Ruszkiewicz Comment: In this paragraph it becomes evident that Chillingworth thinks that Hester's had cheated on him with Dimmesdale the priest that Chillingworth is now in charge of treating and keeping alive. He tells Hester that the only reason that he breathes and creeps on the earth is because Chillingworth lets him. Going back to the earlier chapters in the novel when Chillingworth wanted revenge on both Hester and whoever she had cheated on him with, he is now showing that he is getting his revenge. He is tormenting Dimmesdale by keeping him alive while constantly questioning him about sins that he has committed to bring them back into his mind so that he constantly thinks about them and feels more and more guilty about what he has done to the point where he starts to crack, and begins trying to punish himself to attempt to make up for the sins that he is too afraid to reveal in public.

Ruszkiewicz Comment: The transformation that chillingworth has made helps compare him to the black man (the devil) that he was compared to earlier in the novel. Hester sees that he has lost his scholarly, calm, quiet and intellectual look to take on a more sinister, eager, searching, fierce look that one may interpret to mean that Chillingworth's search for answers has led him farther and farther away from the man he once was and has transformed him into a man that most people in the puritan community would fear should they happen to compare him the the devil or black man of the forest. Hester also thinks that she sees an almost red light coming out if his eyes and compares it to his soul which she says is on fire with the will to get revenge on Hester by finding out who has given her the child that now followers her around. Chillingworth tries to hide all of these signs but is unable to.