The Birthmark Symbolism Analysis

Symbolism in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Symbolism is a figure of speech that is used when an author wants to create a certain mood or emotion in a work of literature. It is the use of an object, person, situation or word to represent something else, like an idea, in literature. Many writers use symbolism in their works and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a 19th century American novelist and Dark Romantic, is not an exception. His works usually represent the dark and evil side of human nature and are filled with symbolism from bible, nature, etc. “The Birthmark”, written in 1843, is one of the most famous short stories by Hawthorne. It is a story about a scientist who made his goal to remove the birthmark form his wife’s face, believing that it is a sign of human imperfection. Some of the most important themes found in "The Birthmark" are human mortality, the imperfection of human nature, the implications of science in the natural order of things, the conflict between spirituality and physicality, sexuality and gender roles, psychological turmoil, and the dynamics of

The singular mark was situated in the centre of Georgiana’s left cheek and reminded of a human hand, though a very small one. The author refers to it as “flickering with the blaze of a woodfire”, to make the reader visualize the image. The mark was a symbol of human imperfection, as well as a symbol of immorality and the ability to sin. Red and white colors play a big role in describing the birthmark – according to the narrator, the mark is red, almost ruby-color and the skin is white, just like snow. The white color symbolizes Georgiana’s purity and red highlights the imperfection, but these colors blend when she blushes and her face becomes the color of her birthmark. The blending symbolizes that there is no clear boundary between beauty and flaw, perfect and imperfect, implying that nothing is completely pure or fully