Chillingworth as Satan in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is a novel full of religious symbolism and Hawthorne subtly assigns the role of the devil to Roger Chillingworth. Throughout the novel there are many references and associations that confirm the fact that Chillingworth is representative of the ultimate evil. First, Hawthorne defines Chillingworth as the antithesis of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the obvious Christian symbol of the novel. Chillingworth eagerly sets out to ruin Dimmesdale. As the narrator says in reference to Chillingworth's discovery of Dimmesdale's secret, "All that guilty pain, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and pardoned, would have been revealed to him, the Merciless, to him, the Implacable!" " (96). The capitalization of the words "Merciless" and "Merciless" show that Chillingworth is the devil. Symbolically, on another more obvious note, Chillingworth steals one of Dimmesdale's gloves and drops it on the scaffold where sinners are shamed before the town. The sexton picks it up after recognizing it as Dimmesdale's and returns it to the owner saying, "Satan dropped it there" (108). place, Hawthorne's use of imagery in describing Chillingworth indicates him as the devil. Chillingworth is described as deformed and stooped. His profession is described as being very similar to witchcraft. she grabs a “dark, flaccid leaf found near a grave.” All this darkness denotes the presence of evil. Thirdly, Pearl's reaction to Chillingworth shows her true face , or that old Boogeyman will get you! He's already got the Minister" (93). This is another obvious statement. All in all, Chillingworth is Satan.