The act of revenge that Chillingworth began in The Scarlet Letter changed and developed into a ruthless and forever lasting obsession. He explains to his wife, Hester Prynne, that the baby's father will be confronted and that they will be punished as severely as she was. This was used as foreshadowing so readers could see the sprouting obsession within Chillingworth, and as well as the significance of his plans for the future. The fact that he chose to torture Dimmesdale when he could simply reveal that he is Hester's husband was questionable. There was obviously a motive behind his way of thinking. Of course Chillingworth could have exposed Dimmesdale's secret. But if he did that, he wouldn't have gotten the pleasure out of screwing with Dimmesdale's mind. It gave him pleasure and made him happy to see Arthur suffer. Chillingworth seems to take more of a psychological approach to mess with Dimmesdale's mind as a form of revenge. Although it made him happy, Chillingworth expresses his realization of becoming evil himself. Maybe Chillingworth had a completely different plan altogether, one that didn't involve ruining Arthur's life. Is he really so evil that he would inflict psychological trauma to get what he really wants in the end?