The Perfection Of Perfection In Georgiana's 'The Birth Mark'

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What is flawless? In the mortal world, perfection is simply an unobtainable idea that is constantly yearned for. Society has an ever-changing notion of what perfection should look like. Considering that society, as a mass of people and opinions, does not possess a physical essence, it can sneakily force these ideas into people 's subconscious. The person who is victimized by these unearthly standards is not at fault. For example, in the short story The Birth Mark, Georgiana lived her childhood and part of her adult life oblivious to the idea that a natural mark on her face did not 'belong ' and was a detriment to her beauty; that is, until Aylmer appeared. This opinion, which he believed as fact, was forcefully sprung upon her by her newlywed
His inability to accept beauty in its most organic form ultimately led to the demise of his wife; he is to blame for her death. At the beginning of the story, Georgiana is a confident young woman who is admired by many suitors. Unbeknown to her, she marries a man who feels that the mark on her cheek is a fatal flaw and ruins her beauty as a whole. This flagrant emotional abuse causes turmoil for Georgiana that would never have surfaced if not for her husband Aylmer. One night, Aylmer states to his wife, “You came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature that this slightest possible defect shocks me as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Hunter, 213). This first suggestion that her birthmark was a flaw began a spiral of insecurity. After learning of her husband 's disgust with her face, Georgiana, a girl considered the most beautiful
He caused her an anguish so intense that she would rather have died than lived with her husband 's repulsive stares and disapproval. Georgiana 's love for him was so unwaveringly strong that she was willing to go to extreme measures in order to please him, but her flaw was connected to the very essence of her being and the depths of who she was as a person. Longing for her husband 's approval, Georgiana simply cannot be blamed for her death; she craved Aylmer 's love, but his selfish motivations and inability to accept an imperfect life, led to her

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