The Birthmark Summary

477 Words1 Page

Response to “The Birthmark” The In story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne he begins by introducing the main character whose name is Aylmer. Aylmer s a brilliant scientist and natural philosopher who has left behind his experiments to marry beautiful Georgiana. We are told Georgiana is blessed with a birthmark upon her face. The narrator explains that the birthmark on her cheek is a red mark in the shape of a tiny hand on her left cheek. The mark disappears when she blushes; male admirers love the birthmark, and would do anything just to kiss it.
However, One day, Aylmer asks his wife if she had ever thought about removing her birthmark on her cheek. She cheerfully says no but grows very serious when she sees that he was being serious. …show more content…

As the couple enters the laboratory, Aylmer shudders at the sight of Georgiana, and she faints. Aminadab, Aylmer’s assistant, comes out to help. He says he would not remove the birthmark if Georgiana were his wife.
He brings her a potion that he says cannot fail. He shows her how it cures a geranium of blots. She drinks the liquid and sleeps. Aylmer watches her with tenderness but also as if he is watching a scientific experiment unfold. Gradually the birthmark fades. Aminadab laughs. Georgiana wakes, sees herself in the mirror, and tells Aylmer not to feel bad about rejecting “the best the earth could offer.” Then she dies.
This whole story is all about foreshadowing, like when Aylmer dreams of cutting off Georgiana’s birthmark and finding that the roots plunge down into her heart, which he decides to cut out. Then Georgiana faints the first time she sees the laboratory, Aylmer gives her a beautiful, fast-blooming flower that he created withered and turned black as soon as she touches it. Over and over again, we see that Aylmer’s experiments usually go very wrong and have destructive, unintended consequences. Georgiana’s death, therefore, comes as no surprise to the

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Devices In The Birthmark

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story, “The Birthmark” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters, foreshadowing, symbolism, and other rhetorical devices to alert people of the consequences of man having the power to control and alter nature. Additionally, through his skillful usage of diction, Hawthorne warns of the effects of seeking perfection through science. In “The Birthmark”, Aylmer, a man devoted entirely to science, marries Georgiana, a beautiful young woman with a single imperfection. Georgiana’s imperfection bears the resemblance of a tiny crimson hand and is visible on her left cheek. The birthmark 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.” He succeeds in removing the birthmark; however, he unfortunately causes his wife’s death in the process. Through “The Birthmark”, Hawthorne suggests that nothing paradisiacal can exist on this earth, and that being imperfect is just part of being human.

    Read More

  • Comparing Nature In The Yellow Wallpaper, And The Open Boat

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    The attempted removal of Georgiana’s birthmark by Aylmer signifies a desire to conquer nature and reveals a hidden quality within Aylmer. The first instance in which the reader sees Aylmer trying to conquer or control nature is subtle, it is near the beginning of the story and the narrator says “[Aylmer] persuaded a beautiful woman to become his wife” (211). The common belief is that love occurs naturally and cannot be forced. It seems as though the narrator chooses to state that Aylmer persuaded his wife, rather than fell in love with her, in order to indicate early on in the text Aylmer’s tendencies toward manipulating nature. Later in the

    Read More

  • The Birthmark And My Last Duchess Analysis

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Birthmark” and “My Last Duchess” are two very different works, from two completely different genres. “The Birthmark” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “My Last Duchess” is a poem written by Robert Browning. Although, these are two different genres, they have very similar themes and parallels. These works explore the problems with power and control in marriages at two different time periods and places and shows what it can drive a man to do. “The Birthmark” has a lot of symbolism, imagery and allegory. This story is about a pretty normal newlywed couple, Aylmer and Georgiana. “Such a union accordingly took place, and was attended with truly remarkable consequences and a deeply impressive moral. (2)” This quote is very interesting because the word “union” means many things. From one perspective it can mean the marriage between Aylmer and Georgiana, and on the other hand it could refer to the union of Aylmer’s love for Georgiana and science. Aylmer is thoroughly devoted to his career in science, and he was recently married to Georgiana so he is just getting to know what being married is like. The birthmark is the conflict in their marriage and in the story, Aylmer isn’t into Georgiana’s birthmark and he requests for her to allow him to remove it. He soon realizes that taking off the birthmark isn’t as simple as it seems because it is interwoven into Georgiana’s face. Georgiana then allows Aylmer to remove the birthmark, even though she knows he isn’t a successful scientist. The liquid that Aylmer has Georgiana drink slowly kills her, and Aylmer is shown to be a complete fool. The actual birthmark itself is the main symbol used throughout the story. “My Last Duchess” is a poem about a Duke who showing someone ...

