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The True Monster In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

627 Words3 Pages

The Birthmark is a short story involving a husband, and a wife named Aylmer and Georgiana. When reading this rather dark story the mind begins to question the ethics within the writing on who was a fault for the ultimate death of Georgiana, Aylmer or herself. I would argue that it was Aylmer who was the true monster within this story. Aylmer makes her shutter at her once charming mark and tells her she is imperfect. It is also Aylmer, who turns this into a crusade of his obsession over defying nature vs. the mark. Georgiana had thought her birthmark to be an asset and a charm to those who laid eyes on her. It was an addition to her overwhelming beauty. However, upon marriage to Aylmer her opinion changed. Aylmer had said to her, ’"Ah, upon another face perhaps it might," … ”you came so nearly perfect from the hand of …show more content…

He had an unnatural obsession with her imperfection. Georgiana, you have led me deeper than ever into the heart of science. I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless as its fellow; He was a scientist who lived for experiments, at no matter the cost. Aylmer had loved his work, even though they were all failures, he was confident in himself. He was crazed with this removal of the imperfection upon her. He wanted to have his hand in correcting what nature had left flawed. He has found a new thing to experiment on and to hone his twisted sense of science towards. "Do not shrink from me! Believe me, Georgiana, I even rejoice in this single imperfection, since it will be such a rapture to remove it." He compares going against natures desires to rapture. He truly believes that he is destined to remove this mark and will stop at nothing to do so. He even sees the mark, finally, as a reason to show joy. But in his mind is a joy because he has something to work

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