Essay On Religion And Science In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
The Birthmark as a Religion and Science Story
Hawthorn’s short stories of the 1800s not only bring the past colonial times in America to the present but also touches on the contemporary life. Through his life’s experience, he has explored essential themes for example religion, science and nature. These themes are comprised of the society of today and thus the need to examine them. The Birthmark is a story written in the mid-19th century where Hawthorn portrays thoughts on life, beauty, and science that have significant impacts today despite the numerous advancements. It speaks of a scientist or an inventor called Aylmer, a perfectionist in nature. He married a beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her cheek that was in the form of a small
…show more content…
Scientists were thought to have control over the force of creation and nature itself. Because God is the ultimate creator, a scientist’s work seems to infiltrate God’s realm. Aylmer thinks of his wife’s birthmark as a bad omen, sadness, and death (Hawthorne). He considers it a link to the original sin. He is not contented with his wife’s spiritual perfection through her words but wants her taint removed. His love for science has become his religion and has gone beyond the logic of rationale. In his attempt to make the physical defect spiritual he considers himself more of a god and fails to recognize that spirit and matter cannot be distinct (Hawthorne). His success in removing the birthmark equals that of reigning over God’s power. Aylmer’s obsession to find perfection at the moment robbed him of a lifetime of happiness. Georgiana’s death was a clear indication that mortality runs earth. Nothing is perfect on earth, and it’s the flaws that make us human. Removing the birthmark meant that she couldn’t exist anymore on earth but in heaven, as it was the link between her body and spirit (Hawthorne). His failure to see the bigger picture and see so little of time and life made him miss a chance at joy and
Reader Response: The Birthmark: Reader's Response
947 Words | 4 PagesAt the end of the story Aylmer regretted pressuring his wife to change herself and feels remorseful for what he did. The Birthmark follows the struggles of man versus nature and man versus self. The main character Aylmer suffered no not being about to accept the flaws of his wife but also the fact that he cannot do everything, mostly because it is not his place to do these things. As the story develops the need for Aylmer to reach perfection grows stronger and later kills his wife.
Heideggers Experiment, Rappaccini's Daughter, And The Birthmark
508 Words | 3 PagesSome think of science as advantageous, while others believe it can be immoral. Acts of science can lead to manipulation of the natural world and cause those performing the experiments to “play God.” Nathaniel Hawthorne 's short stories “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” and “The Birthmark” each incorporate characters that attempt to alter a natural aspect of life and in turn are met with failure. It is through his short stories that Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals opinion of science: Men should not engage in scientific studies that require them to act as God.
The Birthmark Analysis Essay
717 Words | 3 PagesIn the story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses several techniques to help build his story. Hawthorne tells a story of a man of science whose name was Aylmer. He married a beautiful women named Georgiana, although she was quite beautiful she had a birthmark on her face which, in Aylmer’s eyes was an imperfection. Aylmer tries to perfect Georgiana, but in the end Aylmer’s attempts to change Georgiana causes him to lose her. Aylmer does not accept the idea of imperfections in people.
The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
208 Words | 1 PagesNobody is perfect and no one ever will be. This theme shows up often in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Birthmark. In this story, a scientist named Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing a hand-shaped birthmark from his wife’s, Georgiana, visage. After a series of tests, he is successful, but Georgiana becomes perfect and can no longer stay in the mortal world, so she dies. The Birthmark demonstrates how foolish it is to strive for perfection and this is revealed throughout the story using narration.
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 PagesGeorgiana took note of Aylmer’s displeasure of the birthmark from the dream and through his stealthy stare, causing Georgina displeasure (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114). Aylmer’s further loathing of the birthmark, causes Georgiana to give up for the sake of his happiness. She tells, Aylmer after bringing up the conversation of the birthmark, “Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!” (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114). Aylmer could have avoided tragedy, however he failed to listen to his assistant Aminadab, who stated he would “never part with that birthmark” (Nathaniel Hawthorne 114).
Perfection In The Birthmark And Eye Of The Beholder
781 Words | 4 PagesIntro: 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.
Fatality In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
946 Words | 4 PagesThis overriding confidence makes him blind to his past failures and logical sense. Georgiana pointes out the faults Aylmer’s past experiments by saying, “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.” (Hawthorne, 217). This shows that Aylmer always reached for the unreliable and impossible overcomes when experimenting. This raises concern when Aylmer focuses on using his own wife as an experiment rather than the love of his life.
Obsession In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
941 Words | 4 PagesIn The Birthmark, Hawthorne depicts the obsession for perfection, the tole it takes on one and the consequences it has. The quest for perfection is unrealistic and unobtainable as we are only mere humans incapable of reconstructing our DNA. In The Birthmark, Hawthorne tells the story of a woman named Georgiana and her scientist husband Aylmer, who are both fixated on a birthmark similar to the look of a tiny human hand. Aylmer is disgusted by Georgiana’s birthmark, wanting to please her husband Georgiana is willing to do anything for him to look at her in a normal manner “Danger is nothing to me;for life which this hateful mark
The Birthmark Character Analysis
573 Words | 3 Pages(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.
Examples Of Figurative Language In The Birthmark
590 Words | 3 PagesThe Birthmark The short story “The Birthmark” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1834. The story follows a brilliant, yet insane scientist named Aylmer. He creates so many brilliant inventions in hoping to improve his life; his wife is just as perfect, despite a small hand shaped birthmark on her cheek. While Georgiana is considered gorgeous and beautiful by hundreds of men, only Aylmer sees the fault in the birthmark and deems it as a flaw that only he can fix with science. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism and figurative language to help convey the meaning of the short story to readers.
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.
Georgiana's Unhealthy Relationship In The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
791 Words | 4 PagesIn the short story “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a scientist, his wife, and the unhealthy relationship they share. The story follows Aylmer, a scientist, who is determined to remove his wife Georgiana’s birthmark. One aspect of their unhealthy relationship is Georgiana’s sole dependance on Aylmer. Furthermore, Aylmer does not view Georgiana as his equal. Not only this, but Aylmer frequently belittles her, continuously pointing out her flaws, which drives her to do something dangerous.
Use Of Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
633 Words | 3 Pages“Good fiction creates empathy. A novel takes you somewhere and asks you to look through the eyes of another person, to live another life”. (Barbara Kingsolver) Fiction is an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation as defined by Dictionary.com. There are many literary devices that writers incorporate into their works. The main reason literary devices are used is to connect with the reader.
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.
More about Essay On Religion And Science In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
Reader Response: The Birthmark: Reader's Response
947 Words | 4 PagesHeideggers Experiment, Rappaccini's Daughter, And The Birthmark
508 Words | 3 PagesThe Birthmark Analysis Essay
717 Words | 3 PagesThe Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
208 Words | 1 PagesObsession In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Birth-Mark
1165 Words | 5 PagesSimilarities Between Hawthorne And The Birthmark
871 Words | 4 PagesPerfection In The Birthmark And Eye Of The Beholder
781 Words | 4 PagesFatality In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
946 Words | 4 PagesObsession In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
941 Words | 4 PagesThe Birthmark Character Analysis
573 Words | 3 PagesExamples Of Figurative Language In The Birthmark
590 Words | 3 PagesGeorgiana's Birthmark Symbolism
408 Words | 2 PagesGeorgiana's Unhealthy Relationship In The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
791 Words | 4 PagesUse Of Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
633 Words | 3 PagesTheme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
416 Words | 2 Pages