Dimmsdale and Chillingworth

      This week in class, we continued reading the novel The Scarlet Letter. We learned new facts about the characters, and saw the plot develop even more. Two characters that people may sympathize for are Arthur Dimmsdale and Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is Hester's husband, while Arthur Dimmsdale is Pearl's actual father, and the person that Hester had an affair with, while cheating on her husband. Both Dimmsdale and Chillingworth have their secrets, and neither of them are perfect, especially in the moral aspect.
      I sympathize more with Arthur Dimmsdale. Despite the fact that he knowingly did something wrong and morally corrupt, he realized his mistake and had to live with the guilt, torture and unhappiness for over seven years. As the story develops, Chillingworth seems to become more evil, colder and harder to sympathize for. Although he was cheated on, it is hard to feel bad for him, because of his character and his actions. While Dimmsdale morality seemed to be corrupt for that time that he had the affair, it seems as though Chillingworth's moral values have no importance to him. The quote that convinced me most was: "Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come p hither once again, and we will stand all three together" (Hawthorne, 126). This is when Dimmsdale asks Hester and Pearl to stand on the platform with him. It shows how he is finally ready to move forward, and take responsibility for what he had done.