Women In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

View of a nineteenth century woman

Weak, domestic, and familial are some of the words women in the nineteenth century were defined as. The societal expectations of wives during the nineteenth century included separate spheres, roles that they had at home, devotion they showed towards their husbands, and education they had. In the short story, “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in the nineteenth century gives an internal view of roles between women and men. Aylmer a men that craved science experiments and science being the one for him because he loved it so much and he even compared his love for science with the love of Georgiana, his wife. Georgiana a young woman, fancied by many men, and was very beautiful, but she had a

Their physical and mental health suffered,because of their strong role they had (Hartman). In the nineteenth century women had to do their best in their home. “A really good housekeeper is almost always unhappy. While she does so much for the comfort of others, she nearly ruins her own health and life. It is because she cannot be easy and comfortable when there is the least disorder or dirt to be seen”( Hartman).Georgiana did suffer mentally and physically under Aylmer and she did ruin her health and life. 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. Even when she knew that the experiment could harm her. People in the nineteenth century believed that God has given women to be the role of a guardian of purity of the people who lived within her home(Hartman). In order for Georgiana to be pure she had to take the birthmark off, this shows that

Georgiana shows these factors in the short story “The Birthmark”. By devoting her time to her husband and by having tolerance and she succeeds as a woman because she had some education. Most importantly she respected her husband as all the other woman did. Georgiana went through much physical and mental pain when Aylmer insulted her birthmark. She satisfied Aylmer by letting him experiment with her, even when she knew that he was not a successful scientist. Georgiana paints a picture of what a nineteenth century women should be, by using her characteristic of showing devotion towards her husband, knowing that women and men are not similar, representing the roles of a wife in that time, and again, having an