The True Monster In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
The Birthmark is a short story involving a husband, and a wife named Aylmer and Georgiana. When reading this rather dark story the mind begins to question the ethics within the writing on who was a fault for the ultimate death of Georgiana, Aylmer or herself. I would argue that it was Aylmer who was the true monster within this story. Aylmer makes her shutter at her once charming mark and tells her she is imperfect. It is also Aylmer, who turns this into a crusade of his obsession over defying nature vs. the mark. Georgiana had thought her birthmark to be an asset and a charm to those who laid eyes on her. It was an addition to her overwhelming beauty. However, upon marriage to Aylmer her opinion changed. Aylmer had said to her, ’"Ah, upon another face perhaps it might," … ”you came so nearly perfect from the hand of …show more content…
He had an unnatural obsession with her imperfection. Georgiana, you have led me deeper than ever into the heart of science. I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless as its fellow; He was a scientist who lived for experiments, at no matter the cost. Aylmer had loved his work, even though they were all failures, he was confident in himself. He was crazed with this removal of the imperfection upon her. He wanted to have his hand in correcting what nature had left flawed. He has found a new thing to experiment on and to hone his twisted sense of science towards. "Do not shrink from me! Believe me, Georgiana, I even rejoice in this single imperfection, since it will be such a rapture to remove it." He compares going against natures desires to rapture. He truly believes that he is destined to remove this mark and will stop at nothing to do so. He even sees the mark, finally, as a reason to show joy. But in his mind is a joy because he has something to work
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.
Obsession In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Birth-Mark
1165 Words | 5 PagesHawthorne emphasizes on Aylmer’s character shift in the poem to demonstrate his views on obsession. Individuals foolishness to achieve perfection has led to critical decisions in society. Hawthorne explained Aylmer’s characteristics by describing him as a man of science (447). Aylmer’s passion for science help to understand the obsession that he has and Hawthorne showed how much Aylmer
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).
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
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1139 Words | 5 PagesAs Georgiana reveals her true sentiments about her stigma, she states with a sense of pride, “To tell you the truth, it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so” (Hawthorne 378). In expressing this sense of pride, Georgiana exudes her initial happiness with her birthmark, as she rebuttals with Aylmer. Even in this moment, Hawthorne extracts the mission of Aylmer, as he says, “Until now he had not been aware of the tyrannizing influence acquired by one idea over his mind, and the lengths which he might find in his heart to go, for the sake of giving himself peace” (Hawthorne 380). This selfish statement, causes for readers to recognize that Aylmer was aware that it would be no simple task to convince his muse that it is necessary to change her indifference.
The Birthmark Literary Analysis Essay
717 Words | 3 PagesAylmer’s obsession with removing the birthmark cost him more than he cared to imagine, the loss of his wife’s life. His fascination of perfection had killed their marriage before her soul departed from her body, not realizing that his lack of wisdom would cost him
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 itself symbolizes morality. Aylmer, this brilliant scientist and husband to Georgiana, sees it has as fatal flaw. It also represents this imperfection of human nature. Nothing is perfect in nature, but science can help improve to make it seem flawless.
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 PagesThe first and most important use of symbolism we receive is that of the birthmark. We learn that, “in the centre of Georgians's left cheek, there was a singular mark, deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her face” (205). Upon further reading Hawthorne tells us that, “Its shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand” (205). Georgiana had a birthmark right in the middle of her left cheek that resembled a tiny hand in which Aylmer thought was very imperfect. The birthmark symbolizes mortality or an imperfection of
Frankenstein And The Birthmark Analysis
1325 Words | 6 PagesAs Maya Angelou once said “In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” Though diversity exists in the world today, that could diminish due to the downfalls caused by human cloning. There may be controversy surrounding human cloning, but the consequences will desolate society if the issues with it are not addressed. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, a scientist obsessed with life animates a creature who becomes evil from society treatment. Moreover, in “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly married scientist becomes obsessed with a hand shaped birthmark on his wife’s cheek, which leads him to attempt to remove it but to no avail, as he ends up killing her.
Georgiana's Unhealthy Relationship In The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne
791 Words | 4 PagesWhen Aylmer and Georgiana got married, Georgiana was taken from her mothers home, making her complete dependent on Aylmer and his opinions. In addition to this, Aylmer’s belief hat he is better than God, and has the ability to remove Georgiana’s birthmark, creates inequality in their relationship. Finally, due to Georgiana’s obsession with what Aylmer thinks of her, paired with Aylmer's rude looks and comments, leads her to do something
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.
Theme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
416 Words | 2 PagesGeorgiana “could not but observe that his most splendid successes were almost invariably failures, if compared with the ideal which he aimed” (222). Even Aylmer’s most successful experiments were considered failures because of his desire for perfection. Aylmer is so consumed by perfection, he does not see the accomplishments he has made. Aylmer posses a potion that he deems “the Elixir of Immortality” (221) which he describes as being able to remove freckles but is not strong enough to remove the mark from Georgiana. Aylmer remarks “this is merely superficial.
Theme Of Identity In Frankenstein
771 Words | 4 PagesQi QinYi, Jasmine Mr. Nikolich English 9 Jan 2018 Frankenstein: The Search for Identity Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, is a pioneering science fiction work about the story of a young scientist Victor Frankenstein who created life out of dead matter. On the surface, Frankenstein seemed to be only a horror story about unorthodox scientific experiments and grotesque monsters. But by diving deeper into the novel, Shelley also addressed larger philosophical ideas. Throughout the story, Victor Frankenstein and his monster have both parallel and contrasting elements, and their search for identity is one of the most important ones. Identity is defined a “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual” (Merriam-Webster).
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