What is revealed on Dimmesdale’s chest?
The red mark on Dimmesdale's chest represents adultery in the beginning, guilt in the middle, and pain and death in the end. The stressor that made Dimmesdale feel worse was Hester's first husband Chillingworth.
What did Chillingworth find on Dimmesdale?
One day, not long afterward, Chillingworth finds Dimmesdale asleep in a chair. Pulling aside the minister's vestment, he stares at the clergyman's chest. What he sees there causes "a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror," and he does a spontaneous dance of ecstasy.
What does Chillingworth see under Dimmesdale’s vestment?
When Dimmesdale is in a uncharacteristic deep sleep one afternoon, Chillingworth pulls back his robe and sees something on his chest. His reaction was described as what Satan looks like when a soul goes to Hell.
What is the significance of Chillingworth’s examining Dimmesdale’s chest?
Dimmesdale often clutches his chest and to this point has not allowed Chillingworth, his doctor, to examine him. Since Chillingworth suspects the minister has committed the same sin as Hester, it follows that he might be pained symbolically and literally in the same spot as she.
How does Chillingworth find out that Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father?
A few days later, as Dimmesdale sleeps, Chillingworth sneaks up to him and pushes aside his shirt, where he sees something on Dimmesdale's chest that causes him to rejoice. He now knows that Dimmesdale is Hester's partner in adultery and Pearl's father.
Does Chillingworth poison Dimmesdale?
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter”, Chillingworth is guilty of Dimmesdale's death. For one he tries to poison Dimmesdale with some medicine, he makes him suffer mentally, and he tortures him for it all and tries to make him feel guilty for all that he's done.
What do you suppose is the specific secret that Chillingworth discovers?
What do you suppose is the specific secret that Chillingworth discovers? Chillingsworth has discovered something on Dimmesdale's chest that makes him realize that Dimmesdale is the father of baby Pearl.
Why doesn’t Hawthorne clearly explain what was on Dimmesdale’s chest?
Why doesn't Hawthorne clearly explain what is on Dimmesdale's chest? Hawthorne is vague in his explanation about what is on Dimmesdale's chest, because he wants to leave it open for the readers' own interpretation. Different readers can feel very differently about Dimmesdale and what he has done.
What is Chillingworth’s secret?
Chillingworth tells her that he doesn't want to be known as a husband whose wife cheated on him, so she is not to reveal in any way that Chillingworth is her husband. Hester swears an oath that she will keep Chillingworth's secret as she has kept secret the identity of Pearl's father.
What killed Dimmesdale?
What kills Dimmesdale? Reverend Dimmesdale dies of an illness that haunts his soul. Tormented by his terrible guilt and the psychological torture of Roger Chillingworth who has vowed that “he will be mine ” Dimmesdale is so burdened spiritually that his health fails and he can bear his sin no more.
What kills Dimmesdale?
But both say physician Roger Chillingworth used poison to murder the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, the preacher who fathered a child by adulteress Hester Prynne. Chillingworth was Prynne's husband.
What Discovery does Chillingworth make when Dimmesdale fell into a deep deep slumber?
What discovery does Chillingworth make when Dimmesdale's "fell into a deep, deep slumber"? Chillingworth removed Dimmesdale's farmer from his chest and saw a letter A on his chest.
What does Chillingworth want to find out?
Chillingworth wants to know the name of the man “who has wronged us both,” but Hester refuses to tell. He says that he will find this man by reading his sin on his heart, even if the man hides “himself in outward honor.”
Why is Chillingworth called a leech?
Roger Chillingworth is called “the leech” because he sucks the spirit and strength from Reverend Dimmesdale the way the aquatic leech exploits and often kills its host. He pretends to be a caring physician, but he extorts favors from the clergyman to serve his own selfish need to be near Hester, his legal wife.
What is Chillingworth’s sin?
