ipl-logo

The Birthmark Character Analysis

573 Words3 Pages

In “The Birthmark”, Aylmer is bothered in seeing a birthmark on his wife Georgiana’s cheek. I believe that Aylmer was truly evil in the way he manipulated Georgiana in thinking he truly cared about her. Aylmer’s ideas of perfection were the most dangerous thing about him and even led him to kill. When Georgiana learned of her husband’s disdain towards her birthmark she was devastated. Slowly, Aylmer manipulated Georgiana into believing that this mark would need to be removed. When Georgiana saw Aylmer looking at her she “shuttered at his gaze and her cheeks changed into a death-like paleness”. (Hawthorne 292) It seemed that Georgiana had a fear of Aylmer that made her extremely uneasy. Aylmer knew that staring at Georgiana would make …show more content…

Unfortunately for Georgiana, he continued to go through with the procedure. Georgiana was still quite frightened by what Aylmer was about to do to her and she faints as soon as she enters the room. It is very clear the fear she has for Aylmer when she says, “Pray do not look at it again. I can never forget that conclusive shudder”. (Hawthorne 295) This shows that she could not get out of her head the way Aylmer would looked at her birthmark. It scared her to she would continue to have to deal with the ridicule from him. No Matter how many times Georgiana hints at not wanting the procedure done, Aylmer continues to reassure her that she would not be harmed. Aylmer is so overjoyed about the birthmark being gone that he barely realizes his wife is in distress. He was overcome with joy as his wife still laid unconscious on the table; “By Heaven it is Well-nigh gone, I can scarcely trace it now”. (Hawthorne 301) Georgiana eventually dies after Aylmer thinks it is all over. Georgiana stayed true to her husband before her death but I still believe she knew she had made a mistake and that Aylmer was not the man she thought he was. Aylmer’s views on perfection led to the demise of Georgiana. He skewed Georgiana’s views by making it seem that if she wasn’t perfect then he could not love her. Throughout the process Georgiana was scared of her husband’s actions but she was made to believe that what he was doing was normal so she went along with it. Aylmer was an evil human being who did not really care about his wife. He only cared about whether she was the perfect women and that led him into committing the murder of his so called “beloved

Show More
Related
1367 Words | 6 Pages

Are Women Truly Property? Throughout two short stories, “Désirée’s Baby” by Kate Chopin and “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both the women protagonists and the male protagonists are married and live with one another within their own homes. The spouses, Armand and Désirée, from “Désirée’s Baby,” live during the time of slavery, and in a farm like area with open fields all around them. When Désirée gave birth to their son, they realized that their son was not fully white. Because of this horrific news, Armand sent Désirée and their child away due to the fact that he believed Désirée was black and this lead them straight to their deaths.

Read More
1165 Words | 5 Pages

Which leads him to the point of using science to remove the birth mark. Aylmer’s obsession of removing the birth mark led to the death of his wife, Georgina. Hawthorne uses Aylmer to present a common issue that individuals have. Furthermore, each scholar help better understand the theme of obsession and achieving a goal that leads individuals to a path of negativity because of individuals’ foolishness to achieve perfection, science vs naturality, and mental isolation.

Read More
123 Words | 1 Pages

While the entire focus of the story is on Georgiana's one physical flaw, it is Aylmer who seems to be irreparably flawed. An embodiment of the concept of "playing god" and a man obsessed with attaining divine perfection, he becomes unreasonably fixated on his wife's one apparent imperfection, going so far as unconsciously wanting to kill her just to dispose of it. Aylmer has been characterized by critics both as a representation of the higher nature of man, the spirit and the divine, and as a representation of ironic imperfection. Hawthorne's narrator, otherwise having a voice of his own, describes him in a strangely reverential manner:"Aylmer's slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element"

Read More
801 Words | 4 Pages

In the text, Georgiana demonstrates her tolerance towards Alymer, as she remains obedient, and faithful, as his experiment reveals her a narrow chance of success. She is too tolerant to him, which made her easy to manipulate and control, as Hawthorn writes, “Much as he had accomplished, she could not but observe that his most splendid success were almost invariably failures, if compared with the ideal at which he aimed” (8). Although she noticed the slight chance of success, she still viewed her husband as a god, who she must not reason with further. Jane, on the other hand was intolerant to her husband. She was aware of the mistreatment by her husband, which ultimately compelled her to get revenge against him by making him faint, as Gilman writes “Now why should that man have fainted?

