A man is never satiated; he is constantly striving for perfection, imprudent about eventuality. Such is the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark." An escape from reality, Romanticism's superiority over Rationalism, a fascination for God's revelation make Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" Romantic literature.
When the quest for human feat opposes divine setup, it has no chance of prospering. In fact, trying to flee from reality and intervening nature recurrently leads to upsetting consequences. In this short narrative, it is salient to discern "that the birthmark is just that: a birthmark, that is, something physical; and a birthmark, that is, something not acquired but inherent, one of Georgiana's givens, in fact, equivalent to" the exquisite personage (Fetterley 2). Furthermore, Aylmer's revulsion for the birthmark is importunate. In other words, it can be said that he is unable to accept the fact that nature cannot be changed or altered. A literary critic proposes that, "[Aylmer] reads [the birthmark] as a sign of the inevitable imperfection of all things in nature and sees in it a challenge to man's ability to transcend nature" (Fetterley 1). In addition, Aylmer is so haughty of his knowledge that he remains unwavering in doing what he should never have done and says, "Unless all my science have deceived me, it cannot fail" (Hawthorne 12). His "past experiences, his dreams, every evidence tells him that this experiment will be fatal for Georgiana, yet he proceeds" (Eckstein 1). Nevertheless, his nightmares about the pygmy birthmark constrain him to emancipate himself from any kind of rules leading him to perform the fatal experiment of eliminating something that is inherent and indigenous. Beside...
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...ect all along. Surely, the aim of scientific knowledge is to try to make the world a better and convenient place to live, not to learn to play with God's revelation.
The birthmark consecutively symbolizes nature, exquisiteness and demise. Likewise, nature places numerous flaws and shortcomings on us to symbolize that no person can reach perfection. What is the lesson behind this moral allegory? The world's destiny, howsoever tragic it is, is not only under the direct control of God but also nature. Man has absolutely nothing to do with destiny. Hawthorne wants us to comprehend that happiness should be more inclined toward spirituality and affection than worldly gains. Nathaniel Hawthorne beautifully proposes, "Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."
One of the major themes in "The Birthmark" is man’s obsession with perfection. Through the birthmark on Georgiana, Hawthorne is able to portray that nature didn’t intend for things to be perfect. People are not perfect because the human condition is imperfect. Aylmer’s desire to make his wife perfect is doomed to failure because perfection, Hawthorne suggests, is the exclusive province of heaven that cannot be found on earth. Because she becomes an ideal being, completely unmarred, Georgiana is no longer able to exist in this
Freedom is an entity that people desire to have in life. Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Birth-Mark and Wilfred Owens in Disabled both have similar plots about two peoples concern for nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne The Birth-Mark focuses on the importance of nature. In the story “The Birth-Mark,” nature is said to be the most compelling thing man has made. The main character Aylmer, a scientist, is obsessed with perfection and nature. Aylmer is trying to live a life of fantasy because of his desire for perfection. In addition, Aylmer marries a woman by the name of Georgiana. Georgiana is a high- spirited woman who has one imperfection, the red birth-mark on her left cheek. Aylmer desires to have a perfect wife. Aylmer believes he can fix his wife’s birth-mark to create perfection. When in actuality, Aylmer is going to be left in sorrow. Aylmer thinks that his wife’s birth-mark is interfering with nature. The poem Disabled has a similar plot. The value of nature is an important theme is Wilfred poem disabled. The narrator is a disabled veteran whose legs were amputated because of the war. The narrator describes his agony about the war. The soldier is suffering from discomfort, depression, and disappointment. He describes his mental and physical disability. Moreover, he talks about his girlfriend Meg. The poem Disabled expresses the value of nature referencing the war. The story teller believes that war interrupts nature. In life, a person theoretically lives a long life then dies. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Wilfred Owens both believe man interrupt nature. Wilfred Owen and Nathaniel Hawthorne both have comparing and contrasting themes despite their different times in publication of their writings. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Wilfred Owens show the...
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Some of his most popular short stories include “The Birthmark,” “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” and “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” “The Birthmark,” which was published in March of 1843, is a story about a beautiful girl named Georgiana who has a red birthmark on her cheek. She is described as flawless throughout the community, but the hand-shaped birthmark smears a sense of imperfection onto her otherwise perfect body. Throughout the story, her husband, Aylmer, attempts to remove the birthmark and control nature in the process. “Rappaccini’s Daughter” is centered around a young student named Giovanni who arrives in Padua to study medicine. He soon
There are numerous instances of ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”; this essay hopes to explore critics’ comments on that problem within the tale, as well as to analyze it from this reader’s standpoint.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark, he uses unperfected beauty to confirm that if God’s creations are meddled with the product is harmful. A scientist, Alymer is married to a beautiful women named Georgiana whose only flaw is a birthmark on her left cheek.
