Imagery And Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
The Birthmark observes the life of Aylmer, whose life is eternally plagued by scientific and experimental curiosity, and his wife Georgiana who was born with a small hand-shaped sized birthmark upon her face. Aylmer’s attitudes towards the birthmark quickly turn from sincere recognition to shocking distaste. As Aylmer’s attitude towards the birthmark change, his desire to rid Georgiana of the birthmark increases, but Aylmer quickly discovers that some aspects of nature must never be tampered with. The central theme of The Birthmark, which is the fruitless strive for perfection, becomes clear when observing the symbol of the birthmark, motifs of crimson and white, and deep characterization. As a central part of the short story, the birthmark …show more content…
Georgiana is evidently uncomfortable by the idea of Aylmer removing the mark. In order to increase Georgiana’s confidence in the experiment, Aylmer reveals some of the secrets of science discovered in the laboratory. However, all of the ‘experiments’ Aylmer shows Georgiana fails in some way. Aylmer found a way of creating portraits using light against metal; however, when used on Georgiana, only the crimson hand upon her face appeared in the image (Hawthorne, 295). Additionally, Aylmer reveals a magical flower to Georgiana, which when plucked released a lovely perfume and withered down to its seeds (Hawthorne, 295). Unfortunately, when Georgiana touched the flower, its leaves withered to a state of black dust like coal. The failures of these experiments foreshadows the failure of Aylmer’s experiment to remove the mark from Georgiana’s face. Georgiana herself becomes aware of the possibility of failure when Aylmer dreams of removing the mark but its roots have spread deep down into Georgiana’s heart. Georgiana questions her husband about the dream, and Aylmer begrudgingly obliges to share its contents. From this dream, Georgiana is self-aware of the forthcoming failure of the experiment to remove the mark. Conclusively, the narrators foreshadowing of Georgiana’s death and the experiments failure leads the attentive reader to
Theme Of Perfection In The Birthmark
133 Words | 1 PagesIn “The Birthmark,” both Aylmer and Georgiana show that striving for perfection is something that everyone does. That is why this theme is so evident throughout the entire story. Aylmer, being a man of science, thinks very highly of himself. He is considered to be “an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy.” Aylmer also has a lab portfolio with detailed descriptions of all of his experiments,
Obsession In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Birth-Mark
1165 Words | 5 PagesThese scholars’ arguments contribute to the story, “The Birth-Mark”, Nathanial Hawthorne expresses the common personal issue that individuals possess. The Birth-Mark was about a man named Aylmer and his obsession of science and the birth mark on his wife’s face. The birth
Similarities Between Hawthorne And The Birthmark
871 Words | 4 PagesLater on Aylmer would come to understand how connected the birthmark was to Georgiana, just as Aminadab had understood earlier. Selfish and blinded by his obsession he continues the course of removing the birthmark costing Georgiana her
The Birth Mark Nathaniel Hawthorne Analysis
436 Words | 2 PagesIn the short story “The Birth-Mark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader is introduced to a tragic love story that shows how foolhardy it is to make someone perfect. Hawthorne hammers this theme throughout the story of the scientist Aylmer and his lovely wife, Georgiana, who has a small, hand shaped birthmark on her cheek on the left side of her face. Aylmer develops a fixation on the birthmark that keeps his wife from being the image of perfection, and vows to use his scientific knowledge to remove it. Over the course of “The Birth-Mark” Hawthorne uses imagery and symbolism, figurative language, and type of narrator and narration. Hawthorne's use of vivid imagery and symbols to describe the conflict between Aylmer and the birthmark vividly highlights the conflict of Aylmer's love for Georgiana and his distaste of the birthmark.
Characters In The Birthmark
506 Words | 3 PagesThe Birthmark: This is the first time I read this story. I think the story is a tragedy, because at the end of the story Georgiana died. I feel bad for her, because she did not do anything wrong. She is a charming woman who desires a better man. Aylmer is a horrible husband who does not appreciate her wife.
Georgiana's Birthmark Symbolism
408 Words | 2 PagesGeorgiana’s birthmark represents her grasp on humanity as shown in its shape as a hand. The hand symbolizes humanity’s role in nature and the continuous struggle between nature and science. Georgiana is someone who Aylmer sees as created “nearly perfect from the hand of Nature” (Hawthorne 1). Her birthmark is an imprint left by nature and is representative of humanity’s ties to it. Altering nature isn’t something that humans should be able to do because it is more powerful than any creation made by man.
