The Scarlet Letter #5

"'This man,' said he, at one such moment,to himself,'pure as they deem him,-all spiritual as he seems,-hath inherited a strong animal nature from his father or his mother. Let us dig a little further in the direction of this vein!'"(Hawthorne 118).

It is absolutely clear now that Chillingworth suspects Dimmesdale to be Hester's lover. In fact, Chillingworth considers Dimmesdale to be a prime suspect. Earlier in the chapter, it was stated that Chillingworth was interested in Dimmesdale for something other than his medical condition. The second factor of Chillingworth's interest in Dimmesdale is most likely found in suspicion. This also shows Chillingworth's ability to analyze people, which was mentioned several times previously but not truly shown until now. Chillingworth proves himself to be a learned man by not revealing his suspicions of Dimmesdale directly, and choosing to wait for more information.The way that this is revealed to us could also hint that Chillingworth has a deep malicious intent in mind. After all, it is usually the villains who give speeches in the form of soliloquies.

"'Why should not the guilty ones sooner avail themselves of this unutterable solace?' 'They mostly do,' said the clergyman, gripping hard at his breast as if afflicted with an importunate throb of pain"(120).

This passage shows both Chillingworth's tactics of analyzation and Dimmesdale's guilt. Chillingworth, through a series of questions that would seem like ordinary queries to a reverend, is attempting to learn more about Dimmesdale. From Dimmesdale's reaction, it is clear that Chillingworth's strategy is working. Chillingworth choses to build up to a question about the confession of sins. Dimmesdale, having his own hidden sin, is pained by such a question as it reminds him of all that he has done wrong. Chillingworth is able to gain information without making it obvious that he is trying to do so. Seeing as how Dimmesdale is diseased by his guilt, it is likely that Chillingworth will succeed in whatever plan he has.