Scarlet Letter 5 Paragraph Or More

George Way Period 5 November 1, 2008

Masks can cover a person’s identity, allowing them to do almost anything to their heart’s desire. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne wrote “No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (212). Though Roger’s identity was revealed by the end of the book, he abused his masked identity, doing many atrocious deeds. Roger Chillingworth had shown that masking his identity to the masses and being who he really was to Hester resulted in his bewilderment. To begin with, Chillingworth had come to Salem, hiding his real identity to everyone except Hester Prynne. After the interview in the prison, Chillingworth tells Hester “because I will not encounter the dishonor that besmirches the husband of a faithless woman….Enough, it is my purpose to live and die unknown” (71). Chillingworth could not live with the dishonor that would follow him if the town learned that it was in fact his wife that committed the horrible crime. Also, he wished to remain hidden to the multitude because he wanted to exact his revenge upon the man and Hester because they deserved a punishment fit in his own mind. Seen as the devil, Chillingworth was thinking of something more than just keeping his identity a secret for that time. Chillingworth’s veil had concealed his identity from everyone but Hester, and wishing to continue his rouse, he told Hester to keep his identity a secret. This only resulted in his failure to get his vengeance on Hester and her lover. In addition, Chillingworth wished to have his sins secret, than to have them out in the open. Referring back to the quote, “because I will not encounter the dishonor that besmirches the husband of a faithless woman….Enough, it is my purpose to live and die unknown” (71) Roger wants to have whatever he does, done in secret. Revenge was his first and only goal as soon as

he learned of Hester’s unfaithfulness in the new world. Roger became Dimmesdale’s friend in order to secretly hinder him when the narrator states “After a time, at a hint from Roger Chillingworth, the friends of Mr. Dimmesdale effected an arrangement by which the two were lodged in the same house; so that every ebb and flow of the minister’s life-tide might pass under the eye of his anxious and attached physician” (118). After being lodged with Roger, Chillingworth learns that Dimmesdale is the father of the illegitimate child that Hester has brought forth into this world. He touches Arthur’s chest and from that point on, Arthur aches there. Roger had exacted his revenge- a sinful act in the eyes of God- in a secret manner, but later in the story he is exposed for his sin when Hester tells Dimmesdale Roger’s real identity. It was only then his sins were exposed, Chillingworth wished for his sins to be secret but they were exposed and in that state, they became exponentially harmful to him and his reputation. Then, there is the argument of Roger being good or evil, which showed that he was truly a master of guise. Chillingworth is seen as a good doctor, but that was a guise for his real intentions- to exact his vengeance on Hester and her lover. Roger had become a great acquisition to the town of Salem “To such a professional body Roger Chillingworth was a brilliant acquisition. He soon manifested his familiarity with the ponderous and imposing machinery of antique physique” (112) Roger was seen in a positive light to the town of Salem. Though he was depicted in his light, his personal interests contradicted what he did in public. Hester tells Dimmesdale of Roger’s personal interests when she says “Thou hast long had such an enemy. And dwellest with him, under the same roof!” (190) she is warning Dimmesdale of Roger and his horrible intentions of vengeance. Good or bad, Chillingworth was an evil individual when it came to his personality, but a noble person when it came to the multitude. His disguises had finally caught up with him in the end and he becomes dissatisfied with the results, without him exacting his revenge

Roger Chillingworth was a paradigm of what a masked identity can do to an individual. Chillingworth had come to Salem, concealing his identity to all but Hester. Also, Chillingworth wished to have his sins secret, than to have them publicized. Good or Evil, Chillingworth shows both by being the master of guile. Roger Chillingworth is the prime example of how a mask can bewilder a person.