    Read More

  • Excerpt: Sethe And Paul D's Beloved

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    “He rubbed his cheek on her back and learned that way her sorrow, the roots of it; its wide trunk and intricate branches. Raising his fingers to the hooks of her dress, he knew without seeing them or hearing any sign that the tears were coming fast. And when the top of her dress was around her hips and he saw the sculpture her back had become, like the decorative work of an ironsmith too passionate for display, he could think but not say, ‘Aw, Lord, girl.’ And he would tolerate no peace until he had touched every ridge and leaf of it with his mouth, none of which Sethe could feel because her back skin had been dead for years. What she knew was that the responsibility for her breasts, at last, was in somebody else’s hands” (26).

    Read More

  • Obsessing About Perfection in The Birthmark

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    The birthmark is a compelling story of one man’s obsession with his scientific ability to produce perfection. Aylmer, a scientist, is married to a Georgiana who is a very beautiful woman. Not long after getting married Georgiana’s birthmark, which is in the shape of a tiny handprint on her check, really begins to bother Aylmer. He sees it as a flaw in an other wise perfect woman. Georgiana knows that her birthmark disgusts him and, having grown up not bother at all by it, begins to hate it herself. He asks if she has ever considered having it removed. This is not something she has considered since other people in her life, especially men, have always seen it as a “charm”. Aylmer being an amazing scientist almost sees himself as god and feels that he has the power to remove this imperfection. Georgiana, bothered by her husband’s reaction to her birthmark, agrees to let him try to rid her of it. She is taken to his laboratory and he immediately begins to experiment. After she finds Aylmer’s book of experiments, which all end in failure, she for the first time, has some doubt about how this will work and confronts him. He reassures her and begins to try a multitude of methods, with the help of his assistant Aminadab, which do not work. At one point, there are several experiments going on and he even refers to himself as a “sorcerer” (Hawthorne 232). Finally, he produces a potion, which she drinks, and the birthmark begins to disappear! Slowly though, even as the experiment is working, Georgiana is fading away. He finds that ultimately, the birthmark was connected to her very soul and in his trying to act god like he actually kills her. Really this short story just proves that science has its limits and no man should try to act like G...

    Read More

  • Georgiana's Mortality In 'The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aylmer says, “The concoction of the draught has been perfect," said he, in answer to Georgiana's look. “Unless all my science have deceived me, it cannot fail” (Hawthorne,). To prove to Georgiana how well it works he shows her how it removes the blotches from a geranium plant. Georgiana says, "There needed no proof," said Georgiana, quietly. "Give me the goblet I joyfully stake all upon your word” (Hawthorne,). Georgiana then drinks the potion and falls into a deep sleep. As she sleeps the birthmark began to disappear, “She remained not less pale than ever; but the birthmark with every breath that came and went, lost somewhat of its former distinctness”

    Read More

  • The Birthmark Symbolism Essay

    1809 Words  | 4 Pages

    Out of love for her husband, Georgina agrees to go on with the experiment. Aylmer shows her that the elixir will cure her of her imperfection by putting it on a plant that was covered in spots and before their eyes, the spots on the plant disappeared. Right away, Aylmer gave his wife the elixir and, like magic, the birthmark disappeared. As the two were looking at what the elixir did to Georgina, they neglected to see the plant dying. Before they knew it, Georgina started to slowly die right in front of her husband’s eyes.

    Read More

  • The Birthmark

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every relationship is different. Weather one may be in a relationship with a boy, or just a friend, it is different. Even though they are different, the characters in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “IND AFF” by Fay Weldon are in similar relationships. That is, the male is dominant over the female, and the woman thinks the man is her knight in shining armor. In the beginning of “IND AFF” the unnamed woman thinks her professor, Peter, who she is having an affair with, is her ticket to creating a good thesis and higher standings. Similarly, in “The Birthmark,” Georgiana thinks her husband is her ticket to flawless beauty because he tells her he will remove her birthmark. Obviously, this is not how relationships operate in today’s society. These two relationships compare and contrast with each other as well as with relationships in today’s day-and-age.

