The Birthmark Quotes

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.

Finally, the authors demonstrated theme by using the setting of the excerpts. To start, McCourt states ”You can look in people’s windows and see how cozy it is in their kitchens with fires glowing.” in this exerpt calles Angela’s Ashes. Angela is jelous of the way that the other families get to live a happy life, but she has to steal from the happy families in order to make her own happy. This shows how when you are not as lucky as others, you tend to do things to make youself feel better than them and you may hurt them in order to do so. Also, Petry excerpt called The Street

(Chapter 8, paragraph 3), and “Our face was not like the faces of our brothers, for we felt no pity when looking upon it”. (Chapter 8, paragraph 6) are some examples of how the quote above exemplifies a theme. Also, it exemplifies a theme because he is his own person in the Uncharted Forest. “We thought suddenly that we could lie thus as long as we wished, and we laughed aloud at the thought.” (Chapter 8, paragraph 2), and “Our arms stretched out of their own will, and our body whirled and whirled, till it raised a wind to rustle through the leaves of the bushes” (Chapter 8, paragraph 2) are some examples of how he is his own person in the uncharted

The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to communicate some important ideas about a variety of themes, he articulates a few weighty themes around this brief argument: the struggle between science and nature. In a story full of successful and almost magical scientific experiments, it is intact nature itself that is more powerful than any creation made by man. As is to be expected, this path to perfection also includes the creation of life and the victory over death. In the birthmark Aylmer does not see, like others who pretended Georgiana's hand before him, a singularity that accentuates her immaculate beauty. He sees in that crimson little hand an indication of decay and death. And also of immorality and sin, in tune with the belief

“The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic and a terrible waste of time” (Edwin Bliss). In The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, perfectionism is an evident theme. Aylmer, a perfectionist, is introduced along with his beautiful wife. Suddenly, Aylmer is blinded by Georgiana’s single flaw: a deep crimson hand, laying ever so gracefully on her left cheek. He can then only see her birthmark, and he becomes obsessed with finding a way to fix her. He is so tormented by this that her crushed self-esteem does not phase him. Hawthorne exaggerates Aylmer’s flaws in order to illustrate the theme of the imprudence of striving for perfection.

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.

Can you imagine a world without imperfections? A world where everyone is perfect is unattainable, but if scientifically there were a way to eliminate imperfections and life threatening diseases, presumably, many people would be curious. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark,” the author explores the idea of perfection with the help of science. Modern examples of this are mentioned in articles posted on NPR.org and time.com, genetically modifying DNA in human embryos has become largely controversial. By using a method called CRISPR, first, it identifies the defective gene, and then it cuts and repairs the gene, not only for that embryo, but for generations to come. With all the scientific knowledge that we are gaining, we

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.

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 Nathaniel Hawthorne’s text The Birth Mark, he expresses human nature and its drive for perfection. In this text, Aylmer is very persistent to remove his lover’s birthmark from her cheek. Hawthorne states, “‘Georgiana’, said he, ‘has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed’” (Hawthorne 418). Aylmer’s drive for perfection causes him to turn to science to try and find the answers to remove the mark from his wife’s face, initially seeking to make her “perfect” in human natures belief. By the end of this text, his wife is corrupted by his persistence to make her “perfect” and ends up passing away due to the complications that Aylmer laid upon her. “‘Aylmer-dearest Aylmer-I am dying’” (Hawthorne 429), quotes Hawthorne. Aylmer’s drive for perfection for his wife was so overpowering that he aims too high and puts science ahead of his love for his wife. This drive for perfection is still a very prominent in human nature and why humans behave as they do today. The drive for perfection is the reason

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.

C. JoyBell once said that “It is when you lose sight of yourself, that you lose your way. To keep your truth in sight you must keep yourself in sight and the world to you should be a mirror to reflect to you your image; the world should be a mirror that you reflect upon.” The writer of this quotation is telling a reader that if you lose sight of your direction in life that you will lose the way you are going. But to keep you and your truth insight you must reflect upon your actions in the world, and the effect that they have. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the short stories “The Birthmark” and “Young Goodman Brown”, both of them with contesting puritan views. The main character in “The Birthmark” is Aylmer and the protagonist in “Young Goodman Brown” is Goodman Brown. Both of these characters do not embody this quote because they, both, lose sight of their true selves because they are being persuaded by outside forces; however, they struggle to regain their true path because they fail to reflect on their actions.

“The Birth-Mark” a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a tragic love story about a man of science named Aylmer and his beautiful wife Georgiana. Aylmer a man who loves perfection wants to remove his wife birthmark from her face. Georgiana was born with a with a birth mark of the color red and shaped like a little hand on her face. Aylmer loves his wife, but he can not stand the mark on her face. Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing the mark from her face and eventually ends up killing his wife in the process. Hawthorne uses the main conflict in the story to drive his type and style of narration, figurative use of language, and imagery and symbols to write his tale.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was the author of multiple short stories and poems, all of them in the Dark Romantic genre. Hawthorne gained his inspiration at home with his mother, sisters, and his wife, Sophia Peabody who was a poet as well. In his writing, one of his strongest traits was his use of allegory. Hawthorne often uses allegory in his short stories to add a different perspective onto his many works. In his short story, “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne utilizes foreshadowing and symbolism to portray the allegorical lesson that striving for perfection results in troubling outcomes.

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.