With a raging desire for knowledgeand a single-minded pursuit of retribution, Chillingworth's demonic actionslead him to damnation, demonstrating the need for reconciliation in times ofconflict.

Chillingworth’s transformation is gradual, and it has become obvious in his physical appearance that his revenge has consumed him and turned him into a demon.  With his heart passionate about sucking the life out of Dimmesdale, his eyes of “lurid fire” testify to his satanic temperament (157).  He has become “a deformed old figure, with a face that haunted men’s memories longer than they liked” (160.)  The simultaneous growth of zealous revenge with that of his physical deformity is highly symbolic, and Hawthorne implies that payback of any sort is certainly damaging.  Hawthorne clearly explains the devilish metamorphosis from within and declares:

Old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of a man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil’s office.  This unhappy person had effected such a transformation, by developing himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analyzed and gloated over.  (155-156)

His heart has become Satan’s Hell, a place where ardent fervor burns for Dimmesdale’s downfall.  Although the revenge eventually destroys Chillingworth, it satisfies his needs temporarily.  Upon the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, Dimmesdale is terrified as he sees Chillingworth in the distance.  Filled with dread, he exclaims, “‘I shiver at him! Dost thou know the man?  I hate him Hester!’” (143). This hate is a direct result of revenge, and it shows that seeking vengeance progresses to even more thoughts of revenge.

        Not only is Chillingworth’s revenge noticeable in physical appearance, it permeates every action of his life.  After the confrontation with Hester in prison, Chillingworth shuts himself from the outside world, ostracizing himself.  Every day and night, thoughts of sweet vengeance penetrate his thoughts and well-being.  As Dimmesdale’s physician, he delves deeper into the reverend’s inner psyche, to satisfy his need for knowledge and an eternal torment of Dimmesdale.  Likewise, his collections of herbs and various exotic flowers is a symbol of his foreignness to the Puritan society.  It is no accident that Chillingworth is called a leech, for he has attached himself to the minister's side like an insidiously destructive worm. He wants to use his scientific knowledge to dig “into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather like a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had buried on the dead man’s bosom” (118-119).  Now an extreme maniac, his psychological demeanor is demonic, showing the suicidal aspect of committing vengeful acts.  Revenge is like a suicide bomber with a purpose to end the opposition’s life and to destroy oneself in the process.

        Ultimately, this suicide is shown in Chillingworth’s final fate—his death.  Wishing to escape from guilt and Chillingworth’s mental torture, Dimmesdale confronts the crowd after his Election Day sermon.  He claims that God has finally given him the might to confess his sin, declaring “‘in the name of Him, so terrible and so merciful, who gives me grace, at the last moment, to do what […] the will which God hath granted me!’” (230). Ironically however, it was Chillingworth’s demonic advances which pushed Dimmesdale to his limit.  As he nears the scaffold, Chillingworth tries to intervene and warns Dimmesdale of the consequences of a public disclosure, he “thrust himself through the crowd, to snatch back his victim from what he sought to do” (229). Dimmesdale, however, refuses to be victimized by Chillingworth any longer.  He is determined to make a public confession of his sin before he dies. After Dimmesdale confesses openly about his sin, Chillingworth has nothing left for sustenance and he can no longer remain a leech.    Chillingworth’s impulse to restrain Dimmesdale from his confession implies that he knew that he could no longer live if the secret was revealed.  Part of the motivation for his existence was to enjoy a certain dominance over Dimmesdale’s guilt.  Dimmesdale, finally freed from Chillingworth’s powerful grip over him, dies peacefully, and Chillingworth dies soon after.  

        To plot revenge in any situation is harmful.  Chillingworth’s plot of revenge brings the downfall of Dimmesdale, as well as his own.  For the last seven years of his life, his days were passed with a steadfast goal of creating torment for the man who sinned and hurt him the most.  In this case, Hawthorne is the Aesop, and he strives to communicate the moral and truth about revenge.  Like Mahatma Gandhi, Hawthorne indicates that revenge is a continual process—one act of revenge leads to more atrocious acts by the opposition, and in the end no one wins.  The human mind has been deceived.  Revenge is the trap we all fall into every once in a while.  Humans just need to remember to be open towards each other with forgiving and receiving arms and to embrace the enemy with love, not hate.