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Sacrifice In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

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When I first read The Birthmark, I thought it was a sad story between a couple. Four weeks later, I still think what happen to Georgiana is a tragedy. However, I have developed some new understandings regarding the author’s background, and the story’s theme and characters. The reason I chose this story is because I am facinated by the development of Georgiana’s character and how the story tackles current issue in the soceity. Hawthorne is a transcendentalist who believed in the “inherent goodness of both people and nature”.(Americanliterarture.com) Transcendentalist thinks nature and intuition is more important than scientific knowledge.(yourdictionary.com) Such notion has influenced one of the main character, Alymer, who believes that removing his wife’s birthmark will make her perfect. Alymer’s belief is important because the idea of the story is about how to use science against nature, which is a contridiction to Hawthorne’s belief. When I read the story for the second time, I noticed that the author does not mention anything about Alymer’s appearance, age or background. We only know that he is an ambitious scientist who is motivated to change the natural with the use of science. By creating such a fictional character, …show more content…

After reading the story, I think the birthmark is a symbol of death. The hand shaped mark predicts the death of Georgiana at the end of the story. Alymer misinterpreted this birthmark, he thinks it is a flaw made by the hand of nature. However, he did not realize that it is the nature and he could not change it. In the end of the story, the author mentioned that “the momentary circumstance was too strong for him: he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all eternity, to find the perfect future in the present”. (Hawthorne) Hawthorne stated this in the end because he wanted remind Alymer the truth regarding changing what is

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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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Intro: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional short story “The Birthmark” and The Twilight Zone’s darkly romantic episode “Eye of the Beholder” both use gothic elements and delve into the realm of science to explore concepts of beauty and perfection. Through their contrasting characterizations of the scientist and employments of irony and allusions, each work comes to its own conclusions about how to define and treat beauty. Body #1: The Birthmark From the very first paragraph, Hawthorne’s story revolves around Aylmer, a scientist who supposedly gives up his career to marry the beautiful woman of his dreams, Georgiana.

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Hawthorne uses imagery sense of smell to get readers to imagine the scene, “When Georgiana recovered consciousness she found herself breathing an atmosphere of penetrating fragrance, the gentle potency of which had recalled her from her deathlike faintness” (Hawthorne). “The Birthmark” also creates irony with “Aminadab, the less inferior man to Aylmer is the one who speaks sensible to Aylmer by disclaiming that if Georgiana was his wife, he would not try to remove the birthmark” (“The Birthmark”). The figurative language helps enhance the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s meaning for the story was a man’s strive to perfection only caused the death of his wife. Aylmer was too focused on what perfect could be, and Georgiana blindly agrees with him and decides to remove the birthmark, despite never having a problem with it.

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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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Georgiana took note of Aylmer’s displeasure of the birthmark from the dream and through his stealthy stare, causing Georgina displeasure (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114). Aylmer’s further loathing of the birthmark, causes Georgiana to give up for the sake of his happiness. She tells, Aylmer after bringing up the conversation of the birthmark, “Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!” (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114). Aylmer could have avoided tragedy, however he failed to listen to his assistant Aminadab, who stated he would “never part with that birthmark” (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114).

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Symbolism in “The Birthmark” In “The Birthmark” Nathaniel Hawthorne gives us a story that is telling us on some level to accept your own, as well as other people's imperfections or it could destroy not only your relationship with them, but also your relationship with yourself. In this story Hawthorne uses symbolism to show us exactly how this kind of behavior can lead to not just ruining relationships, but in this case even death. In “The Birthmark” Hawthorne uses a wide variety of objects and people such as a withering flower, a birthmark, poison, Aylmer's dream and Georgiana's death, and even a character named Aminidab to symbolize that nobody is in fact perfect and we all must accept each others flaws in order to have good and healthy relationships.

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In the story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses several techniques to help build his story. Hawthorne tells a story of a man of science whose name was Aylmer. He married a beautiful women named Georgiana, although she was quite beautiful she had a birthmark on her face which, in Aylmer’s eyes was an imperfection. Aylmer tries to perfect Georgiana, but in the end Aylmer’s attempts to change Georgiana causes him to lose her. Aylmer does not accept the idea of imperfections in people.

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Aylmer believes that he can correct “what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work!” (4). Aylmer, who stands as a symbol for science, obsessively seeks to remove Georgiana’s birthmark and make her ideal. When mankind attempts to change nature in the pursuit of perfection, it never ends well as seen in Aylmer’s attempts at

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The author does this to give us the impression that the birthmark is no ordinary birthmark, but that it has some sort of mystical tie to Georgiana. Another example is how the story talks of how Georgiana was like a celestial being after Aylmer had relieved her of her only flaw but he regretted removing it for it also ridded

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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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The Birthmark- Reader’s Response Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the infamous town where a very significant historical event occured. Hawthorne was the great-great-grandson of John Hathorne, one of the three judges over the Salem witch trials nearly a century ago. After the death of his father in 1808, Hawthorne’s uncle Robert Manning, prominent pomologist of that time, took Hawthorne into his care in Raymond, Maine. As a young man Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce. After obtaining his degree in 1825, Hawthorne moved back to Salem for twelve years and wrote many novels, sketches, and short stories that are still very popular today, including

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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.)

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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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