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Analyzing The Story 'The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “The Birthmark” we come to know 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 and control over nature. As an Accomplished scientist who views nature as not beautiful, bus as imperfect, Aylmer thinks that it is his power to correct nature in his own way. The small birthmark on his wife Georgiana’ left cheek was never noticeable to him, but now it disgust him and he wants to get rid of her by trying to kill her without her knowing he is trying to ,“have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work!”(Hawthorne No p). Aylmer has been thinking and wishes he could make it disappear and not be there anymore,“Wishing it away, that the world might possess on living specimen of ideal loveliness without the semblance of a flaw”(Hawthorne No. p.), He starts going crazy that it is on her face and wants it to be removed but he does not know how to unless he kills her. …show more content…

Nature allows her birthmark to be removed, but removes from her, her breathe as well. Despite mans attempts, Nature cannot be changed or altered without

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These scholars’ arguments contribute to the story, “The Birth-Mark”, Nathanial Hawthorne expresses the common personal issue that individuals possess. The Birth-Mark was about a man named Aylmer and his obsession of science and the birth mark on his wife’s face. The birth

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Analyzation of The Birth Mark Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birth Mark” shows readers the foolishness and selfishness of trying to create a perfect being and defying our creator. Nathaniel shows an example of this act by publishing this story of Aylmer and his non-perfect wife, who has a birth mark in the shape of a hand on her cheek. Aylmer is so disgusted with this mark that he soon begins to use science to take care of the problem. Throughout “The Birth Mark” Hawthorne performs different symbols that indicate Aylmer is just a human being and challenging God to make a perfect human will always lead to death.

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We all have obsessions whether it is a hobby or sometimes a person. But sometimes our obsession over powers us, and causes us to act unusual. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne introduces Aylmer, a man of science, who has an obsession over removing a birthmark on his wife, Georgiana’s, face. Aylmer is so concerned with removing the birthmark on Georgiana’s face that he becomes too caught up in his science and neglects the love for his wife. Aylmer doesn’t realize it but not only is the birthmark an imperfection, the birthmark is also keeping Georgiana alive.

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Nobody is perfect and no one ever will be. This theme shows up often in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Birthmark. In this story, a scientist named Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing a hand-shaped birthmark from his wife’s, Georgiana, visage. After a series of tests, he is successful, but Georgiana becomes perfect and can no longer stay in the mortal world, so she dies. The Birthmark demonstrates how foolish it is to strive for perfection and this is revealed throughout the story using narration.

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In the short story “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a scientist, his wife, and the unhealthy relationship they share. The story follows Aylmer, a scientist, who is determined to remove his wife Georgiana’s birthmark. One aspect of their unhealthy relationship is Georgiana’s sole dependance on Aylmer. Furthermore, Aylmer does not view Georgiana as his equal. Not only this, but Aylmer frequently belittles her, continuously pointing out her flaws, which drives her to do something dangerous.

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Francisco Villegas Dr. Richard Coronado English 2326 September 29, 2014 Perfection Is Not A Goal Worth Pursuing In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birth-Mark,” Aylmer apparently after getting married with Georgiana noticed the birthmark Georgiana had in her left cheek. Aylmer is very troubled how the birthmark resembles in Georgiana’s face. He proclaimed that it is a natural flaw that has affected her vivid human perfection. Since Aylmer is a scientist he propose to Georgiana to get rid of her birthmark once and for all. At first she angrily questions Aylmer’s proposition, but her love for him changes her thoughts and she accepts to permanently get rid of the birthmark.

