The story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the foolishness of striving for perfection.
The author uses several elements of fiction to express this theme. He starts by giving a brief summary about who the main characters are. Aylmer is a very smart man who has a love of science. He’s into the spiritual world but it tends to be disturbing.
He believes that he is able to perform miracles. Aylmer has invented potions that are capable of instantly killing a person or killing them in several years. He keeps journal writing about how he feels that’s his greatest achievements are worthless.Hawthorne has one wondering about Aylmer’s age, childhood, or even some of his bad habits as to why he is the way he is. Georgiana is a beautiful woman who will do anything to please her husband.
She considers her husband as her master. She only cares what Aylmer thinks of her. He is disgusted by her appearance so she begins to feel very insecure about herself. She loves Aylmer so much that she is willing to risk death to make him happy. She’s like a robot to him.
She’s very obedient and trusts her husband with all her heart.Right before she dies she gets some self-confidence and tells Aylmer not to feel bad about rejecting “the best the earth could offer” Hawthorne shows that the desire of perfection is very devastating and allegorical. Instead of Aylmer seeing the best that nature has to offer, he’s obsessing over his wife’s single flaw. What’s ironic is that Aylmer who has many failures of his own is trying to perfect someone else. Georgiana’s birthmark is a sign of mortality.
Aylmer doesn’t understand that Georgiana is human being and that everyone has flawed in some way. He finds her birthmark so disgusting that convinces her to get it removed.He goes as far saying he has to cut her heart out to remove it. In the end Aylmer gives her poison and she dies.
Hawthorne uses beautiful words to describe Morin 3 Georgiana’s skin. He describes her birthmark as crimson and ruby colored also her skin around it is compared to the snow and marble. The author feels that Georgiana is already beautiful just the way she is and nothing less. So the birthmark is red and her skin is white. When Georgiana laughs her skin is the same color as the birthmark. Georgiana is beautiful but has only one flaw.
The setting of the story is not mention, but the story must be during the 1840s.Georgiana is in her boudoir when Aylmer callers her to his laboratory. He also has a cabinet full of potions. It has a feeling of stepping into Dr. Frankenstein’s world.
The structure is categorized into five points. One is tension. The everyday life of the characters is the same. Aylmer doesn’t find his wife attractive and Georgiana becomes more insure day after day. They live in a house and Aylmer has a disturbing laboratory.
Second is a set off. Something triggers Georgiana. She is wants Aylmer to love her so she is willing to risk death for it. Georgiana feels that she not good enough for him.She only cares what Aylmer thinks of her.
Third is the mission. To make Aylmer happy Georgiana drinks the poison. She doesn’t care about whether she dies or not. Fourth is surprise. Georgina has shocked Aylmer by saying to never feel bad about rejecting the best the earth could offer.
Fifth is a vital choice. Georgina chose this. Her insecurity and foolish desire for perfection killed her. It was her choice to stay with Aylmer.
She could have left him but she didn’t. The Birthmark is a parable on how scientists try to perfect nature and destroy it. Aylmer is a scientist who desperately wants to control nature.He rejects the world of common imperfection and demands on removing his wife’s birthmark to demonstrate his excellence over nature. Hawthorne’s story is related to original sin.
God created man differently and no one is meant to Morin 4 be perfect. Aylmer cannot accept the imperfections of his life. He wanted and demanded perfection. He hoped he would be able to create life and try to be God-like. To pass the imperfection of humanity one has to leave this earth. Aylmer cannot create living perfection and so the now perfect Georgiana must quit the imperfect world.
In conclusion Aylmer has failed again. Right after Georgiana drinks the poison the birthmark fades. Aylmer tells her that now she is beautiful and finally perfect. Aylmer failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time. The birthmark cannot be removed without the removal of Georgiana’s life. The birthmark is a representation of mortality.
It shows us that one is human, unique, special and different. A person is only one of a kind. Nature places certain flaws or imperfections on us to symbolize or characterize that no human being will reach perfection.
