Tragic flaw in Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” Essay

In Hawthorne's story "The Birthmark," he tells us of the life of a beautiful women named Georgina. Unfortunately, Georgina had only one thing wrong thing her. Her one imperfection was the hand shaped birthmark that was perfectly placed upon her left cheek and even though she considered it her "Charm that I was simple enough to imagine" (334) her husband thought otherwise. Aylmer says multiple times throughout the story that he loved absolutely everything about his wife except her birthmark. In this short story though, her birthmark represents her morality and makes her human. This teaches us that everything in nature is flawed in some way and the mark was her's. Looking deeper into the birthmark itself, the hand shape of it represents the

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 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.

It somehow contains the concept of beauty, and in the story it's easy to notice that many man found this birthmark attractive, and so did Georgiana, but looking at her husband, who obviously hates this mark, she starts to believe that it's ugly. The beauty is very subjective; it was created by people, and can be changed by them. Thus, it is impossible to be perfect for there always will be those who can find flaws in any creature. Moreover, it is known that 'Perfection leaves no room for improvement". Thus, flaws are part of human beings, and the desire to go against it is

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

He must have known this at a basic level because he had given up his original lab “to the care of an assistant” (Hawthorne 398) and Aminadab “executed all the details of his master’s experiments” (Hawthorne 402). Aylmer’s experiments presented in the story are always a failure, which foreshadows that his attempts at removal of the birthmark will also fail. The Birthmark becomes a symbol of his ineptitude as a scientist as he continually fails to address and overcome the birthmark. It is strange to think that he never considers the possible correct coarse of action is to consult a surgeon or some other medical professional. This lack of clarity and self-awareness strongly points to Aylmer’s inability to understand his strengths and weakness in his abilities and further reinforces his “unwilling recognition of the truth … that our great creative Mother … is yet severely careful to keep her own secrets” (Hawthorne

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.

simple birthmark where the obsession is because he perceives it in a more symbolic way. Georgiana has often been told that the mark on her cheek is a “charm” but Aylmer does not think so where he said, “No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect, which

Hawthorne has created a lot of characters that are unlike the Aylmer’s who never leave and have no existence outside of the laboratory. This marriage was a unique but very odd one at that with Mr. Aylmer identifying his wife’s birthmark as an imperfection and then trying to improve her flaws after judging the way she appeared facially. The nineteenth century was known for woman to change their appearances if men did

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)

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark," there are many views on the need for science and its advances. Hawthorne's protagonist, Aylmer, illustrates his own personal assessment of science. The story is based on the idea that science can solve all of humanities ills and problems. Hawthorne believes that science is overrunning life. Aylmer is consumed by his passion of overtake Mother Nature. The story shows how Aylmer's passion leads to not only his downfall but that of his wife Georgiana as well. The belief that science can solve and do anything is one of ignorance because it totally disregards the human element of spirituality.

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

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.

How can humans perfect ourselves? What are the repercussions of man’s desire to conquer nature’s will? In his short story, “The Birthmark”, author Nathaniel Hawthorne attempts to shed light on potential answers to these questions. He especially emphasizes the latter question, prompting his audience to wonder, “Can - and should - man attempt to “perfect” nature’s will?” when the main character, a scientist named Alymer, becomes determined to remove a birthmark from his wife’s face. Hawthorne uses Alymer’s obsession to represent dualism. Furthermore, given the fatal results of Alymer’s experiments, Hawthorne seems to suggest the failures of dualism and the untouchable monism of existence.

It is impossible to be truly perfect on this world, and human lives are finite. It is “the fatal flaw of humanity.” Here it is made clear that Georgiana is more than human, for she is described as being almost absolutely perfect, if it were not for the mark on her cheek. A mark, which Aylmer “might have felt his affection heightened by the prettiness of this mimic hand,” stating that even her “fatal flaw” is beautiful. If she were human, she could not be so perfect. Before Aylmer became obsessed with her birthmark, she was extremely happy. She loved everything, and found beauty in most everything as well. No human can truly be so optimistic, no matter how they may seem. However, once Aylmer started to shame her and tear down her self-esteem over the small mark on her cheek, which could have been beautiful, Georgiana became depressed. Despite this, she still tried to see the beauty in everything, looking through the eyes of an angel at a world she only knew from afar.