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Critical analysis of the birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Critical analysis of the birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel hawthorne depiction of women
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Georgiana's behavior in the 19th century from Nathaniel Hawthorne “The Birthmark”. By the 19th century standards she is expected to live by a certain way and do certain things to satisfied her husband. Georgiana lived up to her expectations as a women and as a wife. Women in the 19th century were idealized as just housewives with no career. Kathryn Hughes stated that “women were to stay home and cleaned. While men laboured all day” (pg.1). They were seen to be physically weaker, therefore they couldn’t have a labored intensive jobs (Balanza, pg.1). “Women were expected to do needlework, responsible for making and mending clothes and household linen (pg.1). Women believed in order to be a successful wife they had to listen and give whatever
In the short story, “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Aylmer, a man devoted entirely to science, who marries Georgiana, a beautiful young woman with a single imperfection. Georgiana’s imperfection is merely a birthmark on her cheek that bears the resemblance of a tiny crimson hand. Still, this mark becomes the object of Aylmer’s obsession, and he resolves to use his scientific prowess to correct “what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work.” Aylmer succeeds in removing the birthmark; however, he unfortunately causes his wife’s death in the process. Through his skillful use of diction, foreshadowing, symbolism, irony, paradox, allusion, and antithesis, Hawthorne warns of the consequences of man having the desire and power to control and alter nature, and suggests that nothing paradisiacal can exist on this earth; that being imperfect is just part of being human.
Uttering heartless words to a partner about their flaws is a reflection of one’s insecurity in the relationship. The short story “The Birthmark” gives readers insight into Aylmer, a questionable scientist who fails at experiments, and his wife Georgiana, an obedient wife who fulfills her husband’s commands. Aylmer is insecure and as a result denigrates Georgiana about her birthmark to purposefully make her despise the mark. Georgiana never thought of her birthmark as a flaw because men were enchanted by her fairy-like miniature hand with a shade of crimson. However, Georgiana being the good wife that she is, agrees to become her husband’s experiment to get the birthmark removed in order to make Aylmer happy. In this story it is evident that
Though everyone has their own definition of happiness and how it may be achieved, many still fall victim to society’s overwhelming standards and high expectations of how one should live. Throughout life, many that seek power may claim to have the answers one yearns for in order to gain the trust and loyalty they need to rule. However, by letting the ideas of the superior classes in society influence the course of actions one takes to achieve happiness, one automatically forfeits their natural right for the pursuit of happiness because how some may view happiness is not necessarily what one may want out of life. Various authors have portrayed this sense of absolute power through their writing as a way to bring awareness about the lack of control
The Birthmark, 1843 is a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne an author who has written several well-known literary classics. This author is known for his excellent use of literary elements. In the story, The Birthmark, Hawthorne does a great job of capturing symbolism throughout its entirety. The author is able to incorporate everyday things into his story and give them a meaning beyond their everyday definition. The biggest and most important example of this would be the birthmark.
In the world we live in things can sometimes appear to be separated, disconnect and even paradoxical in nature. Life and death, light and dark, good and evil, but what about science and literature? “The Birthmark” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1848. The short story is about an eminent alchemist whose first love is his work. The story opens with Aylmer persuading a beautiful woman to become his wife. At which point Aylmer notices a small birthmark on her check, and becomes obsessed with this most minute rosy hand that graces her cheek. The story follows Aylmer’s attempt to remove this birthmark, which he states is the only sign of imperfection in here being. The story itself is written using much the same techniques employed by the authors of mythology over the millenniums. The story is written to be read as a simple story to the untrained eye, but for those who have eyes to see, the story goes much deeper. For the
The 19th Century is an age that is known for the Industrial Revolution. What some people don’t realize is the effect that this revolution had on gender roles in not only the middle and upper classes (Radek.) It started off at its worst, men were considered powerful, active, and brave; where as women were in no comparison said to be weak, passive, and timid (Radek.) Now we know this not to be true, however, back in the day people only went by what would allow ...
In the short story “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the protagonist Aylmer and his wife, Georgiana, have a solid, loving marriage. In the short story, Aylmer, the protagonist, is a scientist, married to Georgiana. Georgiana has a hand shaped birthmark on her left cheek, in which Aylmer wants to remove to perfect Georgiana’s beauty. Throughout the story, Aylmer and Georgiana’s marriage is portrayed as a solid, loving one. Aylmer thinks since she is already so close to perfection, with the help of science, what he loves most, he could make her perfect. Georgiana, his wife, shows her unconditional trust, in that she allows him to remove it. She even trusts him after she finds out he has never successfully finished any experiments. He Loves her to such a great extend that although he wants to remove this birthmark, to make her perfect, his top priority is making sure Georgiana is happy about how she looks. Aylmer and his wife,
There are numerous instances of ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”; this essay hopes to explore critics’ comments on that problem within the tale, as well as to analyze it from this reader’s standpoint.
19th-Century Women Works Cited Missing Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail, as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so. One of the most common expectations for women is that they are responsible for doing the chore of cleaning, whether it is cleaning the house, doing the laundry.
Even though it is ethical to remove the birthmark for the couple’s culture since it will resolve their looming problem, is it moral in their perspective? Initially, it was implied that Georgina found it wrong to remove it since she first believed the mark as a “charm” (419) but the soon changed when Aylmer believed the opposite of it. Aylmer has always found it morally correct in his eyes that the removal of the birthmark is a need since he only ever saw it as a scorching stigma that derails him from reaching total happiness and bliss. The wrong becomes right and the right becomes wrong, and together, these events led to the ethical extermination of the birthmark.
In today’s society, it seems that we cannot turn the television on or look in a
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
The first possibility of woman's ideal social role, revolving entirely around her domestic responsibilities, has its origin in the past. Women of white middle class standing had historically taken on the responsibilities of clothing, feeding and caring for all members of the family, while the men had ensured that the raw materials for these duties existed. Stereotypically, the husband would work the farm cultivating the crops and caring for the animals, while the wife would turn these raw materials into the necessities of life, including food and clothing. When industry began to take over in the early 1800's the specific tasks of gender shifted, but the general spheres d...
In this essay, we will try to depict the position of women in the 19th
During the Victorian period, gender roles became more sharply defined than at any time period. Prior to this period, it was normal for a women to work a alongside men. Women in the Greco-Roman period worked with their husbands or brothers in wool works, food shops or the grocery business. As the 19th century continued to flourish men started to escalate in their work at factories, shops and offices. Women were left at home to manage the housework. That was increasingly done by servants. The 19th century in a sense was the early stages of feminism, as women began to fight for their rights and attack the patriarchal society.