Ever since the beginning of story telling, villains have been put into literature to give conflict to the story. Sometimes there are numerous villains in a story, but there is always one that is a bit more evil and wretched than the rest. A man named Roger Chillingworth is the most detestable villain in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

Roger Chillingworth is introduced into the Puritan society as a kind and wise man. However, by the end of the novel he shows himself to be a despicable villain. The sin of his wife plants a desire in him that stirs a profound and hidden evil and creates a scoundrel. He becomes obsessed with finding her lover only to "see him tremble" (80). Chillingworth is not concerned with finding peace within his soul; he only wants to know the truth so that he can bathe in the misery of the...