The+birthmark


 * Passage**: page 22 -- "By heaven! it is well-nigh gone! said Aylmer to imself, in almost irrepressible ecstasy."... to the end of the story on page 23.

Samantha Shaw - The Birthmark Fact Sheet ** Author  ** : Nathaniel Hawthorne ** Publications  ** : first published in the March 1843 edition of // The Pioneer //, then later in Hawthorne’s // Mosses in an Old Manse //, a collection of short stories published 1846 ** Type of Story  ** : Allegory ** Synopsis  ** : Aylmer, a scientist, strives to find perfection in his wife, Georgiana, by eliminating a sole birthmark in the shape of a hand located on her cheek. By the end of the story, Aylmer achieves his goal and eliminates the birthmark, but it results in the death of his wife as she departs from the physical world. ** Controlling Idea  ** :” The Birthmark” explores the notion that to be flawed is to be human, and further that a search for perfection is unattainable in human state and will only lead to downfall. ** Context  ** : Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote "The Birthmark" at a time when the scientific method was being glorified and people were starting to think science really could take us anywhere we wanted to go. He set his story about 60 years earlier, in the 100-year-long wake of the Newtonian Revolution, in the Age of Enlightenment, when science was gaining its momentum. His story argues that, despite the general optimism, science really does have its limitations. There are certain things that humans are not privileged to know, not capable of doing. It is not only ignorant, the story seems to say, but downright dangerous to try and play God. "The Birthmark" fits into Hawthorne's body of work in the Dark Romanticism genre, which means it holds up to scrutiny the flaws of mankind. In this case, the main character Aylmer suffers from over-ambition and blind obsession. He seeks to remove his wife's birthmark – the symbol of necessarily flawed humanity – and make her perfect. In his single-minded pursuit of this ideal, Aylmer ignores all the warning signs urging him to stop. Through his story, Hawthorne illustrates the flaws of mankind and the consequences that come with foolish obsession. ** Characters **: // Aylmer // – A brilliant yet misguided scientist and the protagonist of the story. Aylmer’s experiments and creations have made him famous in the scientific community. Although his intentions are good, Aylmer is a selfish and cruel man whose delusions ultimately kill his wife. // Georgiana // – Aylmer’s wife. A beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman, Georgiana is physically and spiritually lovely. Her only flaw is a small red birthmark shaped like a tiny hand on her left cheek. Georgiana worships her husband and submits to his unreasonable demands, despite her suspicions that they will kill her. // Aminadab // – Aylmer’s assistant. A hulking, strong, grubby man, Aminadab is an able helper but simultaneously disgusted by Aylmer’s desire to erase Georgiana’s birthmark. *Because Aminadab represents the physical side of existence, his disgust is a strong indictment of Aylmer. Ironically, Aminadab feels more compassion for Georgiana than her own husband does. ** Themes  ** : // Mortality // – "The Birthmark" implies that to be human is necessarily to be flawed. To strive for perfection is to deny one's own mortality, to deny what makes us human, and to achieve such perfection is essentially impossible. The story also examines the division between man's physical, earthly half and his lofty, spiritual half. "The Birthmark" seems to argue that part of us is necessarily earthbound, yet part of us will always seek to be immortal and spiritual. ** Literary Features **: // Foreshadowing // – Aylmer dreams of cutting off Georgiana’s birthmark and finding that the roots plunge down into her heart, which he decides to cut out; Georgiana faints the first time she sees the laboratory; the beautiful, fast-blooming flower Aylmer creates withers and turns black as soon as Georgiana touches it; a reflection of Georgiana in a metal plate reveals the shape of a hand, so Aylmer throws the plate into acid, destroying it. Over and over, we see that Aylmer’s experiments usually go awry and have destructive, unintended consequences. Georgiana’s death, therefore, comes as no surprise to the attentive reader. In fact, some modern readers may feel disappointed that the final scene of the story adheres so closely to what has been foreshadowed and contains so little that is surprising. // Narration // – “The Birthmark” is told in a strong, subjective voice that draws attention to the narrator and makes him a key player in the story. At nearly every moment, we know what the narrator is thinking and how he views the characters’ behavior. It is clear from the beginning that the narrator dislikes Aylmer and his quest to eliminate the birthmark and that he sympathizes with Georgiana. The narrator might be characterized as a chatty, intelligent friend sharing a particularly juicy piece of gossip. At several points in the story, he all but addresses us directly, imploring us, for example, to notice how bad Aylmer looks in comparison even to an animal like Aminadab. The narrator can also be characterized as a moralist who condescends to his readers. Rather than trusting us to figure out the symbolism of the birthmark, for example, or allowing us to draw our own conclusions about the soundness of Aylmer’s experiment, the narrator rushes to explain every metaphor and symbol as if we might miss his point. ** Symbolism ** – The birthmark represents Georgiana's humanity, which Hawthorne indicates is equivalent to representing her flaws. It is man's nature to be mortal and imperfect, he argues in this story – that's just what it means to be a human.