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¶ … small, crimson birthmark on Georgiana's cheek represents humanity and its inherent flaws. It defines Georgiana as an individual, as a human. Aylmer saw the birthmark as a symbol of Georgiana's earthly mortality, and as "a symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death." Georgiana is seen as a perfect specimen of beauty, except for the birthmark. Without the birthmark Georgiana would be perfect at a divine level, but its presence gives her undesirable earthly qualities. Her inner and outer beauty is marred by the birthmark, which distracts Aylmer from noticing and appreciating her positive qualities. The birthmark does have a connection to Faith's pink ribbons and Hester's scarlet letter in the way that they are all symbols of humanity. They all represent the way imperfection is a necessary human quality. To be flawless is to be inhuman. The hand shaped birthmark puts a grip on Georgiana's life, and she feels her whole existence should depend on the disappearance of the mark. Hawthorne is making the point here that people tend to pay undue attention to flaws and ignore positive traits, often at great expense.
4: Aylmer had an obsession with science and the perfection of mankind beyond an earthly level. He had a passionate love of science and believed he could conquer any obstacle through the use of his mind and skills. Aylmer's failure in the laboratory to successfully and safely remove Georgiana's birthmark represents his failure as a husband and as a decent human being. This failure shows how an obsession with superficial perfection results in a degradation of humanity. Aylmer had the confidence that he could play God and rid Georgiana of her earthly imperfection in order to make her divine.
His failure to do so after taking drastic measures symbolizes the misdeed in attempting to conquer or change the essence of humanity, which is imperfection.
Birthmark Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" is an ironic story in which man's faith in science as the ultimate savior of humankind is demonstrated to be misplaced. Ever since science has come to the forefront of human knowledge, people have continually increased their faith and thus their dependency on it. In a way, science has become a new form of religion, one in which people place their faith to solve
Georgiana is beautiful and doesn't even think about the birthmark until her husband points to it and then goes into a deep state of misery because of that. In order to relief her husband of the misery, she agrees to drink the potion which leads to her death. Emily on the other hand is not so obliging. Though she has suffered enough at the hands of her father who wanted
To Aylmer, the birthmark represents more than an annoyance. He "possessed this degree of faith in man's ultimate control over Nature" and viewed the mark as an opportunity to demonstrate his dominion over Nature. Instead of appreciating Georgiana, Aylmer sought to transform her, to change an essential part of her being. As the narrator states, the mark was "deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her
Birthmark In his book, The Birthmark, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the conflict of science and nature that exists deep in the human psyche. Hawthorne's seemingly simple story of Aylmer, Georgiana and Aminadab reveals much about Hawthorne's attitudes toward science and progress. In the telling of their story, he creates an effective allegory about the role of science in the modern world. Ultimately, Hawthorne's story warns the reader of placing science on
HAWTHORNE'S BIRTHMARK AND YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN Hawthorne was born 1804 and brought up in Salem, Massachusetts to a Puritan family. When Hawthorne was four, his father died. After this incident he was mostly in the female company of his two sisters, an aunt and his retiring mother who was not close to her offspring. Hawthorne was known as a reserved personality but during four years at college he established close friendships
Anything Less Than Perfection Will Not Do in Hawthorne�s �The Birthmark�In �The Birthmark,� Hawthorne explores the theme of science vs. nature�but ultimately the story is about one man�s inability to accept anything less than perfection from his spouse. The protagonist, Aylmer, is a scientist who is obsessed with perfection and sees the birthmark on his wife�s cheek as a blemish that must be removed. He spends all of his time