Aylmer, the Murderer A murderer, classified as many things. One definition of a murderer, someone who kills another physically, or mentally. Murders happen way more than they should. Almost 44 murders occur just in the United States per day. In the story, “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne many questions come out about whether Aylmer, Georgiana’s husband could hold the title of a murderer. In Hawthorne’s story, Aylmer makes numerous statements that lead the reader to believe that Aylmer can be labeled as a murderer. In the beginning of the story, Aylmer explains to the reader his love for the beautiful woman he married. As the story goes on the reader learns that the mark grows more irritating to Aylmer every day, and now through Aylmer’s eyes, Georgiana loses her beauty. The mark disturbs Aylmer. In the beginning of the story, after the reader learns that the mark disturbs to Aylmer, he makes a comment to Georgiana about removing the mark upon her cheek, this being the first comment the reader sees Aylmer make about the mark, it does not come off as a threat. Aylmer mentions that the only way to remove said mark would be to have an operation, to where if something went wrong Georgiana will not make it. (Hawthorne) Many comments that Aylmer makes in the story proves that the love he should feel towards Georgiana no longer exist. He says, “you cannot love what shocks you”. (Hawthorne, 1) Basically, Aylmer says here that the mark upon …show more content…
She, kept secluded from the world because Aylmer is too embarrassed to show her off, she also must have interviews with Aylmer about the procedure as just a client, not his loving wife of years. (Karasu) Whenever it comes to science, Aylmer contains no spiritual connection with his clients, including his wife. To change the one tiny imperfection, he will have to change his wife’s entire physical system, yet he is willing to put her through that for his
Which leads him to the point of using science to remove the birth mark. Aylmer’s obsession of removing the birth mark led to the death of his wife, Georgina. Hawthorne uses Aylmer to present a common issue that individuals have. Furthermore, each scholar help better understand the theme of obsession and achieving a goal that leads individuals to a path of negativity because of individuals’ foolishness to achieve perfection, science vs naturality, and mental isolation.
Aylmer through the story reminds Georgiana how flawed she is with this birthmark that she herself believes she is no longer beautiful, and in so allows her husband to preform the experiments
Hartnett states,”…desiring subjects apprehend things or persons not on their own terms, but rather, as the space for the projection of self-fulfilling fantasy” (par 7). This means that during Aylmer’s experimentation, it became less about his wife, and more about projecting his scientific success onto something, or someone, else. Something that could be seen and tangible, as many people knew about Georgiana’s birthmark. If she were to be seen without it, people would ask why, and he would have his chance to gloat and claim intellectual superiority. That was not the case however, because his selfish desires took Georgiana’s life.
Intro: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional short story “The Birthmark” and The Twilight Zone’s darkly romantic episode “Eye of the Beholder” both use gothic elements and delve into the realm of science to explore concepts of beauty and perfection. Through their contrasting characterizations of the scientist and employments of irony and allusions, each work comes to its own conclusions about how to define and treat beauty. Body #1: The Birthmark From the very first paragraph, Hawthorne’s story revolves around Aylmer, a scientist who supposedly gives up his career to marry the beautiful woman of his dreams, Georgiana.
The narrator mention that “it was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of woman in its depth and absorbing energy”(Hawthorne 212). This is the center of the entire conflict. The narrator wants the reader think about the purpose of why Aylmer so obsessed on her birthmark? Is that only like simply obsession on the appearance or this is only his desire of overcoming the nature by science? The conflict emphasize that a excessive ambitions will makes a miserable consequence.
“His brightest diamonds were the merest pebbles, and felt to be so by himself, in comparison with the inestimable gems which lay hidden beyond his reach.” Throughout, Nathaniel Hawthorne makes of the birthmark upon Georgianna’s face save but two things—a luminous treasure, and a dreadful stain. As a proponent of science, Georgianna’s husband Aylmer is obsessed with experimentation, ultimately finding it difficult to be satisfied with what he has accomplished as he pushes for success and perfection. As an outwardly negligible sentence inserted by Hawthorne, it nonetheless alludes to numerous aspects of the story.
