An Interpretation of Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter from the Perspective of Jung’s Archetype Criticism

Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a literary canon in American literature. As a classic, this novel has already been interpreted in many ways, such as feminism, existentialism, ecofeminism and so on. However, as for the analysis of characters, the research of the novel The Scarlet Letter mainly concentrates on Hester or Dimmesdale, yet Roger Chillingworth hasn’t been studied in depth. This essay is going to delve into the psychological process of Chillingworth’s tragedy in The Scarlet Letter based on Jungian archetypal theory. This essay discusses Chillingworth’s destruction, mainly attributes to the main archetypes of the “persona” and the “shadow” that manifest in him. The importance to realize and adjust one’s archetypes to a balanced state for a healthy psyche is shown in this essay. Furthermore, by understanding Chillingworth’s tragedy helps readers to avoid such kind of tragedies.