The Scarlet Letter
What does Chillingworth say about forgiveness?
Scarlet Letter Chapter 14 (XIV) Hester and the Physician
Scarlet Letter Chapter 14 (XIV) Hester and the Physician
Chillingworth says that he has no power to forgive. Dimmesdale must suffer the fate of his lecherous ways. Chillingworth is completely unable to forgive or pardon, and he senses with latent rage that events are beginning to happen independently of his purposes. Chillingworth, in his way, has sold his own soul to the devil, essentially disowning it, in the hopes of appropriating Dimmesdale’s vitality.