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Symbolism in the birthmark
Symbolism in the birthmark
Symbolism in the birthmark
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The story’s tone is one of romantic controversy, a dilemma at a high level of existence. The scientist’s love for his craft competes very intensively with his newfound love for his wife. It is also very psychological, strictly dealing with the raw mind of its subjects as if the ominous narrator told the story from inside their mind, rather than observe it from the outside. He describes the processes that one may take to reach a certain degree of knowledge and to find the elixir of life, which is described in this story as the ultimate goal of the scientific community. Also, the narrator is very opinionated about events in the story.
Georgiana is a fine wife, and a seemingly beautiful one, too. Aylmer expresses deep affection towards his wife, but it is hinted from the beginning that his two passions in life will eventually have to come in conflict. The meaning of the birthmark shifts suddenly in the end, but in the beginning, it is viewed as Georgiana’s ability to be imperfect and to sin. It is in the shape of a human hand because an angel supposedly has a grip on her, linking her to the other world. That is most men’s reactions, but some women viewed it as disastrous to her beauty. Although Aylmer is not initially concerned with it, it eventually gets to him, obsessively occupying himself with it. He would stare at it whenever he had a chance, and tried to be candid about it. When it became apparent that Aylmer was quite concerned with this, Georgiana asked him to elaborate. He was more disgusted by the mark than Georgiana assessed. Her most significant reply to him was “You cannot love what shocks you!”
She is indeed compromising, offering her life in exchange for her husband’s contempt. The bandwagon effect modifies Georgiana’s thinking towards the mark. She then becomes critical of it, begging her husband to remove it in the name of their well being. He devises a plan, and he compares himself to Pygmalion, because he is one historical figure that succeeded in his quest for beauty, and the gods approved of it. I think that this meddling will not be readily approved of by any god. What they did not know, but what she hinted at, was that this mark may be her link to life and spirits.
Is Big Brother watching our every computer move? Is the government (FBI, specifically) reading and filtering our email and where we go on the web? According to the critics of the FBI’s new CARNIVORE program, the answer is a resounding “yes”. However, according to FBI spokesperson John Collingwood (in a letter to the LA Times on August 7, 2000), CARNIVORE is not a government-backed spy program to invade the privacy of US citizens--it is an effective weapon (similar to phone taps) in the war against crime.
medical practices are beneficial; they are done to cure people from illness and to save
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...
Woman’s in the eighteenth century are not highly praised for their education. From story of “The Birthmark”, it is quite obvious that Georgiana is not just an educated woman but also an intelligent person. As it was mentioned in the story, “To dispel the tedium of hours which her husband found it necessary to devote to the processes of combination and analysis, Georgiana turned over the volumes of his scientific library”(297). She was able to read and understand the work of many philosophers of the Middle Ages such as Albertus Magnus, Cornelius Agrippa, and Paracelsus. Her ability to interpret these complicated philosophy books is enough to demonstrate the fact that she is an highly intelligent woman. In the library, she also found records of his husband’s experiments. Not surprisingly, she was able to understand every single one of her husband’s experiment including the data, procedure, analysis and the result her husband has record. However, even though she is a highly educated and intelligent woman, her intelligence has never been acclaimed in the story. In contrast, Alymer was often regarded as “a man of science”, “Brilliant scientist”, or “Powerful intellect” by others. Only man’s talents and abilities would be recognized by the society which once again shows the domination of masculine power.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (born July 4, 1804, Salem, Mass. — died May 19, 1864, Plymouth, NH) is an American novelist and short-story writer who was an expert of the allegorical and symbolic story. One of the best fiction essayists in American writing, he is best known for "The Scarlet Letter" (1850) and "The House of the Seven Gables" (1851). "The Birth-Mark" is a mental thriller short story composed by Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Reference book Britannica. 2016) It was distributed first in 1843 in the March version of The Pioneer literary journal. It was distributed again in 1846 in an accumulation of short stories titled Mosses from an Old Manse. "The Birth-Mark" is Hawthorne 's initially distributed work of fiction. Some consider it to be an impression of Hawthorne 's own life, as it was distributed amid his marriage to Sophia Peabody and mirrors the fears and goals of a love bird couple. The story highlights mental subjects of the quest for
One of the main themes discussed in this story is perfection which was evident by Aylmer obsessing over making his wife perfect by removing the birthmark off
There are certain events in one’s life that cannot be explained, for recondite information is present and difficult to perceive. Nevertheless, science always makes an effort, and usually succeeds, to find answers and logical explanations. While the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne holds a more metaphorical and symbolic meaning, there is a possibility for the concluding incident to have a scientific explanation. The story tells us the tale of a scientist named Aylmer and his wife, Georgiana, who had a birthmark the size of a tiny hand upon her left cheek. Said mark, while found beautiful and endearing by some, slowly became a hindrance to Aylmer, who became obsessed with it for believing it a sign of her human imperfection.
