Kristin Cleverdon
Schneiderman
English 1110/4A
22 April 2013
The Veiled Vampire
A vampire in literature doesn't necessarily mean a creature with a black cape, pale skin,
and fangs dripping with blood. There are other characteristics that a person can have in order to
make them a vampire. These characteristics include an alluring, dangerous, and mysterious male
(Foster 16). The vampire is also an “older figure who represents corrupt outworn values” (19).
Also, a vampire has the typical characters that surround him. The classic supporting character is
the young woman. This woman is the center of the vampire’s attention and strips away this
woman's “youth, energy, and virtue” (19). This story ultimately results in the destruction of the
young woman. Based on an in depth reading of The Scarlet Letter, it can be said that Roger
Chillingworth is indeed a vampire.
One characteristic that Roger Chillingworth definitely embodies is mystery. Throughout
the entire book, a reader will find themselves questioning who Chillingworth really is. He is
often presented with a cloud of mystery around him. Also, the reader is constantly questioning
his motives and what he will do next. At the beginning of the book when Hester Prynne first
spots him, the reader does not know who this mysterious stranger is. As a reader, all one can
know is that Hester seems to be afraid of him. Chillingworth at this moment has “a writhing
horror [twisting] itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them” (Hawthorne
42). Throughout the book, Chillingworth is often described as “strange and cold” (50) as well.
This shows that Chillingworth is not only mysterious, but dangerous as well.
Cleverdon 2
Another defining characteristic of a vampire is that they are typically an older male. This
is evident in the characterization of Chillingworth. While talking to Hester, when he is taking
care of her and Pearl in prison, he speaks to her about their marriage. Chillingworth, during this
talk, describes himself as “a man already in decay” (Hawthorne 51). This shows that he was an
older man when he and Hester married and since then has grown older. Later on he is referred to
as “old Roger Chillingworth” (77) and “the old man” (88). These subtle adjectives added to his
name help the reader see him as being an older male.
Vampires are not only characterized as older males, but they also represent corrupt
values. This is something that Chillingworth is guilty of. His ultimate goal throughout the
entirety of the book is to reveal who Hester’s partner was in her sin. While the rest of the town
has ultimately forgotten that Hester was not alone in her sin, Chillingworth dedicates seven years
of his life to this cause. However, he is not looking in order to save this person from their sin,
but looking to exact his revenge. Chillingworth feels that Hester’s partner “has wronged us
[them] both” (Hawthorne 52). For this reason, he sees it as his goal to solve the mystery of who
Pearl’s father is and reveal him to the community. Chillingworth plans to achieve this goal not
because he sees it as right, but because he wants revenge. This shows that his actions are
because of corrupt reasoning.
Not only is Chillingworth a vampire because of his air of mystery, older persona, and
corrupt values, but he also has the supporting characters that allow him to be such a character. In
all vampire stories, there is always a young, usually virginal, woman. This woman is the object
of the vampire’s affection. This woman in The Scarlet Letter is Hester Prynne. Before Hester
came over to New England, she and Chillingworth were married. This marriage was not a happy
one, however.
Chillingworth explains to Hester that “I drew thee into my heart, into its
Cleverdon 3
innermost chamber, and sought to warm thee by the warmth which thy presence made there!”
(Hawthorne 51). This shows that Chillingworth intended to show love for Hester, but Hester did
not love Chillingworth back.
The young woman is not only the object of the vampire’s affection, but she is also
supposed to be very beautiful.
This is a requirement that Hester Prynne meets.
She is
personified as a young, elegant woman. However, she is not only beautiful, but “had the
impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes” (Hawthorne 37). This beauty
was not only seen by the people of New England, but Chillingworth himself speaks of her beauty
when he tells Hester that he didn’t deserve her. He realizes this and states it to her when he says
“what had I to do with youth and beauty like thine own!” (51). This shows that Hester is the
young woman who is characteristic in a typical vampire story.
The vampire leads to the destruction of this young woman. He does this by “stripping
away her youth, energy, and virtue” (Foster). Chillingworth doesn't do this intentionally to
Hester Prynne, however, if he had been a better husband, she wouldn't have felt the need to go to
another man. Her sin was what ultimately took her youth and virtue. This sin was committed
because she loved another man and did not have feelings of this kind toward Roger
Chillingworth. Indirectly, Chillingworth caused the destruction of Hester Prynne. If Hester had
feelings for Chillingworth, she would have stayed true to him while she was waiting for him in
New England. However, this was not the case, so her emotions led her to her sin, which led to
the loss of her virtue and youth.
