, or Roger
Prynne, enacts psychological warfare onbecause he feels that Dimmesdale has cuckolded him.
Chillingworth is jealous of the love thathas for Dimmesdale and disgusted that Dimmesdale will
not confess that he is 's father.
His acts of psychological torture against
Dimmesdale includes becoming his medical adviser, seen in chapters nine and ten. The two men
move in together and spend a great deal of time in each other's company.Chillingworth works to
win Dimmesdale's trust, hoping that he will unburden himself and confess his sin. They have long
conversations about the sins of other men, and Chillingworth opines that men's spiritual
sickness manifests physically, implying that Dimmesdale's fading health is the result of his
hidden sinfulness.
Chillingworth never goes so far as to overtly accuse
Dimmesdale, but he becomes adept at playing on Dimmesdale's psychological weaknesses and
persistently trying to get him to admit what he has done.Since Dimmesdale is a Puritan and
deeply understands their beliefs about how God punishes sinners, Chillingworth's subtle
manipulations are effective. His cruelty intensifies the anxiety Dimmesdale feels about eternal
punishment, to say nothing of the guilt he feels about leaving Hester and Pearl to fend for
themselves in a hostile community and his hypocrisy in leading a congregation.
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