At the end of the book, when Dimmesdale died, Chillingworth lost his purpose in life and didn't know how to move forward. "all his strength and energy - all his vital and intellectual force - seemed to abandon him suddenly; so much so that he actually withered, withered, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed lying wilted in the sun." (246) Chillingworth at this point lost everything and began the terrible process of death. Even then Hawthorne chose to compare Chillingworth to a weed, an ugly and unwanted thing, rather than to something more beautiful like a rose. Chillingworth's devotion to evil brought this to him. If there was any good left in him, Chillingworth would be able to find a new purpose and perhaps even be able to transform himself from the disgusting weed to the beautiful rose bush near the prison.