the scarlet letter, symbol 25

Chapter 10

"He now dug into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man’s bosom, but likely to find nothing save mortality and corruption."  


Here I compare gold and jewel to Mr. Dimmesdale heart, because gold and jewels are outstanding beautiful things just like the heat. The grave to his body and his psyche. In norwegian we have this expression that if someone asks to much about someone's personal life, they dig(?). We often say "stop digging(?)". Chillingworth doesn't ask, but he is there all the time observing all Mr. Dimmesdale's actions. Roger Chillingworth will most likely not find anything because Mr. Dimmesdale's heart is already filled with sorrow and dark hidden secrets, and his soul is already dead.