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Submissive Women Women, for the longest time, have been under men in the social hierarchy, society, and in politics. Even now, women are thought to still be under men in certain ways, but in the 19th century it was very different from now. “The Birthmark” shows a good example of how women were thought of back then. Georgiana, wife to Aylmer, is that example. Based on 19th century standards, Georgiana is the exemplar of a successful wife, based on her obsequiousness. Back in the 19th century, women were thought to be naturally weaker than men, but morally stronger. According to professional medical theories at the time, women were thought to be naturally sick while men were robust, aggressive, and healthy (Hartman). In “The Birthmark”, Aylmer …show more content…
Their God-given role was to be a wife, mother, housekeeper, and a guardian of the moral purity of everybody in the house. The home would be a shelter for women from the harsh working world (Hartman). Though Georgiana had not had the chance to have kids yet, as she was just married, she would have been the keeper of the children. It is highly likely that she stayed in the house and did all of the cooking and cleaning for Aylmer. Part of the female role is to be submissive and obedient to men, especially their husbands. Georgiana over-did her submission when she says this to her husband, “‘It has made me worship you more than ever’” (Hawthorne 7). Women in the 19th century did not have to worship their husbands, but Georgiana is truly dedicated to …show more content…
Though they did not gain the right to vote until the 1920’s, they did open people’s minds about it and about men’s alcoholism. The Women’s Christian Temperance Movement (WCTU) addressed the damage of men’s alcoholism on their families. They were able to shut down 3000 saloons, which was a man’s place that included prostitution, all for the well being of the home (Hartman). The WCTU in its early years wanted nothing to do with “extreme” causes of votes for women. Frances Willard pointed out that if women were to be effective in the cause of temperance, they needed the power to vote. Her ideas were resisted at first, but it was stated that once prohibition has been achieved, women’s public work would still not be accomplished until they had the vote (Hartman). In the article called “Lives of Women”, Dorothy Hartman describes how women’s causes have changed, “And although the WCTU never did become a major force in the quest for the vote, it was an excellent example of how women’s involvement in a cause close to the home and to the traditional sphere of women could lead women to support causes that were neither traditional nor home-related” (Hartman). Everything that these women did was for the well being of the home, not so much to break from tradition of man being over woman.Georgiana is not at all a rebel (which makes her a more successful wife), but there is one instance where she takes a stand. She tells Aylmer off saying
During this time period women were not respected at all and were belittled by all med in their lives. Even though men don’t appreciate what women they still did as they were told. In particular, “Women have an astoundingly long list of responsibilities and duties – th...
“The Birthmark” and “My Last Duchess” are two very different works, from two completely different genres. “The Birthmark” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “My Last Duchess” is a poem written by Robert Browning. Although, these are two different genres, they have very similar themes and parallels. These works explore the problems with power and control in marriages at two different time periods and places and shows what it can drive a man to do. “The Birthmark” has a lot of symbolism, imagery and allegory. This story is about a pretty normal newlywed couple, Aylmer and Georgiana. “Such a union accordingly took place, and was attended with truly remarkable consequences and a deeply impressive moral. (2)” This quote is very interesting because the word “union” means many things. From one perspective it can mean the marriage between Aylmer and Georgiana, and on the other hand it could refer to the union of Aylmer’s love for Georgiana and science. Aylmer is thoroughly devoted to his career in science, and he was recently married to Georgiana so he is just getting to know what being married is like. The birthmark is the conflict in their marriage and in the story, Aylmer isn’t into Georgiana’s birthmark and he requests for her to allow him to remove it. He soon realizes that taking off the birthmark isn’t as simple as it seems because it is interwoven into Georgiana’s face. Georgiana then allows Aylmer to remove the birthmark, even though she knows he isn’t a successful scientist. The liquid that Aylmer has Georgiana drink slowly kills her, and Aylmer is shown to be a complete fool. The actual birthmark itself is the main symbol used throughout the story. “My Last Duchess” is a poem about a Duke who showing someone ...
