In life, one's want for revenge can lead to impulsive action and this yearning may cause a person to drive him or herself mad. From the beginning of the book it's evident that revenge is the defining theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. It is what drives the book's antagonist Roger Chillingworth into taking action and pursuing Dimmesdale who had wronged him along with Hester Prynne. Surprisingly he tells Hester, "We have wronged each other. Therefore, .I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee. Between thee and me, the scale hangs fairly balanced. But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?"(Hawthorne 69-70). Here he makes it clear to his wife that he will not take revenge on her because he sees that they've both wronged each other and it's pretty fair. Chillingworth tells his wife, Hester Prynne, that he would find the her partner who she had committed adultery with and have him punished. Thus began his pursuit for Dimmesdale who he wanted to suffer the same humiliation and shame that Hester had to endure. .
His first step was to ask Hester to reveal to him the identity of Pearl's father, but upon refusing Chillingworth promises to "destroy that man's soul. " And hell bent on doing exactly as he stated, Roger Chillingworth uses his profession as the town doctor to discover the identity of Dimmesdale. When called upon to examine the very sick Reverend Dimmesdale, he takes advantage of this and even goes as far as to become his personal physician since he'd suspected that the minister might be Pearl's father. After examining him mentally, and digging and trying to discover the truth, Dimmesdale still doesn't reveal his secret and so Chillingworth suggests living together so as to better decipher the minister's illness. .
With that suggestion Dimmesdale moves in with him and Chillingworth continues his pursuit for revenge. He'd tortured Dimmesdale, instead of attending to him like a proper physician would to his patient.