The Scarlet Letter 7

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Four

Entry Seven

The fourth chapter contains one of the most important scenes in the book.

Hester’s husband, he introduces himself as Roger Chillingworth, comes to her prison cell as a doctor. He was called because of the baby that was agitated by all the flurry around her.
While Chillingworth was looking after her, he is talking to Hester about her sin.

During they are talking it comes clear that all he is interested in is taking revenge on the man Hester was cheating with on him. Though she still refuses to reveal the secret name, he seems to be sure about finding out who the man is (“with a smile of dark  and self-relying intelligence”).

He seems nearly obsesses by the thought of retaliating upon him for “stealing” his wife. He emphasizes it so clearly that Hester is literally afraid of revealing it by letting him look at her (“Hester Prynne clasped her hands over her heart, dreading lest he should the secret there at once”)

Before he leaves her alone in the prison, he brings her to make a pact with him: She won’t tell anybody about his existence in Boston and leaves everyone thinking he died in the sea. By this promise Hester is helping him to find the man he’s looking for. She might not realize it in this moment or she is intimidated by his threatening (“Shouldst you fail me in this, beware! His fame, his position, his life, will be in my hands. Beware!”), but she eases his search very much. When he is anonymous in the town, and noone knows he is in search of this one person, he can go into hiding between all the inhabitants of Boston without attracting attention.

Before he is about to close the door, he smiles at her darkly which makes her ask if she sold her soul by promising it to him. Now she saw that this probably was a big mistake she did. His answer: “Not thy soul. No, not  thine!”

Now he has the power about the man’s soul.