One of the key ideas presented to readers at the start of SL was that Hester and Chillingworth had had a complex relationship before Chillingworth went missing. Hester is described as a young, beautiful woman while Chillingworth is described as old and decrepit, not exactly a relationship where both have the same mindset. Determining the nature of their relationship was pretty much up to the reader.
I thought that Hester was probably bored and indifferent towards Chillingworth during their marriage. She was young and pretty, and she did not seem to care for him as much as he seemed to care for her - otherwise, why would she have gotten over him so fast when she thought he was dead and hooked up with another guy? In the prison, Hester almost seemed to fear him. She must have also felt a little ignored (again, this made her bored) because he had a demanding job and seemed to have a stonger passion for medicine than for his wife.
I had trouble deciding if Chillingworth truly loved Hester, or if it was just pride that made him seek revenge against Dimmesdale. In the beginning of the novel, the reader gets the sense that they should start to feel something like fear towards Chillingworth, but he wasn't the full-blown creep that he became at the end of the book. His physical appearance alone is enough to get that creepy feeling, but as his mind changes throughout the novel, we discover that his appearance isn't the only thing to fear.
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