Chillingworth secretly supports Hester and Pearl financially out of guilt for his mistreatment of them. He sees helping them as a way to atone for his past actions and maybe gain redemption. Despite his outward animosity towards Hester, he still cares for her and wants to ensure she and Pearl are taken care of.
Hester an Chillingworth were married.
Hester's husband
Chillingworth asks Hester to promise not to reveal his true identity as her husband to anyone. He does this because he wants to secretly seek revenge on Dimmesdale without anyone knowing his true intentions and relationship to Hester.
Hester can't tell that Chillingworth is her husband because he assumed a different identity to secretly seek revenge on her for her affair with Dimmesdale. The passage of time, along with the physical and emotional distance that have grown between them, also contribute to her inability to recognize him.
To get him to admit that he slept with Hester.
Chillingworth was gone for about two years before Hester cheated on him with Dimmesdale.
Roger Chillingworth is physician & Hester Prynne's husband.
Hester meets up with Chillingworth in the prison where she is being held for her public shaming. Chillingworth arrives in the colony and poses as a doctor in order to gain access to Hester and extract information about her relationship with Dimmesdale.
koshy was here
The antagonist in "The Scarlet Letter" is seen as Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne's vengeful and manipulative husband. Chillingworth's obsession with seeking revenge on Hester's lover, Reverend Dimmesdale, drives much of the conflict in the novel.
Roger Chillingworth asks Hester to keep the secret that he is her husband and that he is seeking revenge on the man who had an affair with her.
In the story, he is the estranged husband of Hester Prynne, who reappears under the assumed name Roger Chillingworth, and proceeds to plot against Hester.