In Psychology 1001R chapter 1 is on the Evolution of Psychology, particularly what is psychology, who invented psychology and its main contributors, and lastly the global trends associated with psychology. The second chapter I will be looking at is Chapter 9 on Intelligence. Which will begin by looking at who is smart? And what makes that individual smarter than another?. Followed by how is intelligence defined and what is our emotional IQ and lastly are certain individuals smarter at certain things vs others?. While at a distance both seem interesting, I believe, however that I will be most interested in the chapter on Intelligence and least interested in Evolution of Psychology.
‘What rule says workfare must be the same old hardy staples: stack a shelf, clean a floor? If we want to really open people's eyes to the opportunities of work, why rely on Tesco and Sainsbury? We should be co-opting the Apples and the Microsofts, the BAs and the Virgins, the Jaguars and the BMWs. And instead of boycotting firms that provide the placements, we should be making business participation mandatory. David Cameron says the opponents of workfare are "snobs". Fine. Then it's time we saw someone on a workfare placement getting into the back of his Land Rover and carrying a couple of those red boxes for him. Similarly, if Sir Stuart Rose is really concerned about the "lack of backbone" from firms pulling out of the scheme, he can set an example by appointing another personal assistant for a couple of months’ (Hodges, 2012).
Written in the 1840’s, “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows a man’s battle with human perfection. In the story, Aylmer has a beautiful wife named Georgiana. Aylmer feels his wife is beautiful but not perfect. The one thing standing in the way of her being perfect is a small crimson colored birth-mark on her face (Hawthorne). Superficially, the story appears to be about a scientist’s obsession with removing the birth-mark from his wife’s face. However, after reading closely, Hawthorne presents several different themes such as the mind vs spirit vs body, and God vs Man/Science.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s romantic short story “The Birthmark,” the main character, Aylmer, is obsessively plagued with the inherent thirst for perfection. Allowing his wife to be the guinea pig was the ultimate downfall for him, as he failed in his research, as well as his lovely wife, Georgiana. The classic themes of romanticism were very evident, such as the power nature controls over science, extreme scenarios, and intense emotions. Aylmer in “The Birthmark” risks the safety of wife for science, knowledge, and perfection, forgetting the beauty of imperfection.
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
Even though it is ethical to remove the birthmark for the couple’s culture since it will resolve their looming problem, is it moral in their perspective? Initially, it was implied that Georgina found it wrong to remove it since she first believed the mark as a “charm” (419) but the soon changed when Aylmer believed the opposite of it. Aylmer has always found it morally correct in his eyes that the removal of the birthmark is a need since he only ever saw it as a scorching stigma that derails him from reaching total happiness and bliss. The wrong becomes right and the right becomes wrong, and together, these events led to the ethical extermination of the birthmark.
In today’s society, it seems that we cannot turn the television on or look in a
In the short story, “The Birthmark,” author Nathaniel Hawthorne creates a scientist named Aylmer who struggles with his obsession of an imperfect birthmark on his wife’s face. Aylmer lives in the late eighteenth century and has devoted his life to studying how nature works. Aylmer finally decides to give his work a break and marry a beautiful woman named Georgiana who has a red, hand-shaped birthmark on her cheek. The men think it is beautiful and the women despise it. Georgiana has always liked her birthmark, until one day Aylmer tells her he finds it unsightly and he thinks she would be perfect without it. Georgiana now thinks she is ugly and Aylmer sees her as imperfect. This comment devastates Georgiana deeply, leading her to ask Aylmer