(121).
Roger is blinded by his own revenge and is caught in a cycle of his emotions and desires. As Roger discovers more about Dimmesdale, Roger becomes increasingly angry with Dimmesdale. Roger thus desires to seek revenge on Dimmesdale. This desire turns into an obsession. It is here that the reader sees the corruption of love. In light of Roger's pursuit for revenge, one can identify hate as, in essence, the corruption of love and love as an intense positive emotional connection to someone or something. Roger develops a deeply intense emotional connection with revenge. He corrupts the concept of love because he "loves to hate- Dimmesdale and loves to torture Dimmesdale. However, Roger is not directly responsible for the corruption of Dimmesdale's soul. Roger is responsible for the corruption of love by losing sight of the difference between love and hate. Roger is no longer receptive to the ideas of love and compassion for others. The corruption of compassion also has roots in Roger's intemperate intelligence. Roger is obviously a very intelligent and scientific man. Yet, after having been wronged by Hester, he loses compassion for others. Roger's scholarly knowledge and ambition are extremely powerful instruments, but without compassion, Roger is unable to do anything but hurt others. Thus, Roger's obsession and resulting alienation from humanity is in part related to his loss of compassion for others like Dimmesdale. He is unable to sympathize with the pain he causes Dimmesdale or the pain Dimmesdale causes himself. Roger has lost psychological and moral connection to the rest of mankind. He develops into an inhumane monster.
Similar to Chillingworth, by being obsessed with seeking revenge on himself and not forgiving himself, Dimmesdale corrupts his humanity. Dimmesdale's awareness of his sin comes from three main sources. One of those sources is own conscious. Arthur is his own worst enemy.
