Who committed the greatest sin? This question, a sin in itself, asks which of the three main characters of The Scarlet Letter is most wicked, with an answer that is quite apparant. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth each committed horrendous sins. However, one of these sinners was the most terrible of them all due to the reasons behind his sin and the causes for his sin. This person was Chillingworth. Though the sins of Hester and Dimmesdale were each severe, they were actions performed in love, with no intent to cause harm. On the other hand, the sins of Chillingworth were a brutal attempt to sabotage and harm another human being in a manner never dealt by a mortal man before.

Chillingworth had many signs of his evil nature even from his initial appearance within the novel. He arrived on the scene of Hester being made to stand on...