"Hester's strong, calm, steadfastly enduring spirit almost sank, at last, on beholding this drk and grim countenance of an inevitable doom, which-at the moment when a passage seemed to open for the minister and herself out of their labyrinth of misery-showed itself, with an unrelenting smile, right in the midst of their path." Pg. 189
I personally found some literary and character parallels in the character of Chillingworth and the creature from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. One of the main similarities points out the transformation from innocence and morality to evil and misery. Just as the creature is wronged by society and consequently kills the loved ones of his creator, Victor, so too does Chillingworth decide to torment the lover of his ex-wife when he learns of their affair. This torment is also a marked similarity between the two stories. Chillingworth feels wronged by the affair of his wife, but he never utilizes the knowledge he has of her lover to hurt her further than the scarlet letter has already done. This could possibly be because she did not wrong him any more after her public disgrace. The creature, on the other hand, forcefully used his power over Victor to enact great misery and torture on the man. The two stories also contrast when it comes to the falling action of the plot. In Frankenstein, Victor chases the creture with futility until he dies with his goal unfulfilled and the creature committing suicide. The Scarlet Letter differs from this story because the characters being tormented attempt to escape the grasp Chillingworth holds over them by revealing themselves to the crowd. The falling action is very short in this story, as Dimmesdale dies almost immediately afterwards, and his death leaves questions regarding the towns perception of him and Hester.
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