How Did Nathaniel Hawthorne Write An Allegory In The Birthmark

The Birth-Mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne has many feminist allegorical clues in it making it a subconscious short story about the unequal treatment of women in society. Hawthorne also seems to cover those said allegories by showcasing a lot of overt religious wording to draw in his audience of puritan readers at that time. A short summary written about the story in 1843 might say that it is about a man of science wanting to play God by tampering with his wife Georgiana’s naturally achieved birthmark. In comparison, a summary written today may focus on the main character Aylmer obsessing over making his wife perfect while also unknowingly destroying her. Looking into the author’s historical puritan background with regards to what happened to women

The second layer hidden within the Christian symbolism is the treatment and objectification of women in society. There also seems to be even more metaphors that have to be found by looking so deep into the short story that the words themselves must be picked apart by their syllables and then defined. Hawthorne even had another short story that was reviewed by his peer Edgar Allan Poe as having too many allegories. This leads to another theory that Hawthorne tried to use his platform as a writer to convey many paradoxes and deeper ideas so that his audience would be able to use deductive reasoning in their power as readers. There also seems to be a couple of secret codes strategically sprinkled throughout the story and it is the reader’s job to figure out where they are and what they mean. The best way to unlock the hidden messaging of female suppression in the story is to carefully examine just a few excerpts written and then the words in those

“To explain this conversation, it must be mentioned, that in the centre of Georgiana’s left cheek there was a singular mark”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “centre” as “center” or “the middle point or part of something; something regarded as central, principal, essential, most significant, etc.” This indicates the importance of the mark in regards to Georgiana as it essentially represents the most unique aspects that she will lose, now that she is married to a man obsessed with her looks. The word “centre” is also defined as “immaterial or abstract thing; the most essential part; the heart, the core.” That explanation further supports that the mark is a symbol for what makes Georgiana who she is, which is Georgiana. Without the mark, there isn’t anything unique that expresses who that character is. There is also text explaining that the mark and Georgiana’s heart are connected, so the mark is what keeps her alive. Another word that could be used instead of “symbol” is “logo” which could serve the author’s purpose of simultaneously providing religious overtones while still secretly speaking to the reader. The evidence suggesting this is “logo” being defined as “A term used by Greek (esp. Hellenistic and Neo-Platonist) philosophers in certain