# Roger Chillingworth

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{{short description|Fictional character from the 1850 novel "The Scarlet Letter"}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Notability|date=November 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox character
| first = [The Scarlet Letter](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter)
| designer = [Nathaniel Hawthorne](/source/Nathaniel_Hawthorne)
| occupation = [Physician](/source/Physician), [alchemist](/source/alchemist)
| spouse = [Hester Prynne](/source/Hester_Prynne)
| nationality = 20px [English](/source/England)
}}

'''Roger Chillingworth''' is a fictional character and primary antagonist in the 1850 novel ''[The Scarlet Letter](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter)'' by [Nathaniel Hawthorne](/source/Nathaniel_Hawthorne). He is an English scholar who moves to the [New World](/source/New_World) after his wife, [Hester Prynne](/source/Hester_Prynne).

== Fictional role ==
[[File:The Scarlet Letter (1926) - 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Chillgworth portrayed by [Henry B. Walthall](/source/Henry_B._Walthall) in a 1926 silent film adaptation]]
Chillingworth, a [physician](/source/physician) and student of [alchemy](/source/alchemy), attempts to emigrate from [England](/source/England) to [Puritan Boston](/source/Boston). He sends his wife ahead to set up in Boston, but he is delayed by problems at sea and then held captive by [Indians](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States). When he finally arrives in Boston, he finds his wife on a [scaffold](/source/Scaffold_(execution_site)), being shamed for committing [adultery](/source/adultery). Meeting Hester in jail, Chillingworth presses her to divulge the name of her partner in adultery, but she refuses. Searching without her help, he eventually discovers that her lover is the town minister, [Arthur Dimmesdale](/source/Arthur_Dimmesdale). Using his position as a doctor, and under the guise of treating Dimmesdale's unexplained sickness, Chillingworth manipulates Dimmesdale into insanity and suffering. Toward the end of the book, he tries to prevent Dimmesdale from confessing his [sin](/source/Christian_views_on_sin) publicly in order to force Dimmesdale to keep living with the emotional and spiritual suffering from the guilt of his unconfessed sin, but Dimmesdale confesses anyway, and dies shortly thereafter in Hester's arms. Chillingworth then also dies within a year because he no longer has a victim to harm.<ref>Hawthorne, Nathaniel. [The Scarlet Letter](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter). Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg, 199. Print.</ref>

==Portrayals==
Chillingworth was portrayed by [Henry B. Walthall](/source/Henry_B._Walthall) in [Victor Seastrom](/source/Victor_Sj%C3%B6str%C3%B6m)'s [1926 film adaptation](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter_(1926_film)), starring [Lillian Gish](/source/Lillian_Gish). He reprised the role opposite [Colleen Moore](/source/Colleen_Moore) in the [1934 adaptation](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter_(1934_film)).<ref name="AFI2">{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&Type=PN&Tbl=&CatID=DATABIN_CAST&ID=69668&searchedFor=Henry_B._Walthall_&SortType=ASC&SortCol=RELEASE_YEAR |title=Henry B. Walthall |publisher=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |accessdate=2014-12-23}}</ref>
Chillingworth was played by [Robert Duvall](/source/Robert_Duvall) in the [1995 adaptation](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter_(1995_film)), starring [Demi Moore](/source/Demi_Moore).

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{The Scarlet Letter}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chillingworth, Roger}}
Category:The Scarlet Letter characters
Category:Fictional characters who use magic
Category:Fictional medical doctors
Category:Literary characters introduced in 1850
Category:Male literary villains
Category:Male characters in literature
Category:Male film villains
Category:Fictional English people

{{novel-char-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roger Chillingworth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Chillingworth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Chillingworth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.