From the moment his name was mentioned, I feel like we've been entirely left in the dark as for who Robert Chillingworth is and what his sketchy background entails.
"He resolved not to be pilloried beside her on her pedestal of shame. Unknown to all but Hester Prynne, and possessing the lock and key of her silence, he chose to withdraw his name from the roll of mankind, and, as regarded his former ties and interests, to vanish out of life as completely as if he indeed lay at the bottom of the ocean."
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN. I feel like that really just about sums up who R Chills is and also gives us a heads up on his dark intentions that are soon brought to the surface through his close friendship with Dimesdale a.k.a Chillingworth obsessively watching his every move and Dimesdale being completely oblivious to this fact the entire time!
So out of NO WHERE he pops up as a self-proclaimed doctor and immediately wins the respect of the whole town... enough respect to live with their most valued priest? Hm. Somehow he came off as a gift from heaven and won his way into using his skills for the worse.
However, with this dark and evil side we see as he attempts to dig into the darker parts of Dimesdale's soul, he is somehow described as "calm in temperament, kindly, though not warm affections, but ever, and in all his relations with the world, a pure and upright man." So how on earth can someone act on two opposing extremities?
However, as much I don't want to stick up for Chillingworth, I see a part of him in myself and humans in general.
In one particular conversation between the two, Chillingworth and Dimesdale discuss whether it is better to bury their sins or to show them outwardly for all to see. After Robert uses Hester as an example for her public announcement of her sin, Dimesdale eventually agrees that, "It must needs better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart."
This is how I see us in Chillingworth: We present a false image of ourselves to the word, hiding the truer parts of who we actually are. We all mess up, we all sin, and all the while we somehow think it's better to wear a "mask" all for the sake of our reputation.
And even though this doesn't exactly relate to what I'm talking about I thought of this:
Small digression, but the point is-- be yourself!
Finally, because this post is going on way too long and I need to wrap this up.... Chillingworth acts as the spawn of Satan yet wears a mask of good intentions. As we continue to read, it'll be interesting to see what unfolds.
-Caroline
p,s, Update on the spider bite: My spidey powers haven't shown up yet, but once they do I'll let you guys know.
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