Ghazal Hashemipour
“The Birthmark”
The way that nature naturally creates men is with some imperfection; however in the case of Georgiana, her husband wants to use his science to defy nature and synthesize a look that is perfect. The dilemma at the beginning for Georgia is whether or not she should let his husband use his science to remove the mark on her face, which she once thought was charming. In other words the simplest dilemma of the story is between perfection and imperfection and how the two values are defined differently by individuals. If I had to choose, I would rather stay imperfect since perfection is very fragile and requires constant attention and fixation. In this regard, I think being the most beautiful flower means being plucked
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As the narrator states, a scientist’s love for his wife “could only be by intertwining itself with his love of science, and uniting the strength of the latter to his own” (p. 219). This sort of intermingled love is visibly the type of love that Aylmer has for her wife. Aylmer may be in love with his wife, but he cannot ignore her birthmark, which most other men think is very charming. In the story, it’s revealed that Aylmer initially does not want to tell her wife of the possible dangers of his experiment because, as he states “ there is danger” (p. 233). This danger could possibly be the fact that she may die, but also the fact that she may change her mind. However, Georgiana truly loves and trusts her husband, and the depth of her love is seen when she states that she will take “a dose of poison if offered by” (p. 233) Aylmer. Moreover, another indication of her love is the fact that Georgiana is willing to be a guinea pig for his husband’s experiment in order to become more appealing to him and make him happy.
Lovers who love Georgiana say that her birthmark is the mark left by the touch of a fairy when Georgiana was borne. Many of her lovers find her birthmark very appealing and seductive, while other women believe that it makes her face look hideous. Masculine observers such as Aylmer wished the birthmark did not exist so that she would be even more
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225). Aylmer is also physically slimmer and smarter than Aminadab.
In Aylmer’s journal, she observes details of Aylmer’s experiments that either led to success or failure, but what really grabbed Georgiana’s attention was the fact that what was deemed successful when compared to Aylmer’s high expectations were nothing but failures; thus, the journal was a record of Aylmer’s failed experiments. (I find this idea very similar to how the narrator in The Great Gatsby states that even Daisy fell short of Gatsby’s expectations).
He perhaps was reflecting on the fact that women are idolized by men, and are treated as objects rather than mortals since in the story it’s the man who sees an imperfection in his wife and wants to fix what he does not like about her. Moreover, he perhaps was pondering at the meaning of perfection and whether it’s possible for a person to achieve it without sacrificing
Georgiana knows the strain this is putting their marriage. Georgiana begun to contemplate the removal of the birth-mark as well, "Aylmer," resumed Georgiana, solemnly, "I know not what may be the cost to both of us to rid me of this fatal birthmark. Perhaps its removal may cause cureless deformity; or it may be the stain goes as deep as life itself. Again: do we know that there is a possibility, on any terms, of unclasping the firm gripe of this little hand which was laid upon me before I came into the world?" Aylmer assured her "Dearest Georgiana, I have spent much thought upon the subject," hastily interrupted Aylmer. "I am convinced of the perfect practicability of its
In “The Birthmark” we first learn about the main character named Aylmer. He is fascinated with science. “He has devoted himself, however, too unreservedly to scientific studies ever to be weaned from them by any second passion” (Hawthorne 952) He eventually finds love with his wife Georgianna, but there is something about her he just will not seem to take much longer. Georgianna has a red birthmark on her cheek which is the shape of a small hand. While she thinks it is beautiful, the most important person in her life doesn’t feel the same way. In fact, Aylmer is truly disgusted and in shock by her mark, claiming it is a “visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Hawthorne 953). Finally telling his wife how he feels, Georgianna is in disbelief. She is upset, hurt, and confused, even questioning their marriage as she tells him “You cannot love what shocks you!” (Hawthorne 953). The last thing she would have thought is that the person she planned to spend the rest of her life with doesn’t see her beauty mark the way she does.
Aylmer is an opposite representation of C. JoyBell’s quote because he loses sight of his love of Georgiana for scientific perfection, without any self reflection upon the matter. Moreover, Aylmer’s want to dispel Georgiana's birthmark produces a change in his feelings toward her. When discussing the birthmark and a possible removal with Georgiana, Aylmer said, “‘you [Georgiana] came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature… as being the visible mark of earthly
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.
