The Consequences Of Perfection In The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Summary Response of “The Birthmark” In the short story “The Birthmark” (Literature and the Writing Process 2016), Nathaniel Hawthorne tells you about the plot. And it was about how Aylmer was a scientist who became so obsessed with his wife Georgiana’s birthmark. And he started to consume his life in trying to remove the birthmark to make her perfect again.

Although the theme of The Birthmark, has been interpreted in different ways, I believe the theme of the story is human imperfection and the strive for perfection, which is demonstrated by the birthmark on Georgiana’s face, her husband Aylmer, and their marriage. The birthmark on Georgiana’s face symbolizes human mortality and imperfection as believed among many critics. Most criticism has accepted the rather forthright and explicit allegorical interpretation of Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" that regards the mark on Georgiana Aylmer's cheek as the external sign of her human, imperfect condition and understands Aylmer's attempt to remove it as the expression of either scientific, rational, reformist presumption, or of too aspiring an idealism.

“Rappaccini & Aylmer” In the short stories “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, failed attempts to gain perfection are a frequent subject. They both have male protagonist who have fascinations to recreate a woman into their own view of perfection. Yet at the end the women are completely destroyed. The two stories teach a moral lesson. That moral lesson is to accept things the way they are and value them, people should be satisfied with what they are given by nature, not try to change anything because trying to change things to the way we would like them to be, can often destroy them.

“Humanity is just a work in progress.” This quote by Tennessee Williams accurately describes what many people believe, and consequently, why many people try to improve themselves. Even so, occasionally people can take the pursuit of perfection too far. This is the case for Aylmer and Georgiana in “The Birth-Mark,” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this story Aylmer successfully removes his wife's only imperfection- a hand-shaped birthmark on her cheek, consequently making her perfect.

The true essence of “The Birthmark” is infiltrated through the hidden structure of the strength of a woman. As we unpack the passion behind the obsession that Aylmer presents with his genius in science, on the surface, one may recognize his obscenity and categorize it as a reflection of masculine control. Though, this is in fact true, what strikes as an unbeknownst strength is the hidden sacrifice that Georgiana represents as she succumbs to her spouse and his desire to make her “perfect”. As Hawthorne structures this sacrifice as a mere testament of how women of the late 1700’s - 1800’s valued the perspective of their spouse, it is necessary to extract how this act of selflessness attributes to the amount of love and respect Georgiana has for

All that glitters is not gold. As a child, one often believes that one's life is perfect, but as one is exposed to the ugliness of the world, pain shatters the illusion, engendering the arrival of maturity and adulthood. Donna Milner's After River examines issues evolving around the childish notion of perfection. Natalie never realizes that her perfect family is naught but a false pretense; her enthrallment in perfection and inability to shed the childish belief hinders her growth.

Perfectionism can be a medical issue, not just a flaw. Thirty percent of people are perfectionists comparable to Jill in the story “Pancakes”. Jill in the story “pancakes” is constantly accused of being a perfectionist by her friends. Some of the things Jill does is she alphabetizes her cd’s and cleans a little smudge off of the mirror caused by a tiny piece of tape. Also at the restaurant where she works she arranged all the condiments in alphabetical order and these are only some of the bizarre things she does.

The 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.

Obsession is like a pair of blinders, blocking out the world and permitting us to stare in only one direction at one thing. As human beings, we all have obsessions to some extent. We may become obsessed with a person, a place, or an object. Something so simple could be completely intoxicating to an individual taking over their everyday thoughts and blocking out all other concerns. Is this when an obsession becomes unhealthy?

“He 's a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” Written by Stephen Chbosky, ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and is said to be the current generation’s version of ‘The Breakfast Club.’