    Read More

  • Situational Irony In Josh Patcher's Invitation To Murder

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs. Eleanor Madeline Branigan went on and told them how this was not her husband, but a lifeless man. Then she advised the men how she was going to murder him tonight with the weapons on the table, unless them men can stop her by the time the clock stuck 12, anytime passed 12 she would not kill her husband. At 10:10 she got up to reach for the amber bottle of, what they assumed, poison, but the men forced her back into her chair. At 10:20 Mrs. Eleanor Madeline Branigan rose up and headed towards the poison again, but was compelled back to her chair. She kept trying to revive the Amber bottle, but , like the other times, was constrained back to her seat. When the clock hit 10:59, Gregory's eyes twitched and he took his final breaths. Then Mrs. Eleanor Madeline Branigan stood up and announced that the amber bottle was his medication and that he needed to obtain it to survive. Next, she told them that the medication could kill anyone by speeding up their heart too fast, except for Gregory since his heartbeat was slower than the average

    Read More

  • The Birthmark Flaws

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character in “The Birthmark,” Georgiana owns a physical flaw upon her face, a birthmark. This upsetting flaw on such a beautiful person results in Aylmer’s reaction to get rid of it, “...this possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection.” Similar to Doctor Heidegger, Aylmer knows the power of science and has the natural reaction that he can fix all flaws. This desire quickly turns into Aylmer’s flaw as he sins more and more, which upsets his wife and causes her to notice and be ashamed of her birthmark. His want to remove the birthmark is such a strong natural reaction, that his wife sees how upsetting it is and sins herself. She demands that, “Being what I find myself, methinks I am of all mortals the most fit to die.” Although the coupe was unhappy with the appearance of a flaw that was evident on Georgiana’s cheek, it would have been an even more capital sin to kill herself over the minor mark, but a worse sin for Aylmer to kill his wife. This was the result of his mental flaw that everyone needed to be spotless, and beautiful, so he finally committed a deadly sin. Hawthorne describes this flaw, leading to both of the spouses committing or thinking of deadly sins when he summarizes the problems that plague Aylmer, writing, “Yet, had Aylmer reached a profounder wisdom, he need not thus flung away happiness…” The human nature of the scientist was to abolish imperfection, instead of appreciate it as individuality, resulting in the death of his wife, the worse sin of

    Read More

  • The Birthmark And Tell Tale Heart Analysis

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aylmer is determined to remove the flaw, thus deciding that a medical procedure is necessary. He convinces Georgiana to participate in an experiment to remove the birthmark on her cheek. Aylmer is disgusted that a woman as beautiful as Georgiana would not be pure perfection. Aylmer is so obsessed with Georgiana’s face that would rather risk her life than be married to a woman with an ugly mark on her skin. Georgiana goes through with the tonic to please her husband, but the experiment goes terribly wrong. After taking the potion, Georgiana showed poisonous effects and became very sick. On her deathbed Georgiana tells Aylmer that he has rejected the best that he could ever have. Although the small scourge of sin was present upon her, Aylmer rejects the complete person of his wife in his effort to purge her of

    Read More

  • The Birthmark

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    1. Our society tends to be obsessed with the idea of physical perfection. How does our society manifest that obsession? How is the 'Birthmark'; an early version of our modern obsession with physical perfection?

    Read More

  • The Birthmark Literary Criticism

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tone adopted by Hawthorne from the inception of the narrative toward Aylmer urges the reader to respect Aylmer’s scientific ambition—directly his triumph of head over heart, but indirectly his objectification of Georgiana and subsequent attempts to fix something that she never thought was a flaw. Not only is Aylmer’s obsession with getting rid of her birthmark selfish in that he does it for “the sake of giving himself peace” (647) rather than any desire to make his wife happy, he also admits to feeling guilt over his tyrannical treatment of her. For example, his “horror and disgust” in response to her facial blight rarely escapes her notice, and when she reacts poorly to his “convulsive shudder,” he attempts to soothe her and “release her mind from the burden of actual things” (650) as if she is an empty-headed infant in need of a pacifier. Furthermore, in response to her desperate request for its removal, he isolates her from humanity, administers potentially harmful concoctions into her rooms and body without her knowledge, and ultimately—and rapturously—succeeds in shrinking the mark at the cost of her

    Read More

  • Social Issues in Hedda Gabler

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    A pregnancy will force her to gain weight and lose her lovely womanly figure. Hedda has grown accustomed to her many admirers; therefore, Hedda is perturbed and embarrassed when George says to Aunt Julie, "But have you noticed how plump and buxom she's grown?... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • The Birthmark Character Analysis Essay

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne did not do much explaining when it came to the characters involved in "The Birthmark". He did not portray the main characters: Aylmer, Georgiana, and Ambidab as human beings, but rather as symbols. While analyzing the story "The Birthmark", I have achieved some great insight of the author 's articulate writing style; especially, his style of making characters have symbolic meaning. In this story, Hawthorne uses his characters to symbolize specific things. In this ambiguous, short story, the three characters each symbolize Science, Beauty, and Nature. Each character represents an unusual force that has equally worked against each other.

    Read More

More about The Birthmark Summary

Open Document