Theme of the birthmark by nathaniel hawthorne. The Birthmark Themes 2022-12-26
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In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark," the theme revolves around the dangerous pursuit of perfection and the destructive nature of obsessive love.
The main character, Aylmer, is a scientist who is obsessed with removing a small birthmark from his wife's cheek, believing it to be a flaw that detracts from her otherwise perfect beauty. Aylmer's pursuit of perfection ultimately leads to the tragic demise of his wife, Georgiana, as he uses dangerous and untested methods to try to remove the birthmark.
Throughout the story, Hawthorne uses the birthmark as a symbol for the imperfections that are inherent in all human beings. Despite Aylmer's attempts to remove it, the birthmark remains a constant reminder of Georgiana's humanity and the fact that no one can ever be truly perfect.
The theme of the destructive nature of obsessive love is also prominent in the story. Aylmer's love for Georgiana becomes all-consuming, and he is willing to risk her life in order to achieve his own ideal of perfection. This demonstrates the dangers of allowing one's love to become all-consuming and blinding, as it can lead to harm and destruction.
In conclusion, the theme of "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the dangerous pursuit of perfection and the destructive nature of obsessive love. Through the character of Aylmer and his obsession with removing Georgiana's birthmark, Hawthorne highlights the dangers of attempting to achieve an impossible standard of perfection and the consequences that can arise when love becomes all-consuming.
The Theme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
Aylmer lost the one thing from earth that brought him happiness. Georgiana knows that she is dying. Nathaniel and Sophia Peabody had a daughter named Rose in 1851 when Nathaniel and Sophia lived in Salem, Massachusetts after they spent time at Mount Greylock, Massachusetts where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived with his wife Frances Appleton on the way to Boston, Massachusetts. The moral behind this story is that no human can live as a perfect being, since we are naturally imperfect. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
They believed some subjects, such as human emotion and control over life, should not fall into scientific study and explication. Sculpture by Bela Pratt 1867-1917. According to Aylmer, every living thing has imperfection and its nature's way of reminding us that everything dies. In the mid-nineteenth century of Hawthorne, there were no treatments for removing a port-wine stain. He's sure he will be able to come up with a potion to fix her. Another common theme in his writing is alienation.
Carroll Literature 2326 5 October 2014 Different Hues of Darkness At first glance, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe may appear as though they are two birds of a feather. Once the elixir is ready, Georgiana drinks it and quickly falls asleep. She says it is delicious, but that she needs to sleep. Lesson Summary Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne a popular example of a Romantic author from the 19th century , 'The Birthmark' is traditional Romantic literature. Aylmer demonstrates the powers of the potion by pouring it into a plant with several blemishes.
Theme Of Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
Puritans believed in utopia, the perfect world, and the perfect life in order to please their God and receive his grace and go to heaven. Hawthorne calls the birthmark 'a token of human imperfection;' he also noted that nature marks all her creations with some such flaw. Aylmer craved perfection in his wife; he wanted immortality. Pretty soon he can't think of anything else. Background of 'The Birthmark' Has anyone ever called you a romantic? His imagination and the way he viewed the birthmark caused his more trouble than love. What do all these objects have in common? Once it's removed, her life is also gone.
He saw it as "a symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death. Throughout the story, Hawthorne makes much use of foreshadowing. Nathaniel Hathorne wrote A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys in 1851 when Nathaniel lived in Salem, Massachusetts with Nathaniel Hathorne family members including Elizabeth Peabody who was his sister who died of tuberculosis at the age of forty-two on March 9, 1846. As she lay there, the birthmark starts to fade entirely from her face. In his misguided confidence, he supplies Georgiana with the drink which does remove the mark, but also takes her life.
The Theme Of Symbolism In Hawthorne's The Birthmark By...
Similarly, Georgiana is obsessed with Aylmer. Most of the time, we think of our flaws and imperfections as things we want to get rid of but instead, we must see them as divine gifts of what God gave us. Georgiana was heartbroken when she discovered how Aylmer felt about her and her birthmark. Nathaniel and Sophia had four children: Una, Julian Rose and William Hathorne. This was in response to the Age of Reason, which was a period of time when authors thought emotion was unnecessary; they loved science and wrote a lot of non-fiction. The Art of Marriage Maintenance 2005 and the textbook The Gravity of Weight 2010 , Dr.
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay Example
During the Age of Reason, authors thought emotion was unnecessary; they loved science and wrote a lot of non-fiction. The writing style of the previous century, a time that had been known as the Age of Reason. Even after she drinks Aylmer's potion and is slowly dying, she isn't angry at him for killing her. He believes that by using science, he can fix nature. His desire for perfection can only result in death for Georgiana because becoming an ideal, perfect being means she cannot exist in this world. Aylmer doesn't just love science; he is obsessed with it.
It isn't until her husband mentions something to her that she feels wrong for having the naturally occurring spot. Like Aylmer, he regards the mark as a blemish; he simply sees it as a blemish, which implies her true perfection. His need for perfection can be seen when Aylmer says: "No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me" Hawthorne. Aylmer is a "man of science," and he sets to work trying to make a concoction that will get rid of the birthmark. Just as Aylmer thinks he has succeeded, Georgiana dies. She also hints that there might be some connection between the birthmark and her life.
