The Birth-Mark

short story that I have chosen to examine will be “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The reason I picked this story was because it had a very interesting plot and had a great meaning behind its symbolism. In my opinion, the symbolism in “The Birth-Mark” seems to be something different than any other. The mark on Georgiana represents in Aylmer’s mind “...his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death…(Hawthorne 342).” In reality, the mark is a symbol of imperfection that is beautiful. It can

the short story, “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is a very interesting and intellectual theme throughout this narrative. The author does a very inspiring job using different elements in the story such as, symbolism and irony. The author’s main theme of the story is striving for perfection and the conflict of science against nature. Thus Hawthorne writes this narrative to provide the reader what happens if we rely too much on achieving supremacy. In “The Birth-Mark” the story explains

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birth-Mark is full of symbolism that all play into a central theme. The birth-mark itself, contrast between the lab and boudoir, and Aylmer’s dream all help to build a theme of science versus nature. Georgiana’s birth mark is the most obvious bit of symbolism. There is a small mark “…in the center of Georgiana's left cheek there was a singular mark, deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her face.” (Hawthorne 341). The birth mark represents humanity

In the parable “The Birth-Mark,” Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals his perspective of imperfection and depicts it as a virtue through the Crimson Hand in Georgiana’s cheek; he also shows his belief of the unobtainable ideal through the downfall of Aylmer and Georgiana, caused by Aylmer’s persistence in obtaining perfection. Hawthorne’s point of view of imperfections as part of beauty takes part in the second half of his story through the birth-mark on Georgiana’s cheek. Once Aylmer and Georgiana have

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

The Birth-Mark The Consequences of Manipulation “The Birth-Mark” was written and published in 1843 by Nathanial Hawthorne. This short story, as many of the works of Hawthorne, showcases his apparent disdain for the transcendental movement. As this story is read a person can definitely see the mockery of scientific advancements as the protagonist of the story becomes obsessed with his wife’s appearance and his perception of a flaw and his use of scientific experiments to rid her of the stain (Idol)

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. Aylmer was a man knowledgeable scientist had an obsession for perfection in all aspects of life. Aylmer also viewed his wife as being flawless, except for the hand-like birth-mark that appeared on Georgiana’s

In the short story “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the birth-mark is explicitly a symbol of imperfection and represents different kinds of imperfection. First, in the beginning part of the story, the main character, Aylmer, remarks of the birth-mark “as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (291). His wife, Georgiana, is described as being very beautiful and almost perfect, if not for the birth-mark. It represents human imperfection and mortality, according to Aylmer “it was the

But get rid of my flaws and there would be no one left.” Sarah Vowel’s quote is precisely what Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” Symbolism means. Hawthorne uses Archetype symbolism in his short story when he talks about Georgiana’s birthmark. Symbolism is very important in the story because that is what it is essentially about. In Hawthorne’s short story “The Birth-mark” he uses Georgiana’s birthmark as a symbol of mortality since it is impossible for mortals to be created “perfect”. An example

Crystal Rodarte Dr. Sagerson ENGL 1302 February 8, 2015 Literary Analysis of “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Obsession can drive even the sanest person insane. In the story, “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Aylmer, a scientist, is driven to extreme measures when he becomes obsessed with the small hand shape birthmark on his wife Georgiana’s face. In “The Birth-mark”, Hawthorne uses symbolism and characters to show that obsession and fixation can make a person focus all their attention