Symbolism In The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
824 Words | 4 PagesSymbolism in “The Birthmark” In “The Birthmark” Nathaniel Hawthorne gives us a story that is telling us on some level to accept your own, as well as other people's imperfections or it could destroy not only your relationship with them, but also your relationship with yourself. In this story Hawthorne uses symbolism to show us exactly how this kind of behavior can lead to not just ruining relationships, but in this case even death. In “The Birthmark” Hawthorne uses a wide variety of objects and people such as a withering flower, a birthmark, poison, Aylmer's dream and Georgiana's death, and even a character named Aminidab to symbolize that nobody is in fact perfect and we all must accept each others flaws in order to have good and healthy relationships.
Use Of Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
633 Words | 3 PagesIt describes him as “Proficient in every branch of natural philosophy”, (Hawthorne, 365) to the extent that he even discovered an elixir that he could determine if a man would drop dead instantly or linger out years after only of a breath of this substance. We see a great irony in how intelligent Aylmer is, and yet how many scientific mistakes he makes. When he uses the elixir of life upon the flower, it grows beautifully but also self-combusts. He then tells Georgiana he will need to use a much stronger substance on her, in order to fix her birthmark. The flower very obviously foreshadows Georgiana’s death, and the result proves that Aylmer’s science can produce extremely unpredictable results.
Examples Of Romanticism In The Birthmark
619 Words | 3 Pages“The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birthmark”, is an exemplary example of Dark Romanticism in early American literature. An abundance of romantic characteristics such as supernatural elements, intuition over reasoning, and the tendency to focus on the tragedy of the story are found throughout the Dark Romantic piece. Many examples of the supernatural trademarks are evident throughout the piece. One being, Hawthorne describes Georgiana’s hand to look as if, “...some fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and left this impress there in token of the magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts” (6).
Theme Of The Birthmark Essay On Science Vs Nature
467 Words | 2 Pages“The Birthmark” creates the theme of Science Versus Nature the battle against beauty and imperfections. ”The Birthmark” shows moral ethnicity between science and nature, whether we should see people for their beauty and know that everyone has imperfections Or should we go against nature and change ourselves. ”The birthmark” shows us the outcome that thing will go wrong when you try to change nature. When Georgiana dies that shows that her birthmark was meant to be there it was a part of her nature, and when you try and take that away science will lose and Georgiana will lose her life All because they opposed with nature And tryed to change something so natural that it wouldn 't part with her because that crimson hand was meant to be on her cheek
Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
1229 Words | 5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne, The Birthmark, is a short story that was written March 1843. Nathaniel Hawthorne is best known for his dreary symbolic writing in American Literature. The Birthmark is a book about a man Aylmer obsessed with his wife’s tiny imperfection of cheek none other than her birthmark. Like many other short stories and novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne. “The Birthmark" is an allegory and much of the allegorical meaning is composed through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of symbolism.
Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Short Story 'The Birth-Mark'
1470 Words | 6 PagesFrancisco Villegas Dr. Richard Coronado English 2326 September 29, 2014 Perfection Is Not A Goal Worth Pursuing In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birth-Mark,” Aylmer apparently after getting married with Georgiana noticed the birthmark Georgiana had in her left cheek. Aylmer is very troubled how the birthmark resembles in Georgiana’s face. He proclaimed that it is a natural flaw that has affected her vivid human perfection. Since Aylmer is a scientist he propose to Georgiana to get rid of her birthmark once and for all. At first she angrily questions Aylmer’s proposition, but her love for him changes her thoughts and she accepts to permanently get rid of the birthmark.
Characterization Of Human Imperfection In The Birthmark, By Nathaniel Hawthorne
170 Words | 1 PagesHawthorne’s characterization of Aylmer once again shows that he perceives scientists as determined and persistent in attaining perfection. The birthmark seems to startle Aylmer as he senses human imperfection. Since he is a symbol of the spiritual essence of nature, he wishes to cleanse Georgiana of the birthmark. When Aylmer shudders, he displays his disdain for the imperfection on his wife’s cheek. This causes Georgiana to faint as she is startled by Aylmer’s reaction to the birthmark.
Theme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
416 Words | 2 PagesThe Price of Perfection Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the short story “The Birthmark” in 1843 and it is set at a time when science was an emerging field. Science at that time was unexplainable and mysterious to the common person which lead to it being referred to as magic. One of the themes that is common in Hawthorne's work is the sinful nature and impurity that is at the heart of each person. Hawthorne shows the dilemma of the flawed nature of a person and the ultimate price of perfection that will be paid.
Science Vs. Nature In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
676 Words | 3 PagesI wonder what type of theme Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to prove in this story? In my opinion the theme is Science versus Nature. There are many ways to prove this in “The Birthmark.” First being through Aylmer and the second being through the narrator (Nathaniel Hawthorne). “The Birthmark” is a parable that teaches that science can not rule over nature’s way of life.
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