Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｓｔ Ｓｉｎｎｅｒ

［中圖分類號］I106 ［文獻標識碼］A ［文章編號］1009－5489(2008)11－0182－02

Nathaniel Hawthorne remains a novelist with great influence on American literature.He was first known as a short story writer，since he produced some successful short stories.However，his first major work was The Scarlet Letter，a great success.Some critics say it is one of the finest novels of American literature.

Hawthorne was born at Salem，Massachusetts.He came from a prominent puritan family.His ancestors were known in history as notorious persecutors of Quakers and the Salem witches in the early days of New England.For a long time，he had been preoccupied by a bitter feeling about his family guilt.So in his works，Hawthorne probes deeply into the human soul.All his life，he concerns himself with mystery of sin and is constantly haunted by his sense of sin and evil.Evil seems to be man's birthmark.Everyone possesses some evil secret.

Take the three main characters in The Scarlet Letter as examples.They represent three different moral states.Each of them is confronted with a moral choice.To Hester，her choice is to reveal her partner，or protect him from punishment.But she's able to reconstruct her life and finally win a moral victory.So Hester is the symbol of good.As to Dimmesdal，his choice is to remain a minister or make a confession of his sin.After experiencing seven year's physical and mental agony，he reveals his secret that he is Hester's partner.He dies an honest man.On the other hand，Chillingworth is faced with a choice to treat Hester and her partner with compassion，or to prefer to revenge.Overflowed with hatred，he decided to make reprisals.Therefore Chillingworth is the embodiment of evil and sin.

Chillingworth is an old and lonely scholar in England.He devotes all his time to abstruse studying，while ignored his young and pretty wife，Hester Prynne.He sends Hester to American，to live quietly until he arrives.But his arrival is delayed because of the series of incidents on the sea and in the land，and over a year's captivity by Indians.He finally arrives in Boston，only to discover his wife in pillory，wearing a scarlet letter on her breast，holding her illicit child in her arm：she is publicly exposed to the punishment as an adulteress.

No doubt as a victim of a shameful adultery，Chillingworth can get some sympathy.His marriage with Hester is unhappy，for he is much older than his wife.It's his desire that he wants to start a new life with Hester that forces him to send her to America.Chillingworth is a man of capable of love.We approve of his desire for a happy family life：

My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests，but lonely and chill，and without a household fire.I longed to kindle one! It seemed not so wild a dream，--old as I was，and sombre as I was，and misshapen as I was--that the simple bliss，which is scattered far and wide，for all mankind to gather up，might yet be mine.And so，Hester，I drew you to my heart，into its innermost chamber，and sought to warm thee by the warmth which thy presence mad there!(74)

However，on his arrival in Boston，Chillingworth is disappointed at it.He hopes to gain his wife's love.But his wife's dishonesty to him destroys his beautiful dream.It's natural for him to be filled with anger and hatred.He disguises himself as a physician and changes his name to Chillingworth.In this way，he begins to revenge.

Chillingworth is determined to find out who is Hester's partner.In fact，after he sees Hester on the scaffold，he has made up his mind to reveal the secreat：who is the father of Pearl.\"It irks me，nevertheless，that the partner of her iniquity should not，at least，stand on the scaffold by her side.But he will be known --he will be known! --he will be known !\"(63)When he meets Hester in the prison，he even telld her，“I shall seek this man，as I have sought truth in the books；as I have sought gold in alchemy\"(75).“...beware! His fame，his position，his life，will be in my hands.Beware\"(75).

Chillingworth begins to suspect that Dimmsdale is Pearl's father when Reverend Wilson and Governor Billingham are trying to take Pearl away from Hester.He says，“You speak，my friend，with a strange earnestness\"(115).With this suspicion，Chillingworth begins to take special interesr in Dimmesdale.

When Chillingworth first comes to the town，he is popular with the citizens，because he is a very qualified doctor and they need him.The citizens even think it's an act of God that he arrives when Dimmesdale is becoming ill.

After a time，at a hint from Roger Chillingworth，the friend of Dimmesdale effected an arrangement by which the two were lodged in the same house；so that every ebb and flow of the minister's life-tide might pass under the eye of his anxious and attached physician(125).

Chillingworth's quesrt is to find out if his suspicion is a reality.In order to achieve his purpose，he must get closer to Dimmesdale.He must be feel vary satisfied with this arrangement.After Chillingworth moves in with Dimmesdale，his image in the town pople begins to change：

At first，his expression had been calm，meditative，scholar-like.Now，there was something ugly and evil in his face，which they had not previously noticed，and which grew still the more obvious to sight，the oftener they looked upon him(127).

Chillingworth gradually evolves from a man capable of love，to a man capable of the greatest sin in the novel：the violation of the human heart.While living together，Chillingworth constantly digs for Dimmesdale to release his secret：

He now dug into the poor clergyman's heart，like a miner search-ing for gold；or rather，like a sexton delving into a grave，possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man's bosom，but likely to find nothing save mortality and corruption(129).

Finally，Chillingworth catches Dimmesdale sleeping and thrusts aside the vestment to discover the letter 'A' upon his chest：

Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth，at that moment of his ecstasy，he would have no need to ask how Satan comports himself，when a precious human soul is lost to heaven，and won into his kingdom(138).

After he confirms his suspicion，Chillingworth's torment towards Dimmesdale increases.He is now in complete control of Dimmesdale，whose health is becoming worse and worse.Hester notices the deterioration of Dimmesdale's health，and she thinks that her faithfulness in keeping Chillingworth's identity a secret，is to blame.When she goes to Chillingworth and speaks to him about revealing his identity，he neither forgives nor condemns her decision.While listening to the old man，she notices how much he has changed over the past seven years：\"It seemed to be his wish and purpose to mask this expression with a smile；but the latter played him 1，and flickered over his visage so derisively，that the spectator could see his blackness all the better for it\"(169).

Chillingworth has committed the most severe of the sins in the novel.Up to now，he has completely transformed into evil.Even though he does not commit a sin that deseres a death in that time，his sin is worth than any other one.Not only does he desory Dimmesdale，by torturing him with his analogies and indirect stories，he also destroys his own life by making himself one hates the most，a fiend.\"I have already told thee what I am，a fiend\"(173).Through Dimmsdale`s words，it's seen clearly that Chillingworth is the worst sinner：

We are not，Hester，the worst sinner in he world.There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man`s revenge has been blacker than my sin.He has violated，in cold blood，the sanctity of a human heart.(195).

Chillingworth`s death is a result of the nature of his character.After Dimmesdale dies，he no longer has a vicitim.Having lost the object of his revenge，he dies a year later in frustration.

It`s fact that Chillingworth suffers a lot.With the loss of Hester，he is filled with anger and jealousy and eventually let his emotions overtake him.Although his anger is understandble and forgivable，it becomes a great sin when he seeks every means to hurt the others.If Chilligworth had been more understanding towards Hester`s problem，he would have had a better chance at winning her love back.Nevertheless，he is interested in revenge，not justice.He comes to represent true evil.In contrast to Hester's and Dimmsdale`s sin，which has love，not hatred，as its intent，Chillingworth`s sin is the greatest.In conclusion，he is the worst sinner in the novel.

［參考文獻］

［1］Chang Yaoxin.A Survey of American Literature.Tianjin：Nankai University Press，1990.

［2］Hawthorne，Nathaniel.The Scarlet Letter：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1994.

［3］侍桁：《紅字》，上海譯文出版社1981年版。

［4］虞建華：《20部美國小說名著評析》，上海外語教育出版社1989年版。

［5］翟士釗：《美國文學選讀》，河南大學出版社1994年版。