Chillingworth himself, however, intentionally commits the sin of seeking revenge against his fellow man. In addition, Chillingworth hides his feelings of anger and hatred in order to plot his revenge, thereby committing the further sin of deceit. . . .
Where does Dimmesdale hold his vigil?
During one of these vigils, Dimmesdale seizes on an idea for what he believes may be a remedy to his pain. He decides to hold a vigil on the scaffold where, years before, Hester suffered for her sin.
What practices does Dimmesdale begin as a result of guilt?
What practices does Dimmesdale begin as a result of his guilt? Starts fasting, doing vigils, inflicting self-wounds, and punishing himself.
What does Chillingworth want to do to Dimmesdale?
He also works to get close to Dimmesdale to find out what is troubling his heart. chillingworth desperately wants to discover the identity of hesters lover; Father of pearl, also he is in the process of creating a relationship with dimmesdale to find out what troubles his heart.
What is Chillingworth secret in the scarlet letter?
By renaming himself upon his arrival in Boston, Chillingworth has hidden his past from everyone except Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy. He incorporates himself into society in the role of a doctor, and since the townsfolk have very little access to good medical care, he is welcomed and valued.
Is Chillingworth the black man?
More than once, Pearl refers to Chillingworth as the Black Man. This is the only time that 'the Black Man' appears physically in the novel, suggesting that the true source of sin isn't an external evil living in the woods.
What did Roger Chillingworth do to Dimmesdale?
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter”, Chillingworth is guilty of Dimmesdale's death. For one he tries to poison Dimmesdale with some medicine, he makes him suffer mentally, and he tortures him for it all and tries to make him feel guilty for all that he's done.
What is a vigil where does Dimmesdale hold his vigil Why?
During one of these vigils, Dimmesdale seizes on an idea for what he believes may be a remedy to his pain. He decides to hold a vigil on the scaffold where, years before, Hester suffered for her sin.
Why does Dimmesdale climb the scaffold at night what is the source of his chest pain?
Dimmesdale climbs the scaffold at night so that he can confess his sin and feel how Hester felt. The source of his chest pain is the scarlet "A" he bears. 20. Discuss how Dimmesdale's behavior on the scaffold reveals his psychological stress.
How does Chillingworth react to Dimmesdale’s confession?
Chillingworth's face darkens as he realizes that nowhere else but on the scaffold can Dimmesdale escape him. The minister tells Hester that he is dying and must acknowledge his shame. Then he turns to the crowd and cries out his guilt.
Why does Chillingworth want revenge Dimmesdale?
Chillingworth hates dimmesdale because he knows his the father of pearl and just hates the fact that he committed a sin with hester while he is a minster and that's why Chillingworth is creating revenge towards Dimmesdale.
What does pearl call Chillingworth?
Pearl sticks prickly burrs from nature unto the letters. What does Pearl call Roger Chillingworth in chapter 10? The Black Man.
Who is the most evil character in The Scarlet Letter?
One of the most obvious characters to be considered evil to both the reader of The Scarlet Letter and the characters is Mistress Hibbins.
Did Dimmesdale have an A on his chest?
Although many claim to have seen a scarlet “A” on Dimmesdale's chest, others read the minister's confession as an intentional allegorical performance. It is this latter group, which argues that Dimmesdale meant to deliver a lesson on sin and was not confessing to any actual wrongdoing, that reestablishes the old ways.
How does Chillingworth go about torturing Dimmesdale?
Feeling that he is in full possession of Dimmesdale's secret, Chillingworth begins his unrelenting torture of the minister, subtly tormenting him with comments designed to trigger fear and agony. Dimmesdale does not realize Chillingworth's motives, but he nonetheless comes to fear and abhor him.
What is Chillingworth’s most serious sin?
Final Novel Test
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is Chillingworth's most serious sin | He allows his mind to become overpowered by a desire for revenge |
| What is Dimmesdale's most serious sin | He preaches to his congregation about sin when he is himself a sinner |