ch 9-12

It is ironic that Chillingworth is called a leech by the towns people. Leeches normally drain blood from the ill and ultimately curing them. Chillingworth is doing the opposite and almost sucking the life out of Dimmesdale. He has incorporated himself into Dimmesdale's life so much because he is suspicious of him. Chillingworth aims to suck the secret out of Dimmesdale, much like a leech would. It has become Chillingworth's mission to find out the secret that Dimmesdale is hiding. He tries to scare him by saying that some of the weeds he found are darkened from a dead persons unconfessed sin that was buried with them.

Chillingworth keeps prodding at Dimmesdale for information but how is it that Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale is that father? Many townspeople have started to call him the devil, so maybe he possesses some super natural powers that have led him to Dimmesdale. In earlier parts of the book Pearl has acted as an informer to her mother about evil. With the power to sense evil she protects her mother from it. When Pearl sees Chillingworth she calls him the "black man"and says he has already gotten to the minister. Chillingworth is portrayed by using words such as "leech" or "black man" which sound dark and evil. I think it is foreshadowing how his revenge is going to be, perhaps like a leech, slowly sucking the life out of its victim.