Finding out that your wife had an affair with another man by which a baby was conceived can drive a man crazy. Roger Chillingworth acts as such as he aggressively argues with Arthur Dimmesdale, the man who he suspects had an affair with his wife, Hester and fathered her child. The two men argue over the possible outcomes one might face when admitting past transgressions. Using a variety of ethos, pathos, and logos, Chillingworth successfully convinces Dimmesdale that the benefits of confessing his sins drastically outweigh the consequences.
Chillingworth begins his position on why confessing sins gives a feeling of liberation by exploring a hypothetical scenario in which he compares a dead man’s unknown sin to dark, ugly weeds. He describes the weeds as growing, “out of [the dead man’s] heart, and typify, it may be, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime.” The weeds represent the man’s soul becoming tainted as he failed to confess his sins while he was still alive. Chillingworth describes this to the minister in order to make him fear what might come of him if he does not confess as well. Dimmesdale opposes this argument by explaining how one must wait until they die to confess their sins to God on judgement day, but that confession is in fact a joyous experience. This leads Chillingworth to point out how it would make more sense for a person to confess now rather than waiting until judgement day so that they could feel that joy as soon as possible. Chillingworth goes on to say that if someone wishes to, “glorify God, let them not lift heavenward their unclean hands,” in order to make Dimmesdale question whether he is doing his duty as a minister with honor or cheating his followers of the religious guidance they deserve. Dimmesdale is starting to feel as if by not confessing before his inevitable