Chillingworth as the hero of The Scarlet Letter?The Scarlet Letter is a story about the human reaction to circumstances and the justification behind these actions. Each of the novel's central characters represents one side of an extremely serious situation, adultery. Each of the characters has a certain justification behind their actions and each seeks a way to escape from their condition. Roger Chillingworth himself represents revenge. Some even believe that he is the representative of evil or Satan. What is ignored in cases where he is interpreted as Satan or evil is the fact that he was cruelly wronged by both Hester and Dimmesdale. Since Hester and Dimmesdale are portrayed as protagonists in the novel, Chillingworth is automatically classified, due to his opposition towards the two, as an antagonist. In reality it is not this at all if considered without the negative connotations under which it is crushed in the book. Hester and Chillingworth were married before the novel begins. Chillingworth, before his marriage, was a completely introverted man. "I - a man of thought - the bookworm of the great libraries - a man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the dream hungry for knowledge... I have come out of the vast and sad forest and entered this settlement of Christian men, the first object my eyes would meet would be yourself, Hester Prynne...." (52-53) Chillingworth saw Hester, after emerging from a great period of solitude, as a symbol of life. He almost considered her a savior. ...... middle of the paper ...... to do what is right. Chillingworth is actually trying to maintain its essence. He is ruined without his revenge. Defeated, without purpose, Chillingworth soon dies after Dimmesdale's confession. Chillingworth's source of happiness, Hester, has been taken away along with his chance for retaliation. It is all too easy for a reader of The Scarlet Letter to simply label Chillingworth as evil. The reader must pay attention to the complexity of the position in which Chillingworth is forced to understand that he is not evil or evil, at least not completely. Chillingworth is just a human being put in a terrible position that he reacts to. Indeed, it is not impossible to say that, given his circumstances, Chillingworth was indeed the hero, the protagonist; and Hester and Dimmesdale are the real villains.