Analysis Of ' The Birthmark ' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the short allegory “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly-wed couple becomes consumed by the existence of a small birthmark on the wife’s face. When the wife, Georgiana, allows her husband Aylmer, a scientist, to remove the birthmark, both realize that Georgiana will inevitably sacrifice her life for the sake of its removal. As the story progresses, so does the confliction of the newlyweds as they realize exactly what the birthmark symbolized to and for each other. Hawthorne’s hallmark use of symbolism also provides a ‘perfect’ glimpse into the mindset of two themes of psychological conflictions: perfectionism and codependency. Hawthorne seems to share this story as a possible moral of the hidden pathos we place upon the ones we love, and the invisible marks or standards we place upon ourselves for the ones we love.

Georgiana had always lived with the birthmark, and was quite fond of its charm. Many people in the town believe it was a fairy’s handprint left to sway all hearts; to them the mark only magnified her appeal. The mark’s charm had rarely been questioned by anyone other than the jealous women of the town, and its peculiar nature had once intrigued Aylmer and amplified his attraction to Georgiana. He begged for her hand in marriage, but soon after they were wed, he queried whether Georgiana had ever considered having the birthmark removed. She was hurt by the implication that the mark depreciated her and grew upset with her husband. As time passed, Aylmer continued to stare at the mark, unable to keep his eyes from wandering to it. This continued until Georgiana was no longer able to ignore the way his eyes were always fixated on this sole imperfection, the crimson hand that kept him up at night and plagued his dreams. She asked Aylmer to remove the mark, or take her life because she no longer wanted to live if she had to live with the mark. She preferred death to the harsh scrutiny from her husband.

Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the obsession of perfection in the story, “The Birthmark.” He uses the scientist, Aylmer, and his wife, Georgiana, to show that striving for perfection is unrealistic. In the story, the scientist creates the perfect wife, but dooms her to death because no one on earth can be perfect. The plot of “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, helps to emphasize the desire for perfection.

Georgiana’s birthmark is the main symbol in the story that could have multiple meanings. It is clear what the birthmark symbolizes when Georgiana declares, “I am happy to put my life in your hands,” (Hawthorne 3). Aylmer is ready to start his experiment when Georgiana says she is willing to be a part of it. What Aylmer does not know is that the birthmark actually symbolizes her mortality and when she says she is happy to put her life in his hands, she actually means that her birthmark is her lifeline and she is happy to put it in his hands. Aylmer wanted his wife to be perfect, but he only made the outcome worse with trying to remove the mark. Another example of symbolism is when Hawthorne writes, “The mark was usually a deep red color,” (Hawthorne 1). The color red could symbolize one of many different things, but it mainly symbolizes the color of blood. Blood is a main part of one’s body and mortality, and when the birthmark is described by its deep red color, it means that the mark is her source to life. After the tragic death of Georgiana, Aylmer finally realizes that the birthmark really had been her mortality. Aylmer is so deeply caught up in forcefully trying to get Georgiana to let him remove her birthmark, he does not recognize the true perfection that was there all along. Symbolism helps the theme that is portrayed throughout the story that trying to be flawless results in a devastation.

In Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark”, Aylmer feels that his wife Georgiana is a miracle and that she is perfect. Her only flaw was the birthmark in the shape of a hand placed on her cheek. Instead of focusing on all her Georgiana’s perfections, Aylmer only focused on one of her flaws, the birthmark. Aylmer constructs a statement about her birthmark saying that, “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain.”(Meyer 345)

Georgiana serves as the sacrificial lamb archetypal protagonist who dies for Aylmer’s vain sins. Aylmer is the overly optimistic anti-hero, who desperately believes he can create and attain perfection through science. And, finally, Aminadab is the foil character, his character, while symbolic is used to enhance the roles and symbols of Georgiana and Aylmer. The symbolism assigned to each character is massively important and creates duality and conflict that makes “The Birth-Mark” so interesting and tragic. Hawthorne’s use of character traits certainly adds dimension and intrigue to the story, truly enhancing the

Aylmer asks this question because he is obsessed with the idea of something or someone being perfect. At first thought, Georgianna infers that Aylmer is kidding about his remark but after soon realizing the seriousness of his tone and manner, she finds out his question is humorless. Throughout the entire story, Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing the “harmful to his mind” birthmark. He becomes so obsessed, that even his love for Georgianna is affected by this birthmark. For some reason, Aylmer can not get rid of the pestering thought in his head, that his beautiful wife is lessened by having a birthmark on her cheek. A combination of his obsession for perfection, love for science, and Georgianna’s submissiveness causes a plot shift which creates the story while also changes the mood of the

In spite of the fact that Aylmer sees the birthmark as a flaw, it is frequently called something angelic put on Georgiana's face during birth. Georgiana's lovers trusted "That some fairy, at her birth-hour, had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and left this impress there, in token of the magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts" (Hawthorne 334). The birthmark should win the hearts of many individuals, and we see this isn't the situation with Aylmer. The birthmark should make her more beautiful and one of a kind than other women and make every man want to be with her. After removing the birthmark Aylmer discovered reality, "The fatal

