Dark Romanticism In 'The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a descendant of Puritan ancestors. Since his family suffered a long and shameful violent history, Hawthorne added a “w” in his last name when he was in his early 20s. William Hawthorne, one of the first Puritan settlers who arrived in New England in 1630 was among Hawthorne’s ancestors. His father was a ship captain who died of yellow fever when he was just four years old. Due to his father’s death, his mother became very protective of him and left him in very isolated settings. Hawthorne was a very shy and a book worm which is also visible in his life as a writer. A leg injury at an early age left Nathaniel immobile for a several months during which time he acquired a ravenous appetite for reading and adjusted his sights on becoming a writer. With the help of his wealthy uncles financially, Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College from 1821 to 1825. While going to college, Nathaniel Hawthorne missed his mother and two sisters very

It is a portrait of society which shows the importance of science due to its development during the eighteenth century. Hawthorne’s stories explore how people being inherently good, can easily divert to committing sin due to lack of sensible judgement. Like many of his other works, the “The Birthmark” also take place in the past century. In this story, Hawthorne uses Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory, Setting, and Dark Romanticism to communicate lots of ideas about the range of themes like the power of science and a message about what happens to the unsuccessful attempt of human fight against nature. The message that Hawthorne is trying to convey through “The Birthmark,” probably has connections to the common culture and the social dislocations due to industrialization during that time. The consequences of altering what is given by nature is far worse than accepting the call of