appearance, attitude and lifestyle

Chillingworth's evil and obsessions eat himself from the inside out.He looks like a shrivelled old man by the end of the novel. It was widely held that he was the devil or the devil's agent come to persecute Dimmesdale. While Hester grows older and looses her outward youthful beauty, she has an inner beauty and naturalness that develops in her as the years go on.

Hester begins such charity work in her penance that some people consider her badge of shame to mean "Able". Chillingworth is always described as older, rather weathered man to an evil incarnate and twisted old man. Check out their quote,

"But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man ... had altogether vanished, and been succeeded by a eager, searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look. It seemed to be his wish and purpose to mask this expression with a smile, but the latter played him false, and flickered over his visage so derisively that the spectator could see his blackness all the better for it. Ever and anon, too, there came a glare of red light out of his eyes, as if the old man's soul were on fire and kept on smouldering duskily within his breast..."

Hester notices the disturbing changes. She begins to understand his creepy hold on Dimmesdale and the extent that he will go to control him. Hester believes this goes beyond simply punishing the man who committed adultery with his wife; he needs to control him as part of his own identity.

thanks...what about dimmesdale

Dimmesdale goes downhill quickly. He goes from a youthful pastor to a sickly troubled man.By the time Chillingworth is through with him, Dimmesdale isn't doing so well.

"While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tourtured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to the machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part by his sorrows."

Dimmesdale goes downhill quickly. He goes from a youthful pastor to a sickly troubled man. By the time Chillingworth is through with him, Dimmesdale isn't doing so well.

"While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tourtured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to the machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part by his sorrows."