Chillingworth has only one interest --- to discover (and perhaps torture) the father of Hester's child. It is interesting that in this chapter he suggests that the analysis of Pearl's nature (not sure exactly how he would go about this) would lead to the identification of the father (imagine if he had DNA available to him ... no book :)). Dimmesdale warns him not to entertain notions of using profane science to find the father, but to let Providence run its course. It's hard to imagine that Dimmesdale actually wanted this to happen, but it bought him time and although it prolonged his suffering under the prying eyes of Chillingworth.
No matter where you ask the question, the only thing that Dimmesdale is interested in, here and elsewhere, is finding the father and exposing him.
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