The birthmark is a compelling story of one man’s obsession with his scientific ability to produce perfection. Aylmer, a scientist, is married to a Georgiana who is a very beautiful woman. Not long after getting married Georgiana’s birthmark, which is in the shape of a tiny handprint on her check, really begins to bother Aylmer. He sees it as a flaw in an other wise perfect woman. Georgiana knows that her birthmark disgusts him and, having grown up not bother at all by it, begins to hate it herself. He asks if she has ever considered having it removed. This is not something she has considered since other people in her life, especially men, have always seen it as a “charm”. Aylmer being an amazing scientist almost sees himself as god and feels that he has the power to remove this imperfection. Georgiana, bothered by her husband’s reaction to her birthmark, agrees to let him try to rid her of it. She is taken to his laboratory and he immediately begins to experiment. After she finds Aylmer’s book of experiments, which all end in failure, she for the first time, has some doubt about how this will work and confronts him. He reassures her and begins to try a multitude of methods, with the help of his assistant Aminadab, which do not work. At one point, there are several experiments going on and he even refers to himself as a “sorcerer” (Hawthorne 232). Finally, he produces a potion, which she drinks, and the birthmark begins to disappear! Slowly though, even as the experiment is working, Georgiana is fading away. He finds that ultimately, the birthmark was connected to her very soul and in his trying to act god like he actually kills her. Really this short story just proves that science has its limits and no man should try to act like G...
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...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.
Works Cited
1) Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Birthmark." Literature and the Writing Process. compiled. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, Rober Funk, Linda Coleman. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
2) "NameMeanings." Name-Meanings.com. N.p., 2004. Web. 26 Mar 2011. http://www.name-meanings.com/.
3) Hall, Michael. "Generation Cobweb." Review of The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne. N.p., 12-29-2011. Web. 27 Mar 2011. .
4) "shmoop." The Birthmark The Birthmark Summary. N.p., 2011. Web. 27 Mar 2011. http://www.shmoop.com/birthmark/detailed-summary.html.
5) "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." The Birth-Mark. N.p., 03-06-2011. Web. 27 Mar 2011.
In the short story, “The Birthmark” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters, foreshadowing, symbolism, and other rhetorical devices to alert people of the consequences of man having the power to control and alter nature. Additionally, through his skillful usage of diction, Hawthorne warns of the effects of seeking perfection through science. In “The Birthmark”, Aylmer, a man devoted entirely to science, marries Georgiana, a beautiful young woman with a single imperfection. Georgiana’s imperfection bears the resemblance of a tiny crimson hand and is visible on her left cheek. The birthmark becomes the object of Aylmer’s obsession and he resolves to use his scientific prowess to correct “what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work.” He succeeds in removing the birthmark; however, he unfortunately causes his wife’s death in the process. Through “The Birthmark”, Hawthorne suggests that nothing paradisiacal can exist on this earth, and that being imperfect is just part of being human.
In the short story The Birth-mark, Aylmer: scientist, philosopher and perfectionist, is married to Georgiana, a woman of unthinkable beauty and possibly the closest woman to ever reach perfection. However, the tiny hand shaped mark that lay on the surface of her cheek aggravates Aylmer and he thinks day and night of how he may get rid of it in order to help Georgiana reach the perfection that he longs for. The actions that he proceeds to take, prove that he is indeed the villain and the one to blame for Georgiana’s death. He does so by tearing her down with crude words, making Georgiana feel insecure and self-conscious about her outward appearance as well as keeping his failed experiments a secret to her.
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.
I believe that both of these stories speak volumes about the nature of man. It tells the story of two beautiful women who have flaws. In the Birthmark, Georgiana is described as very beautiful and sought after by many men despite the fact that she has a small hand shaped birthmark on her face. Her husband sees the birthmark as a flaw. In Rappaccini’s Daughter, Beatrice is also described as very beautiful. Her father, however, has used science to turn her into basically a poisonous plant. This describes many things to me. I feel like Hawthorne is trying to talk about how the eye of some people is never satisfied in The Birthmark. In Rappaccini’s Daughter, the father seems hell-bent on controlling and manipulating people in sadistic ways only
& 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
It would be no surprise if the uprising of positivism in Hawthorne’s time influenced him to write this story. The reader must keep in mind that Hawthorne wrote this story in a time where many perhaps frowned upon scientific research. If he would have written the story in this current time period, it might have been written differently. “The Birthmark” attacks science in a way by presenting it as an unstoppable force determined to find a solution and perfection to everything. Science cannot completely perfect nature but it can try to improve it.
Men and women will always strive for perfection whether it is in themselves or in each other. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegory “The Birthmark, “ the audience is informed of a young couple, Aylmer and Georgiana. Then soon transpires into a husband's obsession with his wife's flaw, “The birthmark.” The young husband gets too wrapped up in fixing his wife that he forgets to show her attention and love. Incapable of feeling anything but determination to make his wife perfect; he uses a potion to remove the birthmark. The potion successfully begins to fade the birthmark however, the potion also fades his wife's life as well. . Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to give “The Birthmark” a deeper meaning, foreshadowing to build suspense, and third
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.
After a deeper analysis of the characters in the story “The Birthmark” it is easy to see there are multiple hidden meanings throughout. The characteristics and actions of Aylmer, Georgiana, Amenidab and Nature help us to see deeper into the characters and see their true motivations and meanings in the story.
The story is about Georgianna and how she learns through Aylmer to hate her birthmark and therefore herself. In the beginning of the book Georgianna and her husband are talking about the birthmark and how she considers it to be something of a charm and then Aylmer tells her that maybe on another face it would be okay, but on a face as perfect as hers it’s hideous. This makes Georgianna very upset and hurts her deeply, it makes her think less of herself just because of a silly birthmark. Which before now and before her horrible husband brought an attention to it had been nothing more than what it is: a birthmark. She even begins to bring the birthmark up without even being prompted by her husband. When they are sitting together one evening
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
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
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...
In Hawthorne’s story The Birthmark, the main character, Aylmer thinks his wife is the most beautiful person in the world and the only feature that keeps her from being perfect is a birthmark that is upon her cheek. When Aylmer mentions the birthmark to Georgiana, his wife, she becomes upset that her husband does not think he loves her, because of her birthmark. He tries many different ways to remove the mark, but all end with no solution to the problem. When Aylmer believes he has finally cracked the code of removing the unsightly blemish his concoction ends up killing his wife, for as the birthmark faded so did her life. Thus violating nature to remove the mark, committing a sin because he killed his wife, and standing alone since he killed the woman he loved. In The Artist of the Beautiful, main character, Owen Warland spent many years working to achieve the most beautiful creation he could make. Owen threw away his life and a chance at love just because he became obsessed with achieving the most beautiful creation. Owen later found himself disappointed even
Though she consents to having her birthmark removed, Georgiana’s initial reaction to Aylmer’s shock at her facial defect is to redden “with momentary anger” before dissolving into tears (645); though her secondary reaction fits into the stereotypical female response to a physical critique, the fact that her initial reaction is anger implies that she is more than merely a docile housewife. However, her actions still reflect those of a docile housewife; when he confines her to a dimly lit apartment, she acquiesces solemnly and quietly spends her days doing as Aylmer