Read More
590 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

When Aylmer and Georgiana got married, Georgiana was taken from her mothers home, making her complete dependent on Aylmer and his opinions. In addition to this, Aylmer’s belief hat he is better than God, and has the ability to remove Georgiana’s birthmark, creates inequality in their relationship. Finally, due to Georgiana’s obsession with what Aylmer thinks of her, paired with Aylmer's rude looks and comments, leads her to do something

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

Later on Aylmer would come to understand how connected the birthmark was to Georgiana, just as Aminadab had understood earlier. Selfish and blinded by his obsession he continues the course of removing the birthmark costing Georgiana her

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

He provides the story with a character that identifies contrast between the others. He is Aylmer's assistant although we tend to get the impression that he may actually be smarter than Aylmer in a way. As he realizes that Aylmer has killed Georgiana, he begins to laugh. He believes that Aylmer has simply got what was coming to him. He warned him that she already is perfect and says, “If she were my wife, I'd never part with that birthmark”(208).

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

He uses this technique to guide the readers to understand the theme of how Aylmer inability to accept imperfection in the story and how it leads the loss of Georgiana. One of Hawthorne’s example of foreshadowing is when he says,” … he might have felt his affection heightened by the prettiness of his mimic hand, now vaguely portrayed, now lost, now stealing forth again and glimmering to and fro with every pulse of emotion that throbbed within her heart; but, seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found his one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives” (341). Hawthorne uses foreshadowing to emphasize how strongly uncomfortable Aylmer feels about Georgiana birthmark and what actions Aylmer is will to do to remove her birthmark. He cannot accept the fact that loving Georgiana results in loving and accepting her flaws, which he cannot do as well. He also, subtly gives the readers ideas of what is or could possibly happen later in the story in result of Aylmer’s ideals on

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

It shows that our flaws make up a large part of who we are which make it very difficult to separate the two. To remove it would only result in failure. Aylmer finally is able to remove “the last crimson tint of the birthmark -- that sole token of human imperfection” (13). The mark shows that people are inherently imperfect and it’s what makes us human. Once Aylmer removes that imperfection, Georgiana dies because it is impossible to obtain perfection as a person.

Read More
619 Words | 3 Pages

In “The Birthmark”, Georgiana tells Aylmer of how she would drink poison if he were ever to instruct her to because she trusts his judgement (Hawthorne 16). Georgiana is rejecting all forms of reasoning in this statement for she knows well of what would happen to her if she were to drink poison, but because she trusts in his “deep science” she would drink it regardless (Hawthorne 8). Also, Eckstein states, “...science ‘has become religion not only for Aylmer but also for Georgina’”(511). The couple has become so reliant on the statistics of science that it has gotten to the point where it is having a negative effect on both of them. Georgina’s negative affect was that her faith in her husband’s science resulted in her ultimate death; according to Eckstein, Aylmer’s obsession made him “ unfit for human companionship”

Read More
1218 Words | 5 Pages

Most of Aylmer’s other experiments prior to the birthmark have gone badly, and have been described as failures. The confident scientist he portrays to the outside word is nothing compared to how he is in his laboratory. Even though Alymer is ashamed of the way he looks in his laboratory that never stops him or changes his mind about removing Georgiana’s birthmark. His actions are caused by his growing obsession with science and the birthmark. In the last scene of “The Birthmark” we see the outcome of his overpowering obsession.

Read More
416 Words | 2 Pages

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).

Read More
1458 Words | 6 Pages

Aylmer did not like the birthmark. He stated nasty remarks about the birthmark. Georgiana being a good wife agreed with Aylmer and that is why she asked for the birthmark to be taken off, as stated on page nine, it shows the reader what Georgiana felt .“She had forgotten to inform Aylmer of a symptom which for two or three hours past had begun to excite her attention.” After the experiment was over Georgiana did not feel good. She risked her own life and health to satisfy her husband.

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

Equally Aylmer and Dr. Rappiccini, both characters in Hawthorne’s works causes destruction of human life with selfish aims to perfect the woman of their choice. In the case of Aylmer’s love interest in science, just as with the case of Beatrice’s father, blinds him to the true beauty and humanity of the woman before him. Aylmer views Georgiana’s birthmark as a symbol of imperfection and tries to remove it. At the end of the story, Georgiana say, "My poor Aylmer," she repeated, with a more than human tenderness, "you have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer.

Read More

More about The Birthmark Character Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document