Many of Nathaniel Hawthorne 's stories are based off of morality and is heavily influenced by religious beliefs and women. Hawthorne published "The Birthmark", a parable, dark romanticism, at a time when people praised the scientific method and were starting to think science could make anything possible. He set his story about sixty years earlier in the 160-year-long wake of the Newtonian Revolution, in the Age of Enlightenment, when science was gaining recognition. His story argues that, despite the general positivism, science has its limits. There are certain things that human are not privileged to know and not capable of doing. For example, Aylmer tries to become a creator of sorts himself by trying to "repair" a "flaw" that Nature left on another human being. The story seems to say tha it is not only ignorant, it is also downright dangerous to try and play God. "The Birthmark" puts the main protagonist, "a man of science", in a situation where he strives to make his "nearly perfect" wife flawless. At the end, because he tried to challenge Nature, he is punished with a dead wife. In "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the entire plot of the story is fully revealed at the beginning of passage and tied to religious beliefs through its setting and time of publication, symbolisms and foreshadows, and sentence structure and diction.

Portrayed as spiritual and intellectual in contrast with his crude laboratory assistant Aminadab, Aylmer becomes disturbingly obsessed with a birthmark on his wife’s countenance. The plot of the short story revolves around the man’s attempt in removing the mark, which results in the death of Georgiana. In the very beginning of the story, the audience discovers through the narration that Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as more than a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin. In reality, the primary reason why he becomes severely obsessed with the birthmark is because in his eyes, the mark symbolizes something. Aylmer proceeds to further clarify his inner thoughts by replying to his wife, “This slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Mays 340). Although Georgiana is initially mortified and even goes as far to question the existence of the marriage between them, the narration later sheds light and explains that the precise reason why Aylmer is excessively bothered with the birthmark is because he regards Georgiana as virtually the embodiment of perfection. As a consequence, perceiving a flaw on his wife’s image that clashes with the concept of her beauty inevitably leads him to feel aggrieved and begin to judge the birthmark as a dangerous blemish residing on her skin.

After Georgiana and Aylmer have discussed Aylmer’s dream from the night before, Georgiana is convinced in removing her “hideous” birth-mark and so she exclaims, “Either remove this dreadful Hand, or take my wretched life!... Cannot you remove this little, little mark, which I cover with the tips of two small fingers?” (648). Aylmer has implanted his mentality of Georgiana’s birthmark being hideous onto Georgiana and now she cannot stand the thought of having it, causing her want to strive for perfection as well. Georgiana’s desire to strive for the ideal (in order to please her husband) ultimately brings her to her own self-destruction, taking into account that if she had embraced her Crimson Hand, she would have opposed her husband’s comments and

To better understand Aylmer’s obsession we would need to analyze the symbolic meaning of Georgiana’s birthmark. After being with his wife for a while Aylmer acknowledges

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “The Birthmark” introduces the constant chase for perfection. A man finds his wife’s birthmark on her left cheek annoying and flawed. He constantly craves for the birthmark to be removed; torturing his wife with thoughts of perfection, by simply removing the natural mark. Without acknowledging the consequences of the matter, the wife drinks a strong potion made by her husband to remove the birthmark. However, the husband’s lack of scientific success resulted in the death of his wife. In the end of this story, readers learn that perfection is not needed, and that flaws are what makes a person unique. Moral criticism, symbolism and theme are very commonly used literary elements in this story to elaborate the main focus and thought that is to be discussed.

In the opening paragraph of “The Birthmark” the narrator introduces Aylmer as a scientist who “had made experience of a spiritual affinity more attractive than any chemical one.” Hawthorne’s description of the scientist’s love for Georgiana is apt, for love is just that – spiritual. And the theme of this tale is a spiritual one. Through the course of the story Aylmer declines spiritually, while Georgiana advances spiritually.

Aylmer is all about Science while she is all about romance. Barbara Eckstein states, “Romance is Georgina’s religion. It contributes to the metaphysical excesses of science as science contributes to the metaphysical excesses of romance” (511). He lives to create science experiments and do everything he can by using science. She on the other hand is all about making sure that he is satisfied and taken care of by using nothing but romance. Georgiana is like Aylmer’s maid, whatever he says she will do with no hesitation and no questions asked. “Combined, these two ideologies define the distribution of work in the story, the work of a man and a woman and of master and servant” (Eckstein 511). Her husband, Alymer, on the other hand sees it as a disgrace. He believes that the birthmark makes her unattractive and that upsets her. He believes it is a blemish that stains and taints her true beauty. Alymer ask her if she has ever thought to remove her birthmark and if he himself can remove it. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes in “The Birth-Mark”, “‘Dearest Georgiana, I have spent much thought upon the subject,’ hastily interrupted Aylmer. ‘I am convinced of the perfect practicability of its removal’” (343). Georgiana is all about her husband and agrees to go through with it if it satisfies him. Lynn Shakinovsky says, “Aylmer, a brilliant scientist, becomes obsessed with a mark on his wife's cheek, determines to eradicate it, and in doing so kills her” (269). Alymer