What's more important in a novel, the main character of the story or the conflict? Often in works of literature, there are characters-other than the main character-whose presence in the work is essential. In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is an antagonist. The antagonist is an significant part of the novel. Although Hester is the main character, the role of Roger is just as crucial.
Without Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell. Without an antagonist, the story would be short and meaningless. The antagonist of the story and causes a lot of commotion. Without the problems, the story would be simple. It wouldn't have any a climax and that would just make the story less appealing.
Roger was originally Hester's husband in the novel. When he came into town, he changed his name so that no one would know that he was the husband of Hester. He also told Hester not to open her mouth to anyone about her being his husband or he will notify everyone with the truth. Since no one knew who the father of her baby was, this would cause a larger conflict. The father of her baby was the minister of the town, Arthur Dimmesdale. He was said to be a very good man. If the town found out about him and Hester's affair, then he would be severely punished because he had a high rank in the town.
It was bad enough that Hester got pregnant from the affair and had her child. The guilt grew inside of Arthur every day. Roger started living with Arthur as his "physician" to make him well again, but at the same time, he was using sly remarks to make the guilt greater within him. This was another factor that was a major conflict because eventually, it made Arthur so guilty and weak, it destroyed him.
In works of literature, there are often times where there is a character that has just as much importance as the main character. In The Scarlet Letter, the antagonist is Roger Chillingworth.