Initially Roger is presented as the victim of evil, not its perpetrator. The Native Americans held him captive for a year, then he returned home to find that his wife had a child with another man. But as the story progresses it becomes clear that Chillingworth is the epitome of evil. He tricked a much younger Hester into marrying her, and then was a terrible husband to her. Chillingworth takes advantage of an ailing Dimmesdale, prying into his personal life, instead of trying to cure him. He torments Dimmesdale almost as much as Dimmesdale torments himself. But was his evil omnipresent within him, or was it caused by the actions of others? It is unclear whether he would have fallen so far into evil if he had not suffered such a great wrong. However, the fact that it became as hateful as it does shows that there was a level of evil from the beginning, and it simply needed to be brought to light. Chillingworth is undoubtedly the most evil character in the book, as most of his actions are based on revenge and hatred. He sees a sin committed against him, and instead of letting it go, or growing from it, he allows himself to become such an evil person, that it is subtly implied that he is the devil himself. It prevents the happiness of many and directly leads to the death of a man. This man's actions certainly are