"The Scarlet Letter" was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. He was a very famous author, who was born in 1804 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The setting of the story takes place in the puritan colony of Massachusetts. The scaffold scene was set in the marketplace during the seventeenth century. However the novel opened with a prison setting foreshadowing the future, hiding sadness and comdemption of Chillingworth. Chillingworth's obsession of discovering the truth about Hester's lover, eventually turns him into evil being.
While Hester is in jail for committing adultery, Chillingworth confronts her and lets her know that he's out to get revenge on whomever she is having an affair with. He asks different kinds of questions to try to find out the truth about her affair, however, nothing works. During this meeting with Chillingworth, Hester is scared for herself and Dimmesdale because the only way to keep Chillingworth from knowing the truth is by keeping it a secret. Hester knows the if her husband finds out the truth, he will hurt Dimmesdale.
Chillingworth suspects Dimmesdale of having an affair with his wife Hester and seeks revenge on him. Chillingworth moves in with Dimmesdale to keep a close watch on him. He also gets in his head by always questioning his action and asking him about Hester. Chillingworth is so fixed with revenge on Dimmesdale that he begins to follow him at night. Chillingworth is a doctor and continuously asks Dimmesdale for an examination, he always refused. One night, while Dimmesdale was sleeping, Chillingworth went into his room and examined his chest, there he finds something that sends him into a frenzy.
Chillingworth and Dimmesdale's appearances start changing. The more information Chillingworth gets out of Dimmesdale about Hester, the more Dimmesdale appear to be dead, the life is being taken away from him. Hester and Dimmesdale arrange a secret trip to Europe in which Chillingworth doesn't know.