Hawthorne's theme was relevant in his day and is still relevant today. Hawthorne was concerned that too much individualism ultimately could greatly diminish the quality of life. .
The individualistic aspect of the story is a function of human fear of the unknown and that some people would be happy with things the way they are. When Aylmer thinks his experiment has been successful he does no realize there is a problem until Georgiana says, .
"My poor Aylmer!" she repeated with a more than tender humanness. "You have aimed loftily! -You have done nobly! Do not repent, that, with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best that earth has to offer. Dearest-dearest Aylmer- I am dying (Hawthorne, 1963, p. 219)!" .
But the individualistic stereotypes are so obsessed with perfecting nature that they will stop at nothing with their particular goal in mind. Hawthorne is not sure we are capable of a healthy balance between public and private lives. Hawthorne wants to show that .
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personal gain, in Aylmer's case, can drive a man to share his life with so others that he puts his wife's private life in harm's way. In this case he kills Georgiana. He is so involved in his process he totally ignores his own intuition that tells him he may have a disaster on his hands. In his dream he notices that as he and Aminidab were attempting to remove the Birthmark, .
"the deeper went the knife, the deeper sank the hand, until at length its tiny grasp appeared to have caught hold of Georgiana's heart; whence, however, her husband was inexorably resolved to cut or wrench it away (Hawthorne, 1963, p. 206)." .
Hawthorne does not believe that most people are self aware enough to make the distinction between private and public lives. This shows that Aylmer, the scientist, has reduced Georgiana, who is the embodiment of the typical private life, to an object and not the perfection of nature that she is.
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. ...
The birthmark continued to taunt his ideal love for women. ... His dominance over her, like the dominant role of husbands of the era, quickly causes her own opinion of the birthmark to change. ... No human is perfect, just as Georgiana's birthmark can not be removed without her tragic death immediately following. ... He could not realize that his obsession of hating the birthmark would lead to his meddling in the works of creation. ... As the birthmark, the symbol of mortality, fades, life is annihilated. ...
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. ...
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. ...
