The Birthmark Character Analysis
The Significance beyond the Mark
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” he focuses on two main characters, Georgiana, a beautiful woman with a “crimson… mark… on her left cheek [in the shape of a] human hand” (Hawthorne 6), and Georgiana’s husband, Aylmer, which is very obsessed with Georgiana’s birthmark. Hawthorne focuses on these two characters due to the great significance they both have with the mark on Georgiana’s face. In the novel, Aylmer wants to remove Georgiana’s birthmark because he believes that the mark ruins the beauty of his wife. The mark on Georgiana’s face is viewed as a symbol of imperfection through a pair of imperfect eyes.
In the novel, the mark on Georgiana’s face symbolizes multiple things, especially the unity that Aylmer and Georgiana have together in marriage together. As stated by Jeffery Howard, “Georgiana’s unsightly mark …show more content…
Aylmer is thought to be in “love for his young wife” (Hawthorne 5), but it seems as Aylmer focuses more in the “defect or a beauty… [on Georgiana’s face in which he believes is a] visible mark of earthy imperfection”. (Hawthorne 5) Aylmer grows quite an obsession with Georgiana’s imperfection and no longer thinks of her as his wife, but more as an imperfect stain on her “almost perfect” body. Take Howard’s interpretation for example, “Aylmer’s obsessive resolve to cut away the mark from Georgiana’s heart illustrates that it, not she, the woman whose life he is willing to sacrifice in order to satisfy his pride and alchemic pursuits, is the center of his existence and the object to which he unifies himself. Once again, the birthmark disrupts the relationship of the two individuals, supplanting Georgiana as Aylmer’s attention and thoughts gravitate away for her and toward the red hand upon her cheek. (Howard 134) Howard’s exposition displays Aylmer’s shallowness that constantly is shown towards his
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” he focuses on two main characters, Georgiana, a beautiful woman with a “crimson… mark… on her left cheek [in the shape of a] human hand” (Hawthorne 6), and Georgiana’s husband, Aylmer, which is very obsessed with Georgiana’s birthmark. Hawthorne focuses on these two characters due to the great significance they both have with the mark on Georgiana’s face. In the novel, Aylmer wants to remove Georgiana’s birthmark because he believes that the mark ruins the beauty of his wife. The mark on Georgiana’s face is viewed as a symbol of imperfection through a pair of imperfect eyes.
In the novel, the mark on Georgiana’s face symbolizes multiple things, especially the unity that Aylmer and Georgiana have together in marriage together. As stated by Jeffery Howard, “Georgiana’s unsightly mark …show more content…
Aylmer is thought to be in “love for his young wife” (Hawthorne 5), but it seems as Aylmer focuses more in the “defect or a beauty… [on Georgiana’s face in which he believes is a] visible mark of earthy imperfection”. (Hawthorne 5) Aylmer grows quite an obsession with Georgiana’s imperfection and no longer thinks of her as his wife, but more as an imperfect stain on her “almost perfect” body. Take Howard’s interpretation for example, “Aylmer’s obsessive resolve to cut away the mark from Georgiana’s heart illustrates that it, not she, the woman whose life he is willing to sacrifice in order to satisfy his pride and alchemic pursuits, is the center of his existence and the object to which he unifies himself. Once again, the birthmark disrupts the relationship of the two individuals, supplanting Georgiana as Aylmer’s attention and thoughts gravitate away for her and toward the red hand upon her cheek. (Howard 134) Howard’s exposition displays Aylmer’s shallowness that constantly is shown towards his