Chillingsworth for whatever he's worth

First off, this blog post is on The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. If you haven't read at least part of it, stop reading. If someone is reading this to you, put a bucket on your head and smack it with a spoon or something if you don't want any spoilers. Still reading? Then I shall assume you have enough understanding of the book to at least know who all the characters are.

Okay, we all get that Chillingsworth is a creep, and this is even reflected in his appearance. But is he purely evil, or is he rather a disillusioned old man with a perverted sense of good?

Let's all remember that Chillingsworth is Hester's actual husband. However, when he meets her again for the first time since she came to the New World in prison, Chillingsworth feels remorse for his part in her public shaming. As a result, he promises not to seek revenge on Hester or her baby, though he does not feel the same way for the person who Hester committed adultery with. Hester notices this, and forces him to promise that he will not seek physical revenge on Dimmesdale (who she does not name even though Chillingsworth makes it abundantly clear that he will find out).

Chillingsworth is also a physician, and a good one at that. This is interesting because physicians have a connotation of good people who work to make better lives for everyone. However, Chillingsworth uses his skills in a perverted manner and attempts to hurt Dimmesdale with his knowledge of healing herbs.

All in all, though Chillingsworth is certainly a rather dark character, he probably had good intentions to start, which were bent to into what they are shown as in the novel.

"Trust me! I'm a doctor!"
(Let's be honest. When we imagine Chillingsworth, we imagine someone with the skeletal structure of the Hunchback of Notre Dame)