Section 2

Compare and contrast Dimmesdale and Chilingworth

If we compare and contrast Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, in The Scarlett Letter, we will realize the two men are in many aspects, polar opposites. This means they have a limitless number of differences, but as they do, they have as well some similarities. Arthur Dimmesdale is a respected minister in Boston and the father of Pearl. Dimmesdale meets Hester, who is Chillingworths wife and have an adulterous affair. He begins to feel ashamed and guilty because of what he has don, while Hesters being treated incredible bad by all the people. Chillingworth, small in stature and with a furrowed visage, is a man deficient in human warmth. From what the reader is told of his early years with Hester, he was a difficult husband. Arthur Dimmesdale, is an individual whose identity owes more to external circumstances than to his innate nature. His past suggests that he is probably somewhat aloof, the kind of man who would not have much natural sympathy for ordinary men and women. He has an unusually active conscience and his resultant mental anguish and physical weakness open up his mind and allow him to empathize with others.