Roger Chillingworth is the symbol of sin in its darkest form in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne has given the reader "the rose", which symbolizes your right to decide the true meaning and symbolism throughout the story. Although Chillingworth is not incredibly old, Hawthorne describes him to look "Well stricken in years"; this shows his unrevealed sin eating away at him. Chillingworth is not as much of a character as Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl. He is a symbol of the devils will carried out through man. He is absorbed in a sinful vengeance, set to destroy all who have crossed him.

Chillingworth is first presented to the reader after a year in captivity to the indians. He is at first, however, not shown as a man of intelligence or a scholar, he is shown as a wild man, a mix between civilization and the indians. He was...