Roger Chillingworth is a good example of an antagonist who through his actions slows the progress of Mr. Dimmesdale and Hester. He is the true representation of tangible evil in the story, and is the ?leech? on Mr. Dimmesdale, trying through his words to make the minister feel guilty. For example, when he and the minister are looking at dark-leaved plants supposedly growing on an unmarked grave, Chillingworth mentions that the person buried there had a black secret he never was able to tell. He asks Mr. Dimmesdale to tell him his secret, trying to make him feel more guilty about his affair with Hester. Chillingworth plays a critical role in the book, because without the ?unpardonable sin? he commits of trying to destroy Dimmesdale?s soul, there would be no escape from blame for the protagonists. Chillingworth unbalanced the scales between himself and Hester and as a result Hester and Dimmesdale had Chillingworth to place the guilt of their sin upon.
The other type of antagonist can be found within the main characters, such as Hester or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester, though she wears the physical mark of shame that is the ?Scarlet Letter?, feels a deeper resentment of herself than the Scarlet letter could ever give her. Her conscience plagues her constantly during the seven years while she lives in the woods, and making her an extremely charitable person. For example, it is stated in the book that Hester hopes to redeem herself for her sin by giving clothing to the poor, even though they scorned her. Although Hester eventually persevered over the scarlet letter, Mr. Dimmesdale did not. Because he had no way to release his guilt and shame, his conscience tortured him until his confession, directly before his death. Had he a ?Scarlet Letter? to let the antagonistic conscience inside him flow out, it is likely that Mr. Chillingworth would not be able to extinguish the minister?s soul quite as much as he did.
As stated previously, there is no one central antagonist in The Scarlet Letter. Rather, there is a small part of one in all the characters, no matter how visible that part is. In this respect the novel is very similar to people in reality. Everyone, no matter how pure or perfect, has an antagonistic side which makes them human. Without this aspect of personality the world would not contain good or bad people, but a perfect society where appreciation of freedom and kindness could not exist. Therefore, it can be said that The Scarlet Letter has and needs an antagonist to be an interesting story.