(Hawthorne 295) This shows that she could not get out of her head the way Aylmer would looked at her birthmark. It scared her to she would continue to have to deal with the ridicule from him. No Matter how many times Georgiana hints at not wanting the procedure done, Aylmer continues to reassure her that she would not be harmed. Aylmer is so overjoyed about the birthmark being gone that he barely realizes his wife is in distress.
One review writes; “If Aylmer could eliminate his wife's crimson mark of creation, then he would be the only one in the family with creative powers” (Eckstein). Georgiana further influences his desire when she taunts his scientific abilities which is reviewed as; ”Challenges Aylmer's masculinity and his power in science” (Jeffery). Another reason Aylmer may have wanted to remove Georgiana's mark was because he feared that she might leave him, since she was exceptionally beautiful and young. He became obsessed with the desire to change her natural facial features. His moral as a scientist consisted in changing nature by using knowledge and scientific power.
Hawthorne uses imagery sense of smell to get readers to imagine the scene, “When Georgiana recovered consciousness she found herself breathing an atmosphere of penetrating fragrance, the gentle potency of which had recalled her from her deathlike faintness” (Hawthorne). “The Birthmark” also creates irony with “Aminadab, the less inferior man to Aylmer is the one who speaks sensible to Aylmer by disclaiming that if Georgiana was his wife, he would not try to remove the birthmark” (“The Birthmark”). The figurative language helps enhance the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s meaning for the story was a man’s strive to perfection only caused the death of his wife. Aylmer was too focused on what perfect could be, and Georgiana blindly agrees with him and decides to remove the birthmark, despite never having a problem with it.
To make her perfect, he had to remove the only thing that made her human, but what kept her human was the only thing keeping her mortal-self alive. On the top of page 768, Georgiana describes the birthmark as “a stain that goes as deep as life itself” and as “a little Hand which was laid upon her before she came into the world”. This is the final piece of evidence that shows what Hawthorne intended the birthmark to represent. It is the mark that every human being has and it is not something that one can obtain, but it is instead the inherent trait of
Equally Aylmer and Dr. Rappiccini, both characters in Hawthorne’s works causes destruction of human life with selfish aims to perfect the woman of their choice. In the case of Aylmer’s love interest in science, just as with the case of Beatrice’s father, blinds him to the true beauty and humanity of the woman before him. Aylmer views Georgiana’s birthmark as a symbol of imperfection and tries to remove it. At the end of the story, Georgiana say, "My poor Aylmer," she repeated, with a more than human tenderness, "you have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer.
But over time her one flaw the birthmark drives him to insanity which consumes him. Aylmer reassured Georgiana that he can rid her of this fatal flaw place by nature; “I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless as its fellow; and then, most beloved, what will by my triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work” (Hawthorne, 401)! He feels compelled to remove the birthmark from her wife’s cheek and only then will she be all
Because of his devotion to science, Aylmer let his life be dictated by his passion. This obsession led to Aylmer’s battle between science and beauty, clouded judgment and tunnel vision. In the story, Alymer tells his beloved wife something along the lines of “science and my love must coexist and they must not
The thought of his wife’s birthmark suffocated his brain for “Aylmer’s sombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object ” (297). His obsession with his wife’s birthmark elevated when he was struck with a nightmare that involved removing the stain (297). Aylmer asked permission from his wife to
Each of the tragic flaws they possessed seemed to complement the flaw of the other partner. While Aylmer strives for perfection in an obsessive way, Georgiana’s submissive character contributes to his ability to proceed in his actions. Her submissive nature can be attributed to her time period’s expectations which impacted her choices leading to her tragic death. Georgiana’s flaw of conforming benefits Aylmer in a negative way. Due to her conforming nature she agrees with her husband’s disgust of the birthmark and his plan of removal.