Chillingworth has a role of a victim in this story as well as punisher. Chillingworth takes a part of the blame for the sin, spelling things out a bit when he visits Hester in the jail cell. He left to pursue enlightenment outside of the colony and did not contact Hester at all. Also, he refers to their life before he left as not perfect, he was scholarly, she was his maid. This could be the reason why Hawthorne focuses on the Dimmesdale/Chillingworth connection.
As victim, he is the "one on whom was cheated" and asks not to be revealed to the colony as Hester's husband. If he were to reveal his true identity, Hester would be put to death, name of the father notwithstanding. Not to mention, he would forever carry the stigma of being the one who was not good enough to keep his wife from straying.
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