Who says 'Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!'?

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This line reveals a mindset driven by revenge and control. It’s spoken by Roger Chillingworth, the physician who stays close to Dimmesdale under the guise of healing him. Chillingworth has vowed to uncover and torment Dimmesdale for the secret sin that haunts him, and this statement shows he intends to “own” Dimmesdale through the power of knowing his guilt and using it to torment him. He treats the minister as a prize to claim and shape through his calculated manipulation, rather than out of care or affection. Hester acts out of loyalty and survival, Pearl embodies innocence and curiosity, and Dimmesdale is the one suffering—so it’s Chillingworth who expresses the possessive, vengeful aim to make Dimmesdale his.