Chillingworth vs. Claggart: Evil in Hawthorne and Melville

Introduction: Hawthorne, Melville, and the Literary Villain

Herman Melville admired Nathaniel Hawthorne and regarded him as a landmark of faith for the American literary world. According to Melville, the genius of Shakespeare had found a worthy follower in Hawthorne. The "villains" in Melville's Billy Budd and Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter are characters that challenge the reader into questioning the deeply ingrained — and often comforting — belief that there is something good in every human being. They both embody pure evil in human form, with or without an obvious motivation.

In his introduction to Billy Budd, Cyrus R. K. Patell emphasizes the importance of the influence Nathaniel Hawthorne's writings had on Herman Melville's literary style and, more importantly, on his entire artistic vision. Not surprisingly, the two authors created characters that will forever stand as works of art in the literary world. Showing a deep understanding of human nature and a great ability to translate their visions onto the page, Melville and Hawthorne's characters — in the realm of both good and evil — have withstood the test of time with ease and even grace.

Revenge, Obsession, and the Nature of Evil

Both Chillingworth and Claggart endeavor to claim a fellow man's soul. The narration encounters them at a stage in life when they are driven solely by revenge. Revenge is their obsession and the force that keeps them going. The difference is that, while in Chillingworth's case there is some explanation for his hatred, in Claggart's case things are more obscure. His determination to inflict pain upon another is supported by a pure juxtaposition between himself and Billy Budd, the object of his hateful passion. Both characters share the quality that, regardless of the presence or absence of a reason for their evil actions, they are presented as having been born with an all-encompassing capacity for evil.

On one hand, Chillingworth is a man born with a great potential for evil who refined that potential over the years through intellect and education, with Hester's transgression acting as the spark. On the other, in Claggart's case, evil appears to have had no need for the reinforcement of intelligence, learning, or any specific motivation for revenge. The narrator leaves no doubt, presenting him as "a depravity according to nature." Like the very devil, Claggart cannot help himself when it comes to engineering Billy's downfall. Billy's innocence acts like a magnet, and Claggart has no choice but to pursue the one who is guilty of standing at the opposite end of the human spectrum.

Setting, Law, and the Punishment of the Innocent

The Puritan town that Chillingworth chose as his new residence could hardly have less in common with a warship, the place where Claggart hatches his devilish plans. Yet both places are governed by implacable rules that will inevitably end in the punishment of innocent souls — such as Hester or Billy Budd. Leading a new life, under a new name, in a world new to the Puritan colonizers but old to the natives, Chillingworth is briefly and wholly characterized as a man who "possessed more than a common measure" of "learning and intelligence" (Hawthorne, 140). Reason and blind faith — two opposites — go hand in hand here with those who are willing to inflict pain upon their fellow humans.

"Billy, the innocent, is tempted by the satanic Claggart and breaks the law" (Patell, 2014). He, too, will commit a sin — not at the beginning, as Hester did, but towards the end. He will also be punished according to human law, his condemnation and execution recalling the sacrifice of an innocent lamb. Evil figures like Chillingworth and Claggart can readily find in human laws reliable pillars to support their dark work and ease their actions toward completion. Human and divine laws are meant to be observed in order to have meaning, yet in both novels they ultimately serve evil rather than good. Melville and Hawthorne repeatedly signal to the reader that theirs are not simple stories about villains and innocent victims (Schiffman, 1950). In both cases, their stories provoke reflection on human nature, the meaning of truth, right versus wrong, the meaning of the law, and ultimately the fate of humanity.

Their evil characters could not exist without their supporting contexts. In Claggart's case, the righteous and intellectually accomplished Captain Vere serves as the best instrument for achieving his evil goal. Vere is brave, principled, and learned, but he is also in the service of the military. Wars and armies, regardless of how posterity judges them, are in their essence instruments of force. Military justice is even more implacable than civil justice. There cannot be any exception to the rule. The once-innocent man turned murderer has no escape. And as innocent as Dimmesdale might be in some respects, he too symbolizes a corrupted world. Chillingworth was merely the finest product of what human nature could produce in terms of evil.

References

Schiffman, J. "Melville's Final Stage, Irony: A Re-Examination of Billy Budd Criticism." American Literature, Vol. 22, No. 2 (May 1950), pp. 128–136. Duke University Press.

Melville, H. Billy Budd, Sailor. Simon and Schuster, 2014.

Hawthorne, N. The Scarlet Letter. Simon and Schuster, 2004.

Patell, C. R. K. Introduction to Billy Budd, Sailor, 2015.