The Birthmark Quote Analysis

“You were born to be real not to be perfect.” is probably one of my favorite quotes. One theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” would be “it is foolish to strive for perfection.” My favorite quote and the theme for The Birthmark have a lot in common.  They both say that being perfect is not something you are going to witness in this world, so you need to stop worrying about striving for perfection.  The places in this story where I found the theme pushed a great amount are the last two paragraphs.

A utopia sounds like a wonderful thing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “utopia” as an “imagined or hypothetical place, system, or state of existence in which everything is perfect, esp. in respect of social structure, laws, and politics.” (OED, 2015, entry 2) But what happens when someone tries to bring this imagined land of perfection into reality? Both in fictional literature and in real life applications, utopian dreams destroy societies.

By looking at symbolism in The Birthmark, the reader can interpret that the birthmark is a symbol for imperfection and mortality which is not obvious to most people. This is important because it turns the birthmark into something all readers can relate to since no one is perfect. Georgiana’s birthmark was “the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions” (Hawthorne 12). As stated before, nothing is perfect, Nature has a flaw on everything and Georgiana’s was her birthmark. Her husband, Aylmer, notices the birthmark and also sees it as an imperfection even though other men would often tell her it was a charm. “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, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Hawthorne 11). Aylmer at first is the only one, other from jealous women, to point out her birthmark as an imperfection but his constant talk began to make her believe she was in fact flawed. This is important because it ultimately leads to the death of Georgiana.

In the piece “The Birthmark” it is impossible and foolish to try to reach perfection. Because we all have been stamped with the imperfections of nature when Adam and Eve took a bite from the tree in the garden of Eden…..

How far are women willing to go in order to reach the idea of perfection, and how does this desire affect their physical and emotional state? In the gothic story “The Birthmark”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Georgiana is a beautiful woman who marries a mad scientist named Aylmer. Her husband views her as perfection except for the small red handprint looking birthmark on her left cheek. He always stares at the small hand and then proceeds to manipulate the way she views her birthmark. Georgiana eventually gives in and allows her husband to do whatever it takes in order to remove the hand. By suddenly obsessing over meeting perfection, she ends up dead. In society today, many women, especially teenage girls, are constantly looking at this

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.

When the main characters of the stories decide that they are certain that they want their flaws removed, they do not hesitate to immediately remove their imperfections. These abrupt decisions go entirely wrong for both women in the end. After all of the pressure from their peers, they remove their flaws permanently. As the unwanted mark fades from Georgiana’s face, “the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere” (Hawthorne 301). Her flaw finally leaves her face, but it unfortunately takes Georgiana’s life along with it. Similar to this situation, in “Barbie Doll” the main character decides to remove her flaws by simply cutting them off. She removes her nose and legs “and offered them up” (Piercy 771). Piercy writing that she is offering her flaws up, the author is unmistakably symbolizing

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” the main character, Aylmer, wants to have a perfect wife. His wife, Georgiana, is a very beautiful woman with just one flaw, the birthmark on her face. As a scientist, Aylmer tries to create a solution that will get rid of Georgiana’s birthmark, thus making her perfect. According to Hawthorne, however, this is not possible.

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.

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.

A dystopia is an imaginary, imperfect place where those who dwell are faced with terrible circumstances. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley illustrates the concept of a dystopia. A utopia is an ideal place where everything is perfect, but in the novel, it becomes apparent that the author is trying to demonstrate the negative effects on a society when it attempts to become an unreachable utopian society. Brave New World is seen as a dystopia for many reasons, as citizens are deprived of freedom, programmed to be emotionless and under the control of a corrupt dictatorship. These points illustrate the irony of a society’s attempt to reach utopia by opposing ethics and morality; citizens are tragically distanced from paradise,

According to the Webster Dictionary the definition of utopia is "...a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions..." (Merriam-Webster) . If utopia is really perfection what happens when there is trouble in a utopia? Does that utopia suddenly become a dystopia because it is not as perfect as it may seem? Thomas More's Utopia included these characteristics, it also contained some unfavorable characteristics as well. A few of these dystopian characteristics include slavery, land conquering, and social isolation when sick (More). Although there are many characteristics of dystopia are intertwined with the utopian characteristics they are of not what makes a utopia a utopia.There are many characteristics of the ideal utopia spread over societies and times. Many characteristics include a peaceful government, access to healthcare as well as

According to the Webster Dictionary the definition of utopia is "...a place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government, and social conditions..." (Merriam-Webster) . If utopia is really perfection what happens when there is trouble in a utopian? Does that utopia suddenly become a dystopia because it is not as perfect as it may seem? Thomas More's Utopia included these characteristics, it also contained some unfavorable characteristics as well. A few of these dystopian characteristics include slavery, land conquering, and social isolation when sick (More). Although there are many characteristics of a dystopia intertwined with the utopian characteristics they are of not what makes a utopia a utopia.There are many characteristics to any ideal utopia that can be found spread over many societies and hundred of years. Two main characteristics include unlimited access to health care as well as equal education which are both present in More's narrative (Pyron). One main characteristic that was unique to More's narrative was the actual setting and how it allowed the society to be self-sufficient.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel “The Birthmark” Literature and the Writing Process, edited by Elizabeth McMahan, believed that Aylmer’s belief is that to have life there must be imperfection and losing imperfection was losing life. She explains as she shows us how “The Birthmark” which is a story filled with symbolisms and irony. Hawthorne displayed this belief in his short story "The Birthmark”, which is about a scientist named Aylmer who becomes disgusted by his wife, Georgiana’s tiny birthmark on her left cheek and kills her in the process of trying to remove it. He sees it as a flaw in his beautiful wife. Georgiana knows that her birthmark disgusts him. She began to feel disgusted by this birthmark when she realizes her husband’s disgust with it; she had never felt hate for herself until she realizes his feelings toward her birthmark. He asks if she has ever considered having it removed. This is not something she never looked at this way before, considering that other people in her life, especially men, had always seen it as a “charm”. Aylmer was not trying to just get rid of Georgiana's birthmark, rather, he was trying to change nature, He believed he had control over it. That's where things took a toll for and up for the worst. Aylmer had a hard time accepting imperfections in life.

According to Terri Chung, a utopia is "a place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions" and a dystopia is a futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control." The first time that the term utopia was used was in the 1516 novel of the same name. Utopia portrays a seemingly perfect society