Theme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
The 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. Aylmer is consumed with a pursuit of perfection in his scientific studies and also in nature. The leads to Aylmer being appalled at the blemish on his wife Georgiana’s cheek. He tells Georgiana “you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect..shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (216). This is the catalyst for Aylmer's seeking for perfection in his wife who is a natural being. Aylmer recognizes that there is a “fatal flaw of humanity, which Nature...stamps ineffaceable on all her productions” (216). Aylmer cannot escape the imperfection of his wife and has a dream where he tries to remove the mark, but it is …show more content…
Georgiana “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. Your case demands a remedy that shall go deeper” (221). This continues to reinforce the flawed nature of
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.
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 PagesWhich 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.
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 year 2105, the American culture is a society that thrives off of the obsession of materialism and gaining the approval of others. Culture tells us to worry about how many “likes” we get on a picture of ourselves or the number of comments that tell us how beautiful or handsome we are. Beauty will fade, but people are willing to do anything that they can to preserve it forever. From plastic surgeries for a thiner nose, to silly home remedies for a wrinkly face, we won’t stop until perfection is achieved. The writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne in the nineteenth century did not differ much from the American culture that we see today.
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 PagesAylmer was an evil human being who did not really care about his wife. He only cared about whether she was the perfect women and that led him into committing the murder of his so called “beloved
Examples Of Figurative Language In The Birthmark
590 Words | 3 PagesHawthorne 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.
Georgiana's Birthmark Symbolism
408 Words | 2 PagesThe hand serves as the image of mankind. Aylmer sees his wife’s birthmark as “the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (2). The way he views the mark on her cheek serves as a reminder that death is inevitable for both him and Georgiana. It contrasts Aylmer’s idea of achieving perfection through science and it disturbs him. When Aylmer dreams of removing Georgiana’s birthmark, he sees that the hand’s “tiny grasp appeared to have caught hold of Georgiana’s heart; whence, however her husband was inexorably resolved to cut or wrench it away,” (3).
Compare And Contrast Rappaccini's Daughter And The Birthmark
743 Words | 3 PagesEqually 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.
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 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.
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).
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