Gender Roles In The Birthmark By Nathanial Hawthorne

The Birthmark”, written by Nathanial Hawthorne portrays how gender roles can psychologically affect a human due to perspectives from those who play an influential role in a person's life. Georgiana, one of the protagonists of the short story, had a red birthmark located on her cheek. She had no shame in the red birthmark, as people always claimed it to be “attractive”. This displays gender roles towards women, as it seems as if what only matters is the physical looks of a female, not her personality. However, her confidence in her physical appearance did not last very long, as Georgia married a man who was not very fond of her red birthmark. Georgiana's husband, Aylmer, insisted that she should remove her red Birthmark, as she would look
“perfect” without it. This showed how Alymer was considered the “decision maker” who had complete control over his wife, while Georgiana was submissive and did whatever her husband wanted. Georgiana no longer felt satisfied with her appearance, considering a person who played an influential role in her life insulted her appearance. Lastly, “The Birthmark” showed a common gender stereotype in which men are judged based off of their intellectual skills, while women are judged based off of their physical appearance. This was shown through Georgiana and Aylmer due to the fact that the main topic of the female was her looks, while the male was shown intellectually, considering he was a successful scientist