Scarlett Letter Essay

Many of the characters in The Scarlet Letter change over the course of the novel. Some of them change for the good, while some change for the bad. Two of the main characters, Roger Chillingworth and Pearl, change during the novel. Roger Chillingworth changes for the worse, becoming evil and manipulative, while Pearl changes for the good, becoming pretty, and nice instead of evil. With Roger Chillingworth becoming evil and Pearl having been evil, them changing reflects one of the themes of the novel, sin.
In the beginning of the novel, Roger Chillingworth moves to the small town. Nobody really knows anything about him besides that he is a physician. However he is very kind and just curious as to what is going on with this young woman, Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne was his wife, who when they got separated, lost her. Nobody knows, in the beginning of the novel, that he was the husband of Hester, he keeps it a secret throughout the novel. Later in the novel he moves into a house with Arthur Dimmesdale, the one who his wife cheated with. Here is when we tell how much Chillingworth has change. “With what a ghastly rapture, as it were, too mighty to be expressed only by the eye and features, and therefore bursting itself even riotously manifest by the extravagant gestures with which he threw up his arms towards the ceiling, and stamped his foot upon the floor! Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment of his ecstasy, he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself when a precious human soul is lost to heaven and won into his kingdom.” This quote from the book shows how evil Chillingworth has become. He has the look and just what he is doing to Dimmesdale, watching him constantly controlling him, this is all so devil like. “Roger Chillingworth readily assented, and went on with his medical supervision of the minister, doing his best for him, in all good faith, but always quitting the patient’s apartment, at the close of the professional interview, with a mysterious and puzzled smile upon his lips. This expression was invisible in Mr. Dimmesdale’s presence, but grew strongly evident as the physician crossed the threshold.” Here it shows how manipulative Chillingworth is. He acts as if he is helping Mr. Dimmesdale with his “sickness” when really all Chillingworth is doing, is just trying to figure out if Mr. Dimmesdale is maybe the father of Pearl.
Chillingworth changes for bad throughout the novel, becoming evil and manipulative, however not all characters in the novel change for the bad. Pearl, another main character in the novel, changes from an “imp” to a beautiful and kind girl. She changes for the good, becoming a better and kinder little girl. In the first couple chapters of the novel, Pearl is often referred to as an elf child, or an imp. Her behavior of throwing rocks at the other children or the kind of evil look in her eyes just makes everyone referrer to her as an imp. “So smooth and quiet that it reflected a perfect image of her little figure, with all the brilliant picture squeness of her beauty, in its adornment of flowers and wreathed foliage, but more refined and spiritualized than the reality ; herself, meanwhile, all glorified with a ray of sunshine that was attracted thitherward as by a certain sympathy.” Here in a later chapter, we see Pearl as a beautiful young girl. The sunshine shinnying her just brings out even more how much beautiful she has become. Also while coming back from the woods all the animals loved her, this showing how kind she is now. Also at the very end of the novel Pearl, being so kind and nice now, kisses Dimmesdale for the first time. “Dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thou wouldst not, yonder, in the forest! But wilt? Pearl kissed his lips.” This just proves how much Pearl has changed, she would have never kissed Dimmesdale at the beginning of the novel, as she didn’t in the forest, but now that she is not “elf child” she kisses Dimmesdale. Pearl changes for the good over the novel, becoming a nicer and beautiful girl all around.
Throughout the novel both Chillingworth and Pearl change. Chillingworth changes for the bad, while Pearl changes for the good, both however become almost the complete opposite as in the beginning of the novel. People should learn that everyone changes, some for the good and some for the bad.