Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the story of a man consumed by the pursuit of perfection. He seeks absolute knowledge and absolute control, and imagines that he has discovered great scientific absolutes including the nature of the very heavens and the reason volcanoes erupt. After he marries, he becomes obsessed by a small birthmark on the cheek of his otherwise flawlessly beautiful young wife. His obsession with perfection combined with his scientific hubris leads to the death of his wife. Ironically, in death, the hated birthmark finally fades. The story demonstrates the danger of hubris in assuming that science will have all our answers, that we can manipulate life to meet our arbitrary standards.

Hawthorne demonstrates the protagonist, Aylmer's, obsession through various references. In the opening paragraph he says Aylmer.".. had made experience of a spiritual affinity more attractive than any chemical one. He had left his laboratory to the...
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