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.

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

Nathaniel Hawthorne like many other writers during the nineteenth century focused their writings on the darker aspects of life. “The Birthmark,” is set in New England and has a Puritan perspective. Aylmer, a well-known scientist, marries Georgiana who has a hand shaped birthmark upon her face. After some time during their marriage Aylmer and Georgiana decided to remove the mark through scientific means. Advancements in science and the ability to change nature were at the center of plots throughout their short stories and poems. Hawthorne believed that it was not unusual for science and women to rival for one man’s love (Hawthorne 12). Hawthorne used his critical thinking to write about taboos and dissention not spoken of during his lifetime to the forefront. In “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne focuses on science verses nature. Hawthorne attempted to create the perfect human being through science by using setting, character, and symbolism to undo the imperfections he saw within God’s work in “The Birthmark”. With all of his intellectual and spiritual qualities, Aylmer still does not have wisdom.

“The Birthmark” is a short story authored by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1848. The story is about Aylmer, a brilliant scientist who is obsessed with science and is planning to use his experiments to remove a birthmark on the face of his wife Georgiana. Aylmer’s love for science made him yearn to obtain control of the entire divinity. His wife was among his victims of science that was stronger in him than the love he had for Georgiana. Aylmer became blind to science to the extent that he could not realize that he was damaging his wife and putting his marriage at risk. It examines the obsession with science and human perfection that often cause problems if not controlled as seen in the story. Hawthorne’s aim with this tale was to warn its readers regarding the dangers of science and knowledge with the story, and this is analyzed below.

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)!”

Unlike the other men, Aylmer thinks Georgina’s birthmark is not “a charm” (Hawthorne). In fact, Aylmer doesn’t know “whether to term [it] a defect or a beauty” (Hawthorne). Georgina becomes emotional by her husband’s shocking words, she tells him “you cannot love what shocks you!” (Hawthorne). Aylmer’s obsession for perfection was so big that he could not tolerate a simple mark on his lover’s cheek. To be human is to be imperfect and for Aylmer to think his wife’s birthmark is a “visible mark of earthly imperfection,” is almost immoral. His quest for human perfection surpasses the morals of marriage. Aylmer failed to stand by the marriage values and learn to love his wife’s “fatal flaw” (Hawthorne). As humans, we’re taught to have morals and ethics that provide us with the tools necessary to do the right thing. In the contrary, if we cross the line like Aylmer, a tragedy is bound to happen. A tragedy such as killing the love of his life reassured him of those morals humans are taught to live by. Hawthorne, asserts the idea that human nature is imperfect; therefore, it would be immoral to strive for perfection. By Aylmer removing her birthmark it is almost like removing her humanity.

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)

Imagine this: You’re a newlywed and you think that you’ve finally found someone to love and accept you for who and what you are. However, after the honeymoon, they look you dead in your eyes and say “You know that one thing you do? I hate it and you need to change.” Or even worse, they look at you and say “You know, you’re really ugly.” That’s exactly what Aylmer does to his wife in the “The Birthmark,” a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Aylmer, is a man of science that at the beginning of the story, decides that it is time for him to leave his laboratory and find a wife. He eventually marries a woman by the name of Georgiana. She has a birthmark on her cheek in the shape of a hand, which Aylmer, oddly enough, did not notice

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne during the American Renaissance, the short story “The Birth-Mark” details the events of a brilliant scientist and natural philosopher named Aylmer who obsesses about his wife Georgiana’s birthmark in the shape of a tiny hand on her left cheek. The symbol of the birthmark causes the plot to advance in the story, as Aylmer is compelled by this red mark to act upon his emotions. Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as an imperfection in her virtually flawless beauty and as a result, attempts to it via a potion that he strongly believes cannot fail. His interpretation of the birthmark creates conflict in the story, which is shaped by the symbolic meaning that he attributes it to. Aylmer’s failure to accept his wife’s appearance for who she is leads to misunderstandings, pain, and ultimately, death.

Too often in this world does man attempt to perfect nature. Tampering with this sort of element most commonly leads to a disaster to come extent. Because man is never satisfied, he is constantly vying for perfection, regardless of the outcome. Such is the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, 'The Birthmark.' Aylmer's persistent attempt to perfect nature is the cause of Georgiana's demise and the affirmation that when man tampers with such a powerful component terrible things may occur.

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,

Georgiana has never noticed her birthmark to be a flaw, “To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so”, it was adored by other men except her husband (Hawthorne 188). ]. Aylmer’s need for perfection is noticed when he tells Georgiana, “No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me”, Aylmer hurts Georgiana’s feelings by letting her know this birthmark of hers is no beauty but, a flaw that needs to be removed. Every moment spent together the birthmark came intolerable, it wasn’t something that could be ignored any longer. Sadly, Aylmer was shaming her for the beauty Nature had placed upon her. While Aylmer did not appreciate Georgiana’s beauty his lab assistant did, “If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birthmark”, an example of a man that is willing to ignore this tiny flaw

The need for perfection is a tale old as time. Many have sought out the elusive potion for beauty and have gone to the extremes in order to attain it. The birthmark is a story that embodies the distractive process that is pursuing perfection. In the beginning, Georgiana felt her husband Alymer may have been kidding about his feelings towards her birthmark. Alas, he was not and due to his disgust and Georgiana's love for him, she was willing to do anything to please him and fit his standards for perfection. Because of this, Georgiana falls into a dark despair where she is subjected to her husbands remedies for removing the flaw upon her beautiful face. After many attempts, Alymer found the perfect potion and after treating her this last potion he notices the mark begin fading away. Yet upon awakening, Georgiana lets out her last words and soon passes. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses characters such as Alymer to mirror the obsession society has with achieving perfection while his use of irony portrays a sense of despair in fixing Georgiana and the setting expresses the contrast between both characters.

In the story The Birth-Mark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a scientist named Aylmer, marries a beautiful woman named Georgiana, but after he marries her he notices his wife’s birthmark. He cannot bear the birthmark. The birthmark is the shape of a little hand. He becomes obsessed with the birthmark that it becomes “…. more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives” (Hawthorne 221). Georgiana’s birthmark has become a problem to him, that he needs to solve, so he decides that he can remove it. He is successful in the attempt of removing it, but in doing so, his success ends in a tragedy. In the story, Hawthorne illustrates how Aylmer strives for perfection, but in doing so he challenges nature, pride, and his relationship with Georgiana.