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In The Birthmark, Hawthorne depicts the obsession for perfection, the tole it takes on one and the consequences it has. The quest for perfection is unrealistic and unobtainable as we are only mere humans incapable of reconstructing our DNA. In The Birthmark, Hawthorne tells the story of a woman named Georgiana and her scientist husband Aylmer, who are both fixated on a birthmark similar to the look of a tiny human hand. Aylmer is disgusted by Georgiana’s birthmark, wanting to please her husband Georgiana is willing to do anything for him to look at her in a normal manner “Danger is nothing to me;for life which this hateful mark

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“We never noticed the beauty of nature because we were too busy trying to recreate it” (Unknown). Nature is apart from physical science and philosophy, in that it is beyond measurability; it is beyond man. No man can or should dwell beyond mortality. The evolution of man and its creation is perfect in its own nature and in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”, we see Aylmer a philosophical scientist, attempting to step beyond man into waters no mortal should tread, causing the death of his wife, Georgiana. Aylmer’s arrogant white male nature, in his demands, over-determination and over-protective behavior leads him to play God with an uncanny devotion to science.

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Hawthorne’s characterization of Aylmer once again shows that he perceives scientists as determined and persistent in attaining perfection. The birthmark seems to startle Aylmer as he senses human imperfection. Since he is a symbol of the spiritual essence of nature, he wishes to cleanse Georgiana of the birthmark. When Aylmer shudders, he displays his disdain for the imperfection on his wife’s cheek. This causes Georgiana to faint as she is startled by Aylmer’s reaction to the birthmark.

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The Birth-Mark shows man’s struggle of accepting one’s true and natural beauty and sciences’ obsession with perfecting nature. In the tale of a 19th century scientist and his pursuit of removing the birthmark from his otherwise perfect wife, the reader sees how tight of a grip the human mind has over the soul. More striking though is the question brought about by how far one would go to defy nature with science to achieve pure perfection. The resounding theme Hawthorne focuses on is imperfection and mortality. Simply put; no one is perfect, and no one can escape death.

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Aylmer is consumed with a pursuit of perfection in his scientific studies and also in nature. The leads to Aylmer being appalled at the blemish on his wife Georgiana’s cheek. He tells Georgiana “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” (216). This is the catalyst for Aylmer's seeking for perfection in his wife who is a natural being. Aylmer recognizes that there is a “fatal flaw of humanity, which Nature...stamps ineffaceable on all her productions” (216).

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In the short story “The Birth-Mark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader is introduced to a tragic love story that shows how foolhardy it is to make someone perfect. Hawthorne hammers this theme throughout the story of the scientist Aylmer and his lovely wife, Georgiana, who has a small, hand shaped birthmark on her cheek on the left side of her face. Aylmer develops a fixation on the birthmark that keeps his wife from being the image of perfection, and vows to use his scientific knowledge to remove it. Over the course of “The Birth-Mark” Hawthorne uses imagery and symbolism, figurative language, and type of narrator and narration. Hawthorne's use of vivid imagery and symbols to describe the conflict between Aylmer and the birthmark vividly highlights the conflict of Aylmer's love for Georgiana and his distaste of the birthmark.

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Aylmer insists that this “flaw” keeps his wife from being perfectly beautiful. Obsessed with his ability in science to “perfect” nature, Aylmer asked Georgiana to allow him to remove the tiny red mark from her cheek. In this story Hawthorne shows that nature is not meant to be perfect, because we as humans are products of nature, and therefore inevitably flawed. By trying to perfect Georgiana with the removal of the birthmark, Aylmer unknowingly robs her of her humanity because perfection cannot exist in nature.

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Here is a story of Aylmer, “a man of science,” who had a wife who was known for her beauty and her “hand-shaped birthmark.” Although perfect in the eyes of her admirers, her husband did not agree for the birthmark grew more and more intolerable for him in their lives together. As the days went on, Georgina became bothered by the way her husband would react towards her presence, towards the mark upon her cheek. She then agrees to allow Aylmer to remove her birthmark, even after reading his past experiment failures. This mistake brings his “peerless bride,” Georgiana, to her demise (Hawthorne 350).

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Biography Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England on January 4, 1643. His father, a farmer who was also named Isaac Newton, had died three months before his birth. His mother remarried when Isaac was three years old and left young Isaac in the care of his grandparents. Isaac attended school where he was an adequate student. At one point his mother tried to take him out of school so he could help on the farm, but Isaac had no interest in becoming a farmer and was soon back at school.

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