Rachel. I think Chillingworth is an amazingly crafted villian. He seems to have two sides. At the beginning he is pure and his determination to find the other sinner seems just but he goes to far and embraces it. To me it seems like his evil side is his doppelganger which had overtaken his personality, and like Rachel says he encourages it. For example when Chillingworth says "let the black flower blossom as it may."
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Chillingworth is a fantastic villain. One thing that I think makes him such a great villain is his transformation throughout the novel. Hawthorne introduces his character as a quiet, devoted, and intelligent man before he transforms Chillingworth into a twisted, insane, and cruel villain throughout the course of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Chillingworth is an amazingly crafted character in the novel. The descriptions of his character as he changes throughout the novel effectively display his transformation from a wronged human being to a scarcely alive villain who has a striking resemblance to the black man. Showing this transformation helped me as a reader to appreciate the character of Chillingworth more and to understand that the evilness that seems so prevalent in his heart, was planted there by the wrong doings of another.
ReplyDeleteI think what makes Chillingworth so appealing to everyone is that they enjoy seeing how far a man can fall. He was a noble scholar at the novel's outset, yet at the end he has become a demon of sorts preying on the torments of Dimmesdale. Everyone loves a good villain, but personally I find the appeal in seeing Chillingworth's downfall. Similar to Harvey Dent in the Batman series Chillingworth was this white knight, he seemed so great... but his struggles turn him into a monster. Lastly in Psych we learned about people trying to distance themselves from others who have undesirable characteristics. That's why I believe people hate Chillingworth so much, because they want to justify why he is such a horrible person and that that would never happen to them.
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