e to move on, live a life of integrity, and become accepted by society. Chillingworth is so consumed with revenge that eventually it consumes his life, and Dimmesdale is so caught up on how he should be punished that he too, is consumed. Hawthorne shows that the perceptions of the human mind controls the quality of life, and as seen in the lives of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale, the mind IS powerful enough to do so. ...