Technology In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

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 Nathaniel Hawthorne 's “The Birthmark”, we find the tragic story of a woman named Georgiana who sacrificed her life for the sake of appeasing her husband, Aylmer. What did Georgiana do that it was more favorable for her to die than to continuing to displease her husband? Georgiana, who was otherwise hailed as incomparably beautiful, had a birthmark on her face. Aylmer desired this to remove this birthmark, which he considered the one thing keeping her from being “perfect”, from her face. In an attempt to remedy his wife’s “imperfection”, Aylmer makes an elixir for her to drink. While this elixir successfully removes the birthmark, the same elixir also causes Georgiana to die soon after. This story brings to light several examples of how society belittles women and puts their desires below the desires of men.

We as people rely on technology too much by expecting the machine to do something by the click of a button and get angry when the machinery isn’t working. At the beginning technology wasn’t thought of too much but at this point technology is getting people addicted from kids to the elderly.

Aylmer began to become bothered by Georgiana’s mark and brought it up to her to see if she felt the same, “. . . has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed (340)?” Georgiana has always thought of it as more of a charm, but her husband made her feel insecure about the birthmark. The theme of this story can be easily be applied to modern society because people are so often judged by others. Some people judge others about marks on their body and point them out to them or others. There are people that try so hard to become perfect such as reconstructing their bodies. When Aylmer pointed the mark out to his wife he called it an imperfection. Georgiana quickly becomes offended by his remark and defends herself, “. . . then why did you take me from my mother’s side? You cannot love what shocks you (340)!”

“The birthmark”, a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1844 tells the story of a man obsessed with human perfection. He is a scientist by the name of Aylmer who has recently married a very beautiful woman named Georgina. Although Georgina is a beautiful woman, she has a birthmark in the shape of a tiny hand on her cheek. He sees the birthmark as a flaw and as an opportunity to perfect the already beautiful woman he loves. Aylmer, a perfectionist and ambitious scientist becomes obsessed with eradicating the birthmark, so much so that he plays with the natural order of human nature. At first, Georgina does not see her birthmark as a flaw, but as she sees her husband’s disgust by it she too begins to hate it. Georgina, guided by the

“As the last crimson tint of the birthmark that sole token of human imperfection faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere, and her soul, lingering a moment near her husband, took its heavenward flight” (Hawthorne 13). In 1843, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The Birthmark,” a tragic and unexpected short story. In the beginning of “The Birthmark,” Alymer, a man of science, marries a young beautiful woman named Georgiana. One day Alymer noticed a mark on Georgiana’s cheek, and over time his obsession with the thought of removing it scientifically caused the death of his wife. Therefore, in the short story “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Alymer pushes the scientific boundaries too far and his experiment is unjustified.

Nathanial Hawthorne writes a compelling story about a recently married scientist whose wife has a blemish on her cheek. “The Birthmark” written in 1843 is a critique of domesticity, feminine sexuality, and perfectionism. Cindy Weinstein takes the stance that “The Birthmark” is a critique of feminine sexuality. Weinstein suggests, “A key reason, then, that Aylmer wants to erase the birthmark is that it signifies a sexuality with which he is deeply uncomfortable” (123). This argument is seen throughout Hawthorne’s story, but Weinstein’s argument can be taken a step further to deal with the root cause, control. Aylmer is disturbed with Georgiana’s birthmark due to the fact that it signifies her sexual desires that he is unable to control.

Many people create the notion that perfection results in ultimate satisfaction. However, sometimes, the desire of perfection may burden them and doom them to unhappiness. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birth-Mark” is a third-person narrative about Aylmer and his obsession to make his wife Georgiana perfect by removing her birthmark. Aylmer is a scientist who puts his love of science ahead of his love for his wife. His genuine, sincere, yet delusional effort to alter his wife's beauty with science illustrates the story’s theme that perfection is demoralizing which reveals within Hawthorne’s use of symbolism, characterization and the narrative point of view.

