causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty.had given him delight" (43). The constant visibility of the mark becomes Aylmer's obsession. Aylmer dreams of the mark, yet does not even realize the potency of the dreams until Georgiana confronts him; "until now he had not been aware of the tyrannizing influence acquired by one idea over his mind, and of the lengths which he might find in his heart to go for the sake of giving himself peace"(45). The mark is always present in Aylmer's mind, and he is never able to escape it or the different shades that it takes with Georgiana's changing moods.
Aylmer's fearful distinction showed how utterly engrossed and preoccupied his feelings of hatred for the mark had become. Many admired the mark as a distinction of Georgiana's innate beauty and uniqueness. But there were also those who deemed that very mark as the complete opposite, claiming that the birthmark destroyed the effect of Georgiana's beauty (43). Aylmer represents the latter group," If the birthmark did not heighten their admiration, contented themselves with wishing it away so that the world might possess one living specimen of ideal loveliness without the semblance of a flaw" (43). .
The conflict between Aylmer's love of science and his love for Georgiana leads to her tragic death. The birthmark continued to taunt his ideal love for women. As far as Aylmer was concerned, the only thing that was keeping Georgiana from perfection was her birthmark; ". seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect grow more and more intolerable." (43). The fact that he is a scientist and has the knowledge and the means to change his wife's appearance, regardless of the possible out come, allows the reader to see how much this nature possessed him. His entire mood shows how science receives the greater part of his affections; "Aylmer sat by her side, watching her aspect with the emotions proper to a man the whole value of whose existence was involved in the process now to be tested.
Georgiana's birthmark was a part of her and she was accustomed to seeing it upon her cheek. ... For Aylmer, the birthmark was a flaw that grew more egregious with every passing day. ... Aylmer wanted to remove the birthmark; Georgiana would not refute him. The birthmark made Georgiana an abomination to her husband. ... Georgiana could not change her husband's attitude toward the birthmark. ...
All he sees is a birthmark "an unbearable flaw in his wife. ... Even she did not mind the presence of the birthmark; she had grown accustomed to it. ... But, Aylmer did not see the birthmark as being such. ... The birthmark faded away as did his wife, breath by breath. ... He could not live, even with just a small birthmark. ...
The Birthmark "The Birthmark" is a love story, concerned with the relation between men and women. ... Soon after marriage, Aylmer confesses Georgiana's birthmark is either a charm or defect. ... Usually Georgiana's birthmark is only slightly redder than her own rosy complexion, but upon being startled, she pales and the tiny mark is highlighted against her whitened cheek. ... In fact, Aylmer renders the birthmark as "a symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death" (453). ... "The Birthmark" proposes that human nature is compound, a sacred mystery. ...
In "The Birthmark", Hawthorne described a young scientist who killed his own wife by pursuing a "perfect future" (1) while trying to remove a birthmark on his wife's face. ... The Birthmark on Georgiana face was not seen as ugly but merely as an imperfection to her overall beauty. ... Some believed that Georgiana's birthmark was actually the source of her life. ... In "The Birthmark", Hawthorne describes how "science affects priorities"(4) in life. ... In "The Birthmark" Alymer was a devoted scientist. ...
Individualism In the story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne there is an underlying theme of individualism. ... The theme of individualism as is portrayed in "The Birthmark" is much different than today's. ... Because Aylmer's public life is to be seen by all, he is ashamed of the birthmark on his wife's face. By wanting to remove Georgina's birthmark he was attempting to redeem him self at any cost. ... In "The Birthmark" Aylmer and Georgiana pay the ultimate price, he by the loss of Georgiana and she with her life. ...
As a reader analyzes Aylmer's struggle to give a definition to the birthmark, his quest to rid Georgiana of her birthmark takes on new meaning. ... Georgiana's birthmark represents a signifier in Aylmer's search for unity. Aylmer sees the birthmark as "the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death"; nonetheless, some of Georgiana's former "lovers were wont to say (the birthmark gave) her such sway over all hearts," thus seeing the birthmark in a positive light (Hawthorne 170). ... Aylmer watches her until he notices that the b...
In The Birthmark, Georgiana and Aylmer stay together till the end. ... She is the only person in her town with a birthmark on her face. The birthmark itself is also unique for its shape of a hand. ... Georgiana wants to get rid of her unique birthmark. ... Hooper, because Georgiana just believes what Aylmer tells her about her birthmark. ...
Georgiana has a birthmark on left cheek in the shape of a hand. ... In this way, the birthmark seems to only enhance Georgiana's beauty instead of mar it. ... The birthmark, although not a problem before, begins to grow into a mockery in Aylmer's eyes. ... Aylmer spends many hours upon the task of ridding Georgiana of the birthmark. ... She falls into a deep sleep and soon the birthmark begins to fade. ...
Shortly after their marriage he asks her if she had ever thought of removing her birthmark. ... Georgiana first begins to detest the birthmark after hearing a dream of her husbands. ... The birthmark it self represents imperfection. ... (p119) However it was the birthmark that made her human. ... The Birthmark shows the reader that humans should not attempt to play God. ...