The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Four
Entry Eight
The husband of Hester Prynne introduces himself as “Roger Chillingworth”. We don’t know if it’s his right name so far, but this name has a lot of meaning in it:
”Roger” stands for revenge, and “Chillingworth” for chilly (cruel, inhumane) and worth (he makes Arthut Dimmesdale speak out his own sin).
”Roger” stands for revenge, and “Chillingworth” for chilly (cruel, inhumane) and worth (he makes Arthut Dimmesdale speak out his own sin).
Chapter four shows the true colors of Roger Chillingworth.
He forces Hester to agree to his wish: She lets him stay anonymous in the town.
His whole appearance makes her ask:
“Are thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us?”
The black man (Roger Chillingworth) is a synonym for the devil himself, appearing disguised in black. Black is always the color of something bad and evil, and also something secret and myterious. Someone who is weaing black wants to stay undercover. This is exactly Roger’s plan: Staying in disguise to identify the man his wife had an affair with.
In my opinion he plays the “ruler of the world”, he wants to decide about what’s right and wrong and he won’t stop seeking the man until he found him to demand justice (his own “kind of justice”).
"Ruler of the world" - good idea. This relates him directly to the devil - someone who wants to rule the world. He also is an outsider who pretends to be something else.
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