Comparing Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccini's Daughter, Birthmark and Prophetic Pictures

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.

In the story “The Birth-Mark” Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates a man with an obsession for perfection of the human body. With a desire to reach the ultimate level of perfection, Aylmer’s obsession ultimately creates a path of destruction that tragically ends in the death of his devoted wife, Georgiana.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” are both fictional short stories written in the 1800s. Although these are two different scenarios, both tend to share several similarities. They deal with relationships between a man and woman, experiments, and ironically ends with a twist that readers don’t expect.

In “The Birthmark”, a short story by Nathanial Hawthorne, the use of the archetypal conflict Nature vs. Science, the character of Damsel in Distress, and the symbol of the Incurable Wound show how easily beauty is overlooked in the endeavor for perfection.

In “The Birth-Mark,” Aylmer, a natural philosopher, became obsessed with a hand shaped birthmark on his wife’s face. Being completely consumed by the notion of imperfection that graced the face of his wife, Georgiana, he attempted to remove the mark which resulted in her death. Aylmer views Georgiana’s birthmark as something more than a

It is clear to say that perfection is completely unattainable. So, although Aylmer is capable of ridding the birthmark, if anyone is able to take away their imperfections, it is inevitable that society will become corrupt.

Rappacini's character shows that he is willing to put science before his family by giving Beatrice to science for the gain of power “Rappacini cares infinitely more for science than for mankind.” (Roy R. Male, 1954) . Both characters have to lust for greater power, which blinds them from their mortal being and flaws that can become of the experiments “The fountain symbolizes man’s potential spiritual perfection, the shattered base his mortal clay.” (Roy R. Male, 1954). Though they are striving for potential perfect Aylmer and Rappacini, both will be destroyed when achieving

     Alymer is an older scientist who marries a beautiful woman much younger then himself. Even though Alymer finds his young bride beautiful, he still says that she is “marked.” Upon Georgiana’s left cheek is a birthmark. The birthmark is small, red, and in the shape of a hand. Alymer believes that this mark takes away from her beauty;

Each man only saw what he wanted to see regarding Beatrice, and for Giovanni, it was most complex. Her father probably had good intentions when he caused his daughter to be poisonous. He did it as a means of protection, but this backfired, because the tendency of others to misunderstand Beatrice's complex makeup led them to unintentionally kill her. Each of the three men in Rappaccinni's Daughter wanted to mold Beatrice into something and each had his own idea of her identity, yet none of them looked at her subjectively. This is pointed out by Luedtke on page 188. "When he (Giovanni) was unable to bring Beatrice 'rigidly and systematically' within the realm of his own experience, and unwilling to risk a closer knowledge, Giovanni left the poison-damsel to die in her own pleasure-place." It is interesting to note Luedtke's use of the words "pleasure-place". This suggests that the poisonous garden was not the real problem or prison for Beatrice. An interesting point is revealed by Luedtke as he states, "The author makes a late attempt to intertwine her poison and her purity, but the demonic and the angelic continue to occupy their separate spheres, the former of the body, the latter of the soul. As Baglioni's antidote takes effect, eradicating the poison from Beatrice's system, her physical life is consumed. The soul might be innocent but it has no resting place."(181) If Beatrice's soul had no

In his short stories, "Young Goodman Brown," "The Birthmark," and "Rappacciniâs Daughter," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his female characters to illustrate the folly of demanding perfection in the flawed world of humanity. Although Hawthorneâs women appear to have dangerous aspects, they are true of heart, and thus, they cannot be fully possessed by the corrupt men who seek to control them.

In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story “The Birthmark,” Alymer and Georgiana, which could have been a sweet love story turns into a frightening experience. Alymer becomes obsessed with removing a small birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek. He insisted that it is the only think that keeps her from being beautiful. Alymer is a scientist and believes he can fix anything and is sure he can create a potion to fix her. Georgiana becomes upset by the comments made by her husband, because her previous boyfriends told her it added a charm. She hints to Alymer that the birthmark may be a connection between her and life. However, Alymer continues to complain about how awful it is. He dreams about her birthmark and cringes when it’s in sight. Georgiana loves Alymer

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” published in The Pioneer, the themes of science, perfection, and obsession are examined within the text. “The Birthmark” is the dark romantic short story about Aylmer and his wife Georgiana. Aylmer is a brilliant scientist and philosopher who dropped his focus from his career and experiments to marry the most beautiful women in their town, Georgiana. Even though Georgiana is the most beautiful, she does not lack flaws. She has a tiny birthmark in the shape of a hand on her cheek that Aylmer becomes unnaturally obsessed with.

In “The Birthmark”, the relationships and behaviors of the characters play a significant role in the story by revealing more than the story itself does . Through the character’ different actions, characteristics, and behaviors, Nathaniel Hawthorne gives a deeper insight into his life, such as revealing his worldview to his readers, and also gives insight into a more relevant story. Hawthorne’s transcendentalist worldview is conveyed through Aylmer’s and Georgiana’s obsessions, Aylmer’s manipulation of nature, and the birthmark.

At the beginning of the story, Hawthorne establishes a dark mood when describing the ancestors who were occupying the mansion “pictured by Dante as a partaker of the immortal agonies of his Inferno” (Hawthorne). This allusion refers to the “Divine Comedy” and the Inferno, which tells Dante’s journey through hell. This story also alludes to the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, in which the prominent figures disobey God and they end up being cast out of Eden, the paradise. One of the parts in the story of “Rappaccini’s Daughter” that alludes the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is when Giovanni thinks “was this garden, then, the Eden of the present world?” about Rappaccini’s botanical garden (Hawthorne). In addition, Beatrice can be associated with Eve because, despite the fact that her body is corrupted by her father and becomes poisonous, her soul always remains pure and clean. With her beauty, Beatrice enamors Giovanni and poisons him slowly unintentionally with her breath and essence of the violet flower. Beatrice does not know that she can poison Giovanni because she is imprisoned in the garden, as Beatrice says to Giovanni, “the effect of my father’s fatal love of science, which estranged me from all society of my kind” (Hawthorne). Giovanni is not really in love with Beatrice because he convinces her to drink the

Dr. Rappaccini, while calculating and determined in his science, is far from being cold and unconcerned for the emotions of others. Beatrice, who ought to know him best, tells Giovanni that Dr. Rappaccini is "aquatinted with the secrets of Nature," perhaps the most important of which is the secret of love (1653). Even in the creation of what is arguably his greatest experiment, the raising of his daughter, Dr. Rappaccini is more concerned with the welfare of Beatrice and her human happiness than with his reputation because of its eventual success. It is with her happiness in mind that he makes her a woman with "marvelous gifts against which no power nor strength could avail an enemy" (1655). Further, Beatrice dispels the "idle rumors" of Dr. Rappaccini raising her to replace Professor Baglioni (1647). In fact, because of his belief that Beatrice was being raised to unseat him, Professor Baglioni planned to secure his position and "foil [Dr. Rappaccini] where [he would] little dream of it!" (1645). Through his actions, Professor Baglioni reveals his twisted character and guides the plot towards one in which Dr. Rappaccini's science is no longer the question; but