husband, stems from his descent into his fiendish plot to make Dimmesdale accept for himself the scarlet letter. He acknowledges that he is compelled beyond his will by a dark force to acquit himself; his view denies moral responsibility. He begins his character as intellectual which he transforms to a diabolical form. His vow to be a mere observer of heavenÆs retribution alludes to a passive role from which he dissents. Chillingworth aggressively pursues his intrigue of psychological torture and administers medicines that have psychotropic effects and slowly poisons him. He violates the biblical injunction ôVengeance is mine, saith the Lord.ö Chillingworth is willing to sacrifice his fellow man to serve his own dark concerns. Chillingworth wholeheartedly rejects his moral self to seek revenge, which is painted blacker by Hawthorne than the sin of either Dimmesdale or Hester. While both Hester and Dimmesdale attempt to reconnect with society, Chillingworth is alienated from society, abandons any ethic, and be
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