...in his trying to act god like he actually kills her. The Birthmark is a story of how one man can think a little too highly of himself when he tries to change what is not meant to be changed.
It is hard to say that one is human and perfect at the same time. Human beings are not capable of achieving perfection; if that would be so, humans would stop being humans. By nature the human race is full of flaws, some appearing as early as in the womb. From defects in the body, to defects in the mind, to the mistakes that one makes in quotidian life, it is impossible to deny that human imperfection exists. To try to manipulate humans into perfection is not only impossible, but it takes away the very essence of being a human being. The short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorn, illustrates this teaching through the character of Aylmer, an ambitious and devoted scientist who is appalled by his wife Georgiana’s birthmark, believing it to be a perceivable sign of her human flaws and eagerly waits to remove it from her cheek. This story raises riveting questions such as, what is humanity all about, can human beings ever achieve perfection through science, is Hawthorn attacking science or a wider issue, and more significantly, should science take the place of God. Through the use of symbolism in “The Birthmark”, Hawthorn indirectly implies that imperfection is an essential part of being human and that science should not interfere; thus he is hinting his personal views toward science and its limitations over nature.
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.
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.
Science, in this particular story, is represented by Aylmer who thinks of himself as a great scientist. He conducts a scientific experiment in the need to remove his wife’s birthmark. He tries everything he knows to create a magical potion to remove Georgiana’s flaw. Georgiana on the other hand represents nature. Georgiana represents the closest state to perfection that man can aspire to, but her husband is still not content. Feeling that it will be the only possible way to save her marriage, she gives in and tells him to prepare the experiment. In the need to impress her husband, she allows him to experiment with the removal of her birthmark regardless of the risk, or the consequence she might face. In this story, the power of nature prevails in the end. Even though Georgiana is unable to impress her husband with her unique mark, her birthmark captivates almost anyone who looks at it. In the desire to control nature, Aylmer kills his wife. The fate of the world, no matter how dark it is, is in the hands of nature, not science or man. Instead of trying to pursue the ultimate power and trying to change the laws of nature through science, one should pursue happiness in
& 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
Every man before has always complimented Georgiana on her sweet imperfection. People would tell her all the time that true beauty was in that little blemish. Aylmer, being the man of Science wanted to change what nature had created. Typically, we all know better than to go against Nature, but not Aylmer. Georgiana finally agreed to let her husband remove the birthmark due to a frightening dream Aylmer had encountered. Aylmer started working on a potion to remove Georgiana 's birthmark. As soon as Georgiana sipped the potion, she suddenly falls into a deep coma-like state. The birthmark magically disappears from Georgina 's face. However, as the birthmark fades away, so does Georgina 's life. Hawthorne uses Georgiana 's character to symbolize beauty in this story. Georgiana is already made perfect in the eyes of Nature and all other men, expect Aylmer. Aylmer, representing Science, tries to change Georgiana 's beauty that Nature has created. Aylmer was successful in removing the birthmark, but unsuccessful in keeping Georgiana alive. Aylmer was too intertwined in Science to realize that Georgiana was perfectly made by Nature. Nature paid Aylmer back for trying to correct Georgiana 's face by taking the life of his beloved
Hawthorne, Nathaniel.”The Birth-Mark.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 340-351. Print.
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 tone adopted by Hawthorne from the inception of the narrative toward Aylmer urges the reader to respect Aylmer’s scientific ambition—directly his triumph of head over heart, but indirectly his objectification of Georgiana and subsequent attempts to fix something that she never thought was a flaw. Not only is Aylmer’s obsession with getting rid of her birthmark selfish in that he does it for “the sake of giving himself peace” (647) rather than any desire to make his wife happy, he also admits to feeling guilt over his tyrannical treatment of her. For example, his “horror and disgust” in response to her facial blight rarely escapes her notice, and when she reacts poorly to his “convulsive shudder,” he attempts to soothe her and “release her mind from the burden of actual things” (650) as if she is an empty-headed infant in need of a pacifier. Furthermore, in response to her desperate request for its removal, he isolates her from humanity, administers potentially harmful concoctions into her rooms and body without her knowledge, and ultimately—and rapturously—succeeds in shrinking the mark at the cost of her