Hester happens to see Chillingworth while walking along the seashore with Pearl. She tells Pearl to play while the adults talk. He mentions that one of the town’s magistrates once suggested removing the scarlet letter on her chest. She tells him that no one should remove the letter. “Were I worthy to be quit of it,” she says, “it would fall away of its own nature.” He doesn’t really care either way.

Hester notes that Chillingworth has become old, ugly, and deceitful. His once studious manner has been twisted into something evil and hideous. Hester is taken aback by his appearance. She quickly changes the subject to that of her oath. Though she has never explicitly named Dimmesdale, Hester and Chillingworth both know he’s Pearl’s father. She wants Chillingworth to stop torturing the man.

Chillingworth himself seems somewhat appalled by the changes he has undergone. He refers to his “once human” heart and admits that it would’ve been better for Dimmesdale to die immediately than to suffer all these years. And yet he thinks the suffering isn’t enough. He feels personally slighted by Hester’s affair with Dimmesdale. He laments that he was once a gentle, middle-aged scholar. If he’s a fiend now, then it’s their fault for turning him into one.

Hester says that she must reveal the secret of Dimmesdale’s identity. She doesn’t want Chillingworth to keep their secret, either. It hasn’t been good for anyone involved. She and Chillingworth both pity each other for what they’ve become. She asks him to pardon her and Dimmesdale for what they did. He refuses, stating that it’s not within his power. He will let Hester do as she wants, even if it means revealing Dimmesdale’s secret.

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