In this story, a husband sacrifices his wife’s life over a birthmark, which he feels to be the only thing that stands in the way of her and perfection. (46) The deficient scientist, Aylmer is very much in love with his dear wife, Georgiana. However, only a few days soon following their marriage, Aylmer takes notice of a peculiar mark which sat on the left side of Georgiana’s cheek. After discovering the birthmark, Aylmer hastily digs for ways to rid Georgiana of this defect in which he calls an, “earthly imperfection” to her beauty. Aylmer 's failures arise from his confusion about spirit and matter. In 1841, Hawthorne had written to Sophia, at that time his fiancee, regarding mesmerism: ". . . what delusion can be more lamentable and mischievous, than to mistake the physical and material for the spiritual?" In Aylmer 's "delusion," he mistakes Georgiana 's physical imperfection for a spiritual one, and, in trying to cure her of her human nature, he kills her. As the story precedes, Aylmer and his servant, Aminadab conduct an experiment to relieve Georgiana of this remarkable birthmark only to discover in the end, that the mark symbolizes mortality. Alchemical references and imagery recur throughout "The Birth-mark," as has been amply documented by Shannon Burns, David Van Leer and others. (36). Mary E. Rucker argues that, “Although some critics have asserted that Aylmer is a “scholar-idealist” and a “refraction of the

Over this past decade or so, people all around the globe have been granted with greater advancements in technology. From cellphones we can talk to, to 3-Dimensional televisions, we are able to pretty much do anything thanks to these high-tech products. But, should we really be grateful for these easy-to-use devices, or are they taking over the lives of millions? In the articles written by Michael Malone and Daniel Burrus, we receive an inside look on whether todays modern, wired, Web world is, or is not, benefitting society. Although both authors held pretty neutral views on the subject itself, Malone’s support towards the negative effect of technology definitely lures readers into

Maybe people think so—thousands have cosmetic surgery performed every year as a way of trying to make themselves more beautiful. Religion has taken a step back in society today, so the significance of perfection by God has also been moved to the back burner. But, underlying all the surgeries performed today, is the question: Is it right to change what was given to you by God? Perhaps, but it is not without consequence. Many cosmetic surgeries require painful recovery time or follow-ups, and even some may be dangerous to one’s health. Hawthorne’s gender bias reflects his times, naturally, but they are slightly exaggerated in this story. Georgiana is a rational woman, but Aylmer won’t listen to her. She is a woman and, therefore, is not supposed to have anything to contribute. She agrees to all the attempts to remove her birthmark because she is submissive and can’t bring herself to tell her husband “no.” A “good” wife wouldn’t question her husband’s motives, so she allows him to perform tests and administer concoctions. Even at the moment of her death, as her birthmark is removed, she shows some happiness at pleasing her husband. Georgiana’s worst fear is an unhappy marriage, and she would much rather die than have Aylmer look at her with disgust. Gender bias today is not as strong as it once was but it still exists. For some women, there is still that desire to be submissive and please men. Many women have overcome this, but there remains a gender bias in the workplace,

To begin, the husband’s heartless nature and obsession with correcting his wife’s only known imperfection represents humanities unavoidable imperfection and obsession with achieving absolute perfection. Throughout the story, Aylmer symbolizes humanities obsession with perfecting others when they themselves harbor several flaws. Aylmer’s heartless nature surfaces very soon after him and Georgiana tie the knot. In reference to the birthmark upon his wife’s face he says, “Georgiana… Has it ever occurred to you that the birthmark upon your cheek might be removed?” (Hawthorne 340). Desperate men from all over the community, “would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand” (Hawthorne 340), yet Aylmer remains obsessed with removing Georgiana’s one known imperfection. The fact that Aylmer cannot glorify his wife for all the beautiful traits she possesses but instead shames her for her one imperfection illustrates humanities obsession with correcting even the smallest imperfections. Throughout the birthmark, Aylmer’s obsession with fixing his wife’s one flaw does not subside but instead

Technology is very essential in our everyday lives because it makes work and day-to-day activities easier. With technology, people can travel to different places and communicate with people that are not close by. Technology is used to help advance our daily lives. Having technology is a privilege but when you abuse the privilege you bring forth a dreadful outcome.

Today’s society has advanced so this past decade. So much to the point we use it at a daily basis. Technology does have it’s perks, but are we getting too dependent on it?

If you were to ask somebody what a computer was sixty years ago they would look at you look at you puzzled. Now days it is hard to find a household or office in America that does not contain at least one personal computer. With all of this information at our finger tips, we have to ask ourselves if we are becoming too dependent on technology. Imagine if we were to wake up tomorrow with all electronic devices disabled. Everybody’s life would be impacted in one way or another. We would lose what has become the largest portal for communication. We would also lose countless information that has