“The Birthmark” and “Walden” are a dark romantic and a transcendentalist text. One common element is that they both have the idea of knowledge being important. The first one says, “lived a man of science, an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy...make new worlds for himself” (Hawthorne 2). Learning new concepts in science expands Aylmer’s world tremendously. It is like traveling to a new place in his very own mind. This knowledge gives him a feeling of power and perhaps makes him powerful. Likewise, Thoreau believes, “The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things...I feel all my best faculties concentrated in it” (Thoreau 2). Thoreau puts all of his energy into gaining knowledge because