Sympathies for Chillingworth

     The Scarlet Letter holds many moments of shock. Though throughout the book, and towards the end of the book, I began to realize that I could only sympathize for Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth, who was married to Hester Prynne, decided to leave for two years and meet Hester back in Boston. During this time, Hester should have stayed committed to her husband and not cheat on him with Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister. Dimmesdale, who is committed to God by being a minister, should stick with God's rules. It is both Hester's and Dimmesdale's fault in committing this sin. They both had someone to stay loyal to; Hester with her husband and Dimmesdale with God. I sympathize for Chillingworth because he left his wife for two years trusting her and expecting to come back to Boston, probably hoping to start a family with her. Instead, he comes back to Boston seeing her at the gallows, being punished. Of course he would want revenge, maybe to show Hester the pain he felt when he was cheated on or to show Hester and Dimmesdale how wrong they were to do such a sin. At the end of the book, Chillingworth gives half of his inheritance to Pearl. Instead of seeking the revenge he hoped for, he realized it would not work and decided to give Pearl his belongings after passing away. Maybe he cared about Pearl after all. Even if she was not his daughter, she was still a part of Hester, which is why I believe he cared for Pearl, because he probably loved Hester all along.