The Representation Of Evil Force In Nathaniel Hawthorne'S The Scarlet Letter
See No Evil
In the Bible, it is stated that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (Corinthians 11:14). Meaning that the devil, an entity hailed as the evilest being in the known universe, and being literally known for his personification of sin, somehow manages to sow his wicked seeds under the guise of his polar opposite; a divine being. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, this Biblical teaching holds true, as Hawthorne displays the major roles that the Devil and Roger Chillingworth, the seemingly noble and heaven sent physician of mysterious origin, play major roles in the Puritan town of Boston, Massachusetts. At this time in the world, religion was considered to be the end-all-be-all when it came to how one was to live their life. Furthermore, Boston, Massachusetts was the chosen ground for the sacred city on a hill dreamed of by practitioners of the faith known as Puritanism, possibly the most strict and overbearing branch of Christianity. The end-all be-all mindset aforementioned created the most ideal environment for Roger Chillingworth, Satan's emissary, to see his will done.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne utilizes Roger's ominously Satanic resemblance to prove to the reader that divine ignorance is incapable of piercing the veil of demonic omnipotence. In the wake of the disarray and horror that had engulfed the town following Hester's infidelity and adultery, a mysterious gentleman and his native companion slipped right under the noses of the entire town. Roger makes his first formal appearance in Chapter 4, when he visits Hester and her infant within the confines of her prison cell. Roger begins laying the foundation on which to base his disguise when he informs Hester that he is merely a physician, "seeking no vengeance" for any past perceived wrongdoings. Roger's testimony to Hester is one of great cunning, for it leaves Hester believing that the physician has spoken true, and gives the reader the idea that Hester has become plagued with paranoia in lieu of her recent impurity based ostracism from the normal functioning Puritan society. Roger even goes as far as to administer much-needed medicine to both Hester and Pearl, highlighting his devotion to securing the trust of the townspeople, even those for whom he bears nothing but a deep malice in his heart. With this tactic, Roger keeps the townspeople ignorant of his true intentions. Roger, after successfully convincing the naive townspeople that he was sent to clergyman Dimmesdale from Heaven above rather than from Hell below, soon begins to shed the protective layers which rendered his true nature virtually unidentifiable to the human eye. Not only has he inserted himself into the life of his enemy and the lives of the townspeople, but Roger, being the only learned man of medicine in town, garners the veneration of all those who employ his services. Because of this, Roger becomes complacent and abandons his "calm, meditative, scholar-like expression" for his more natural and comfortable display of "something ugly and evil in his face".
Roger's transition in demeanors denotes the point at which he is completely confident that he cannot be uncovered by any of the townspeople. His guise was aided by the fact that after having already been labeled a blessing from the lord, any naysayers or skeptics would be labeled blasphemers, the lowest of the low in Puritan society. Roger skillfully uses their religion against them to satisfy his purposes, then when it no longer suits him, discards it and reverts to his normal state of being.
The story of Lucifer is one of betrayal and heartbreak. Before his descent into the fiery depths of hell, Lucifer was an angel. In fact, Lucifer was God's right-hand man. All was well until it was discovered that Lucifer had begun exhibiting sinful human emotion. Lucifer had crafted an intricate plan to overthrow God and become ruler to Heaven and Earth. Ultimately, this plan failed, and Lucifer, along with his army of turned angels, were cast down into hell for eternity. There, Lucifer made it his mission to carry out the corruption and ruin of all of God's creation, with humanity being his number one target. For as long as man has had the means to write, themes of Heaven and Hell, religion, and good vs evil have dominated the arena of literature. In The Scarlet Letter, these same themes are present, but rely on a much more obvious focus on hell rather than heaven, and evil rather than good. By choosing to illuminate the darkness in all things rather than the light, Hawthorne paints a picture of the Puritan-esque way in which evil can be found in even the most menial of activities.
In The Scarlet Letter, numerous instances imply that Roger’s evil stems from a Satanic mindset granted to him by his demonic overlord. Seeing as how Puritanistic society was extremely strict and condemned its members to live the rest of their days labeled as sinners for much less, it is incredibly ironic that Satan himself could infiltrate their ranks and even hold a position of power with such ease. Regardless of his outward Puritanistic disposition, Roger’s evil spirit shines through in his actions and mannerisms. In Chapter 11, such mannerisms are expressed in a violent fit of excitement upon his discovery of Arthur Dimmesdale’s darkest secret. Had a passerby managed to catch sight of Roger in this act, it would have been clear “how Satan comports himself” upon witnessing the corruption of God’s children. At a time when a follower of Christ stumbled and fell, Roger began to celebrate as if the sin had been a direct result of some work of his. Rejoicing just as Satan would, Roger displays his uniform ideology with the Devil. Roger's similarities with the Devil are further exemplified in the way that the Devil is sometimes seen glimmering in Roger's face. The hidden darkness inside of Roger is first foreshadowed in chapter three, upon his arrival at Hester's shaming. Hester could not tear her eyes away as she watched Roger moving slowly through the crowd with "a writhing horror twisting itself across his face", which resembled "a snake gliding over them". In the Bible, Satan and the serpent are seen as one in the same. The fact that Hester not only feels her eyes drawn to Roger in the crowd but also discerns a serpentine figure in it from the very start, shows the reader that the Devil has been within Roger from the start.
The next proof of Roger's devilish appearance comes from the mysteriously insightful Pearl, when she warns her mother about Chillingworth. While on a walk with her mother, Pearl passes by the shared home of Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. When she sees the home, she quickens her pace and encourages her mother to do so as well. She implores her mother to "come away" before the "Black Man" can get her, as "he hath already got hold of the minister". In old European Folklore, the Black Man, or the man with dark skin was used as a term to describe the Devil. Since Pearl does not know anything about Roger or his character, this comparison is made solely off of what she sees. But since Pearl is but a child, and Hester's child at that, it is her word against that of the beloved minister Dimmesdale's physician. Due to this, her warning falls on deaf ears, and Roger is free to continue his work. Pearl's perception of Roger's appearance underscores the transformation he has undergone as his time in the town and the evil in his heart has progressed.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople are given hint after hint that there is an evil force amongst them. Sadly, as is often the case in even today’s world, they choose to fall blindly on their religion rather than face the facts before them. This Puritan ignorance was a major contributing factor to the decline of the Puritan faith. While their intentions may have been good when they broke off of the Roman Catholic Church, they inadvertently created a blind following that played right into the hand of Satan.