Although her and Aylmer hate the birthmark, some of her past lovers and some readers might view it as unique, possibly as a symbol for her personality. The birthmark is something that separates her from others and makes her stand out, probably why all of the women hate her birthmark, they are jealous of her uniqueness. But Aylmer can’t help but to focus on the birthmark and it’s
Aylmer uses Georgiana’s love and trust for him against her, turning her into a scientific experiment, and taking away her life. Aylmer tells Georgiana about his displeasure with her birthmark. After an initial shocked reaction, Georgiana quickly changes her mindset to agree with her husband and lets him know: “I know not what may be the cost of both of us to rid me of this fatal birthmark. Perhaps its removal may cause cureless deformity, or may be the stain goes as deep as life itself” (222). Throughout her life, other men tell her birthmark is beautiful; however, after Georgina marries Aylmer , Georgiana now no longer wants it and wishes for it to be removed because of her husband’s wishes. This accommodates with what Aylmer wants and is the start of his scientific experiments on his wife. Later, Georgiana and Aylmer have a tense conversation debating about the
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
Hawthorne achieves this same task in the character of Georgiana in "The Birthmark." Georgiana, too, is presented as an ideal specimen of womanhood. She is beautiful, intelligent, and devoted to her husband, the alchemist, Aylmer. She would be absolute perfection, except for one flaw: a birthmark in the shape of a fairy-sized handprint on her left cheek. While those who love Georgiana attest that the mark is a symbol of the "magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts," Aylmer and her detractors regard it as a "bloody hand" that belies "his wifeâs liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death" (Hawthorne, "The Birthmark" 119-20). Hawthorne continues to impart Aylmerâs inner feelings of shock and horror over Georgianaâs single physical flaw, gradually leading his audience to share his disgust for the dreadful
From this moment on, every acceptable quality she has will mean absolutely nothing to her. As long as she has her big nose and her two thick legs, that is all she will see herself as wholly. This leads her to thinking about permanently removing her unwanted flaws. She believes that if she removes her flaws, she will finally be accepted by society. In both stories, the reader interprets that both the woman and the young girl have specific qualities that someone in their lives has pointed out as flaws. The opinions of these certain people obviously matter to both of them, so they eventually decide that they want their flaws removed for good.
Aylmer’s abhorrence for Georgiana’s imperfection is a representation of evil in this story, he talks about Nature or God and how spiritual he is during the whole story; but his key focal point shifts to her imperfection. This is a representation of evil for the actuality that she carried one physical defect and that is all Aylmer could focus on. People like this are called pessimistic, since they only concentrate the awful or expect the worst. Georgiana was perfectly at ease for the way she was until her husband kept making comments about her until she became self conscious about
Aylmer’s craving to make his wife Georgiana perfect is destined to fail because perfection cannot be found on earth and only found in heaven. Aylmer obsesses about the birthmark that is on his wife for an extensive time that it actually starts to inconvenience him. For Aylmer, it symbolizes mortality and sin and comes to mast over Georgiana’s beauty in his cluttered mind. Consequently, her tiny imperfection, which is only a birth-mark, is all he can see and is so prominent to him. The desire for perfection not only kills Georgiana inside and out, but it also ruins her husband. Aylmer starts to break down because his desire to create the ideal woman becomes such a fixation that it prevents him from seeing all the good his wife has to over him and the world. Nevertheless, Georgiana says that she will risk her life for him and have the birthmark erased. Aylmer is very confident about it but ends up killing her in the process, emotionally and
The archetype of Georgiana can be seen as the perfect women, however, her birthmark acts as a symbol of imperfection and mortality that keeps her from fully pleasing her husband. Georgiana is described as beautiful and perfect except for one flaw, the birthmark. “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain” (Hawthorne 220). The hand-shaped birthmark can be seen as her being touched by nature and acts as a symbol of imperfection and mortality in humans. The symbol of the birth-mark standing for mortality can be seen again towards the end
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.
Martin Fitzpatrick states that Georgiana is a woman of perfect beauty, but her only flaw is the birthmark on her left cheek, shaped like a tiny pink hand “To a Practised Touch”: Miles Coverdale and Hawthorne’s Irony,”(American Transcendental Quarterly 14.1 [2000]: 27-46). However, Her husband Aylmer prizes her in marriage, he becomes, after their marriage, obsessed with the idea of fixing that blemish and providing her absolutely perfect. Aylmer prepares a portion for Georgiana in order to remove the birthmark and release her from the hand that clenched tighter on her cheek. Fitzpatrick argues, “If we alter the question slightly, what is the story about? We might answer: Aylmer's hatred of women generally or Georgiana specifically, the futility
Aylmer’s science is a part of him that dominates most of his life. “Aylmer’s scientific mind controls Georgiana’s passive nature” (Eckstein, 516). Science is a powerful source that can be good and bad, in this case Aylmer’s science is bad because it has limited his mind to things of only physical elements rather than the unknown. With such a science based mind at all one wonders how he could even love another human, but with his science obsession and love for his wife his obsession becomes a mix of taking his science and fixing his wife. Aylmer forgets that sometimes his science was wrong, that the immortality in exchange for unique discovers has consequences, sometimes ones that even involve a death (Eckstein, 514). Despite all that though