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Alexis Roulhac Prof. Angela Jacobs ENC 1102 April 7, 2014 Analysis of the Birthmark In The Birthmark, a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne written in the 19th century a husband is obsessed with his wife Georgiana being perfect. She has a birthmark on her left cheek that he perceives as a flaw, and he strives for perfection by performing a scientific experiment to remove the birthmark which ends in her death. The story explores the themes of conflict between science and morality, feminism, and uses the birthmark as an explicit symbol of imperfection. There are many feminist aspects that are derived from this story. Societys views on how women should look have influenced what man look for in women. The wife Georgiana is clearly under her husbands scrutiny because he wanted a birthmark removed from her face, and she let him perform experimentation to remove it. As he led her over the threshold of the laboratory, Georgiana was cold and tremulous.(Hawthorne 294) This shows how Georgiana let her husband perform experimentation on her simply to satisfy him, even though she was nervous. Because of Aylmers attitude toward her birthmark, she wanted to change for him. Social inequality of women is obvious in the story because it is evident that the wifes identity is a product of her husband (Fetterly).The consequences of women being trapped in the laboratory of a mans mind is also evident because the experimentation of Aylmer on Georgiana caused her death. Implicit feminism is portrayed because if the story were in reverse and told about a woman that was trying to perfect her husband, she would only get so far however, like in The Birthmark where if a man tries to perfect his wife, she will become under his examination and cause the wife to

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become insecure due to his scrutiny. Aylmer leaves Georgiana with a sense of self consciousness which leads to shame and self-hatred (Fetterly). In todays society there are numerous depictions of how a woman should be or look for example skin, hair, and the way that they dress. This story coincides with that because it shows how something that this wife was given to by nature is taken as a blemish by Aylmer.Men tearing down women to fit their requirements as what they see as an Ideal Woman can lead to destruction. There are many themes throughout the story one being that fleshly desires and sin can cause one to make poor decisions (Colson). While Aylmer wanted the birthmark removed from Georgianas cheek, in their decision of making of removing the birthmark they didnt think the consequences would have been death, therefore a bad decision was made to remove the birthmark. Aylmer and Georgiana may have made a more rational decision upon knowing that the use of science can be dangerous. Thy sensible to, frame, shall soon be perfect. (Hawthorne 300) Aylmer believed that after she had drunk this potion she would be perfect. Aylmer was acting selfish because he wanted to make his wife perfect for his own pleasures in saying that his wife was beautiful without any flaws. At the beginning of the story Georgiana didnt find her birthmark to be a problem. Georgianas feelings about her birthmark grew, becoming more negative as Aylmer brought it up and constantly talked about the size was small however Aylmer made it seem as though it was bigger than it actually was. When Aylmer asked her if she had even considered removing the birthmark she replied No, indeed, said she, smiling; but perceiving the seriousness of his matter, she blushed deeply 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 291) Georgiana figured that if others considered her birthmark to be charming, she should as well. Only in death, can one be perfect. This theme shows how the wifes death was a consequence of

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her husband trying to manipulate the human imperfection. The momentary circumstance was too strong for him; he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and living once for all in Eternity to find the perfect future in the present.(Hawthorne 301) With the removal of the birthmark, Georgiana has now become too perfect for this world which is filled with flaws and such imperfection. The theme of morality is also used because when Georgiana died it was the only way she had been out from under her husbands scrutiny. In the story science vs. man is a theme. Because Aylmer was a scientist he felt like he could manipulate nature by using science. Without moral foundation, science can go wrong.

Overt symbolism is used to show what the birthmark itself actually represented. The birthmark symbolized Georgiana herself. To her husband Aylmer, the birthmark represented a blemish, or a deformity. In order to be the true definition of beauty, Aylmer insisted on this birthmark being removed. The birthmark is so much of a problem to him, he even has nightmares about it, he is so adamant about it being removed. The birthmark was simply something given to Georgiana by nature. Her emotions adapt to how her husband feels about the birthmark. Through symbolism, many modern issues were expressed such as how men view women, and perceive something given by nature to be a flaw. The birthmark on Georgianas left cheek symbolized different things to different people. For example, there were many people who admired the Georgiana s birthmark therefore, everyone didnt imagine it as being a mark of imperfection of natures flaws. Perception is a factor because depending on how it was perceived that was determining factor of it was deemed as beauty or not. To symbolize female physiology as a blemish, a deformity suggest that women are in need of some such redemption (Fetterly). The mark on Georgianas cheek also symbolizes mortality. The birthmark, that is something not acquired but

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inherent, one of Georgianas givens, in fact equivalent to her (Fetterly). Georgiana didnt ask for the birthmark to suddenly appear, it was given to by nature. The fact that Georgianas birthmark was given to her by it is symbolic of Aylmer trying to manipulate nature. Nathaniel Hawthornes The Birthmark was effective in using the underlying themes to derive symbolism. Throughout the story there were also many feminist aspects as well. Many of the themes found in The Birthmark can be applied to todays society. For example, one being that fleshly desires and sin can cause one to make poor decisions (Colson) Hawthorne was effective in this short story because there are many aspects that are simply accurate on how men view women , and how there will always be a type of inequality towards women.