that theme

The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne

A major theme throughout the book is how evil plays a role in people's lives. Chillingworth is a representation of one evil that was a part of Hester and Dimmesdale's life. "'Hadst thou sought the whole earth over,' said he (Chillingworth), looking darkly at the clergyman, 'there was no one place so secret,-no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,-save on this very scaffold!'" (Hawthorne, 195). Chillingworth is the evil present due to past events. Therefore, even though, Chillingworth relates to the devil, there were past events, the cheating, that caused him to become this evil being. In the quote, Chillingworth is that temptation or Satan trying to work on the minister, but the scaffold represents the minister's safe place in which the devil can not reach him. This relates to everyone. We all have temptations, but there is always that place we can go in which the devil can not influence us. Chillingworth got Hester to hide his true identity from Dimmesdale, but Hester telling Dimmesdale shows the inclination of people to good. Despite the evil Chillingworth working in her life, Hester found a way to overcome his evil. Evil is ever present in people's lives, but it is possible to turn away and do what is good.