What image is Hawthorne evoking with Chillingworth, old, one shoulder higher than the other, digging up roots and collecting leaves, etc. in the forest?

The image of Chillingworth digging up roots and leaves in the forest represents an evil. Puritans looked at the forest as a place of darkness and sin. Puritans only control their little village so everywhere else becomes a threat. Chillingworth is at home in the forest. As he falls deeper into his plans for vengeance on Dimmesdale he physically shrivels into an old man. His face has become uglier and uglier reflecting upon his ugly personality.