In conclusion the theme of The Birthmark is expressed within the story. “The crimson hand expressed the ineludible gripe in which mortality clutches the highest and purest of earthly mould, degrading them into kindred with the lowest, and even with the very brutes, like whom their visible frames return to dust. In this manner, selecting it as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death.” (Hawthorne 359). This story tells a lot about human nature, the most important one is that human beings are naturally imperfect creatures, trying
& nbsp; The Mark of Ugliness In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, there is indeed a representation of Although the other underlying personality is not represented within himself, it is rather portrayed through his assistant Aminadab. Since Aylmer is lacking so much within himself, he is unable to appreciate his wife even though she was dying. Basically, if Aylmer had the sensibility of Aminadab, he could have realized how beautiful she was even with her birthmark. During
The movement for female right is one of the important social issue and it is ongoing reaction against the traditional male definition of woman. In most civilizations there was very unequal treatment between women and men with the expectation being that women should simply stay in the house and let the men support them. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, and Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, are two well-known plays that give rise to discussions over male-female relationships. In both stories, they illustrate the similar perspectives on how men repress women in their marriages; men consider that women should obey them and their respective on their wives is oppressed showing the problems in two marriages that described in two plays. Therefore, in this essay, I will compare two similar but contrast stories; A Doll's House and Trifles, focusing on how they describe the problems in marriage related to women as victims of suppressed right.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”, is the story of a crazed scientist whose strive for perfection not only leads to the death of his beautiful wife, but the attempt of man to have power over nature. It follows the story of Aylmer and his obsession with removing the birthmark off his beautiful wife, Georgiana. “His unnatural fixation to his wife’s birthmark even consumes him in his sleep as he dreams of cutting it off much like scraping an apple off its skin.” (Snodgrass 29). This narrative explores the themes of perfection, and the conflict between science and the natural world.
The Birthmark and Symbolism Cloudy headed and conflicted describes Georgina, one of the main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark.” In this eerie short story Georgina, who is seemingly perfect, is convinced by her husband, Aylmer, who is a scientist obsessed with perfection, that the small birthmark on her face is her only source of imperfection. While others have told her that this birthmark is a sign of magical endowments, Aylmer is disgusted by the sight of the birthmark, referring to it as a defect (Hawthorne 304-5). Georgina is taken aback by this comment and resents her husband for it. As the story progresses, Aylmer convinces Georgina to allow him to try and rid her of the mark.
The memoir gives a unique perspective of the noblewoman in this period of Russian society. A male-centered society made it difficult for women to shape and control their lives, however it was possible through means of gaining respect. The society respected woman who had a virtuous demeanor. Especially, those who lived with an immoral spouse and still were able to show virtuous characteristics. Anna is able to gain the respect of people higher in authority than her husband receiving special treatment for various requests. Through her marriage, she recognizes that her husband has rights that she doesn’t have in shaping and controlling her life privately and especially publicly. This society causes for women to depend on men completely.
Every relationship is different. Weather one may be in a relationship with a boy, or just a friend, it is different. Even though they are different, the characters in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “IND AFF” by Fay Weldon are in similar relationships. That is, the male is dominant over the female, and the woman thinks the man is her knight in shining armor. In the beginning of “IND AFF” the unnamed woman thinks her professor, Peter, who she is having an affair with, is her ticket to creating a good thesis and higher standings. Similarly, in “The Birthmark,” Georgiana thinks her husband is her ticket to flawless beauty because he tells her he will remove her birthmark. Obviously, this is not how relationships operate in today’s society. These two relationships compare and contrast with each other as well as with relationships in today’s day-and-age.
...n including those of physicians and attorneys remained close to women, and the men still accounted for more than 95% of all of the doctors in 1900’s.” Women always believed that they were more than just your average housewives. Single workingwomen also began to doubt their virtues in life, because of the stereotypes that they were given based on their past occupations.
“The Birthmark” is a short story written by author Nathaniel Hawthorne. This short story is filled with symbolism and destructive criticism. It follows the scientist Aylmer and his obsession of removing his wife Georgina’s birthmark. The crimson hand-shaped birthmark on the face of an otherwise perfect, beautiful woman contains deep meanings. Through the use of symbolism, Hawthorne demonstrates the issues and themes of the unattainability of perfection, science and nature, humanity’s flaws, and mortality.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” unfolds during the nineteenth century; a time when women had rights unequal to those of men, and were also treated as property without value by their husbands. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s narrative offers a negative portrayal of how men in these patriarchal societies take advantage of the women. “The Birth-Mark” portrays Aylmer and Georgiana in a negative light when Georgiana resembles the patriarchal “good girl,” and surrenders herself to her husband. Readers can distinguish that Aylmer’s obsession to perfect Georgiana mirrors a sexist society where men are unable to accept women as equal or as more than an object.
The period is the early 19th century; those involved and discussed in this essay are for the most part Russian gentry. Increasingly relaxed social mores in the “developed” world, including the greater freedom to choose to whom one gets married to as well as increased women’s sexual rights, were much more uncommon during the time that War and Peace takes place. Tolstoy, an outspoken critic of arranged marriages, uses the characters in his novel as a way of exploring the various types of love, and in general the interactions between men and women of the time. This essay will attempt to focus on these relationships in an effort to get a better idea of Tolstoy’s views on the proper roles that men and women should play as friends, lovers, or spouses. By exploring the male/female relationships among the noble families, a detailed picture of both the expectations and realms of acceptable behavior will be established.
1. Our society tends to be obsessed with the idea of physical perfection. How does our society manifest that obsession? How is the 'Birthmark'; an early version of our modern obsession with physical perfection?
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.