Final answer:
The question discusses Chillingworth from 'The Scarlet Letter' admitting that Dimmesdale could have escaped his clutches by openly confessing his sin. This act would remove Chillingworth's power over Dimmesdale's conscience.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question refers to a character namely Chillingworth from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel “The Scarlet Letter.” Chillingworth, who is the vengeful husband of Hester Prynne, hunts down the man who has had an affair with his wife. The one place where Chillingworth admits Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale could have escaped his revenge is by confessing his sin openly.
By doing so, Dimmesdale would have stripped Chillingworth of the power of secrecy and the control he held over Dimmesdale's conscience. Nevertheless, this question seems to stem from a mix-up with Hawthorne's other work “Young Goodman Brown,” where textual elements are used to construct the query.
Nonetheless, the central theme is the escape from inner guilt or external persecution, a common thread in Hawthorne's writings.