Another characteristic of vampires is that they somehow drain the life energy out of
people. Typically, this is dramatized as the blood getting sucked out of a person. However, this
is not the only kind of vampire. Chillingworth is seen as drawing the life energy out of people.
Cleverdon 4
Chillingworth takes the life energy out of Dimmesdale mostly. This can be seen throughout the
book.
Dimmesdale is supposed to be this young church official, however, he is slowly
characterized as looking older and older. It was said that “with every successive Sabbath, his
[Dimmesdale] cheek was paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before”
(Hawthorne 83). This shows that progressively Dimmesdale is becoming weaker and weaker. In
the eyes of people from today, if a person is under the care of a physician, they should be getting
better.
Obviously, this is not so in the case of Dimmesdale with his physician being
Chillingworth.
Ultimately in the end of The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale dies. At first, it seems like
Dimmesdale is getting stronger “it was the observation of those who beheld him now, that never,
since Mr. Dimmesdale first set his foot on the New England shore, had he exhibited such energy”
(Hawthorne 163). However, in all reality, Dimmesdale is giving a final push in life to fulfill his
last speech. After he has spoken and revealed his sin to the community, Chillingworth went up
to the scaffold to stand by Dimmesdale. He repeatedly says to Dimmesdale that “Thou hast
escaped me!” (175). These statements exchanged between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale show
that Chillingworth was intentionally harming Dimmesdale to make him pay for his sin.
Through observations of the interactions between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, it can
be concluded that Chillingworth is a Psi Vampire. This type of vampire is more commonly
called an energy feeder (Vampire). This can be seen throughout the book. However, not only is
Chillingworth feeding off of Dimmesdale's energy, but Dimmesdale is slowly deteriorating
because of his sin. These two aspects lead to Dimmesdale slowly becoming weaker and weaker.
Towards the end of the book, Dimmesdale becomes aware that Chillingworth is not really a
friend to him. This occurs when Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale are standing together on the
Cleverdon 5
scaffold. When a meteor shoots across the sky, enough light is provided so that they can see
Dimmesdale is standing not far away with a malevolent look on his face. Dimmesdale asks
“'Who is that man Hester? […] I shiver at him!'” (Hawthorne 107). This is the turning point in
the novel where Dimmesdale realizes that Chillingworth has ill intent towards him. Dimmesdale
continues to get worse and worse at this point because his energy is being drained from him
because of Chillingworth.
At the end of The Scarlet Letter, not only does Dimmesdale die, but so does
Chillingworth and his demise was described thoroughly. “Nothing was more remarkable than
the change which took place, almost immediately after Mr. Dimmesdale's death, in the
appearance and demeanor of the old man known as Roger Chillingworth. All his strength and
energy […] seemed at once to desert him” (Hawthorne 177). Through this, we can see that
Chillingworth slowly decreased in health and appearance as soon as Dimmesdale died. The
object of his seven yearlong obsession no longer existed, so the later part of his life was for
naught. Dimmesdale was also the source of his energy, so because of this, Chillingworth was
going to die. If a vampire does not have their energy source, they have no chance of continuing
their life. Dimmesdale was to Chillingworth as food and nutrients are to people. Chillingworth
was said to have “shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight” (177) showing that he
was in poor shape and on his way to his death bed.
Through reading The Scarlet Letter and analyzing the character of Roger Chillingworth,
we can see, as readers, that he is a vampire. However, he is not the kind of vampire that would
be seen sucking a person's blood out of them. Instead, he sucks out life energy. The technical
term for this kind of creature is a psi vampire. However, the character of Roger Chillingworth
does have some characteristics of a typical vampire. Chillingworth is an older male and his
Cleverdon 6
character does not represent wholesome values. He is also often referred to as the “Black Man”
(Hawthorne 92) by Pearl demonstrating his corruption. Not only does Chillingworth have the
typical characteristics of a literary vampire, but he has the typical surrounding characters as well.
Hester Prynne is the young, beautiful woman who is the object of his affections. Also,
Dimmesdale is the person who he uses to get his energy from. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth's
interactions are extremely important in determining whether or not Chillingworth is in fact, a
vampire. The use of the literary vampire, made the death of Dimmesdale much more intriguing
and powerful. Without Chillingworth, The Scarlet Letter would have been an unsuccessful story
that got lost in history and wouldn’t have transcended time.
Cleverdon 7
Works Cited
Foster, Thomas C. "Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires." How to Read Literature Like a
Professor. New York: Harper-Collins, 2003. 15-21. Print.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.
"Vampire Types." Vampire Scene. N.p., 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.