The Nature of Women and the Science of Men
Dark romanticism is a sub-genre of gothic literature. It is a genre of writing that focuses on exciting fear, focuses on human fallibility, and portrays nature as a force greater than any man could imagine. One of the most famous writers of dark romanticism is Nathaniel Hawthorne. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne 's writings are much more than simple stories from the dark romantic period. Hawthorne 's short stories "The Birthmark", and "Rappachini 's Daughter" are stories that depict man’s arrogance, their pursuit of perfection through science, and how in the end nature triumphs over man. Both "the Birthmark" and "Rappachinnis Daughter" share a similar storyline and similar characters. In "the Birthmark"
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In “the Birthmark” Georgiana is a new housewife with her husband Alamer. When Alamer notices the birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek he becomes repulsed and disgusted. When Alamer first offers to remove the birthmark with science she refuses, "To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so." (Birthmark). Although, soon after she witnesses further the disgust her birthmark causes her husband she agrees full heartedly saying, “Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust, — life is a burden which I would fling down with joy. Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!” (Birthmark). Georgiana, at first, is highly against the idea of removing her mark, however she is so dependent upon what her husband thinks of her that eventually she is willing to remove the mark even if it costs her health and wellbeing. Even though it is stated that Georgiana has had lovers before who thought of her as beautiful despite the birthmark, she is still dependent upon what her husband thinks of her. In the article “Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark: Science and Romance as Belief” by Barbara Eckstein, it is explained how Georgiana is presented as a passive and obedient wife and she is willing to allow Alamer to tinker with her very nature through science because she believes he is doing so out of love. She is a willing participant because she believes it is what she must do to be a good wife. Similarly in “Rappaccinis Daughter” the woman Beatrice possesses a flaw that her lover tries to eradicate with science. Although, Beatrice’s flaw is not as harmless as Georgiana’s, because Beatrice’s flaw is her poisonous nature. Beatrice became poisonous through her father’s scientific research with poisonous plants, and when Giovanni sees her in the “garden of Eden” her
During the American Renaissance, writers were put into one of two categories. The categories were the Dark Romantics and the Transcendentalists. Some Dark Romantics include Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving. The Dark Romantics stories included creepy symbols, horrific themes, and psychological effects of guilt and sin. The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving gives a few examples as to why life is meaningless to some people.Humans are not all good, there are some cruel people in this world. The Pit and the Pendulum tells you exactly why.
The Death of the Birthmark-A Quest for Perfection 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.”
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark, he uses unperfected beauty to confirm that if God’s creations are meddled with the product is harmful. A scientist, Alymer is married to a beautiful women named Georgiana whose only flaw is a birthmark on her left cheek.
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...
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
The American Renaissance introduced an individualistic approach to viewing society and human nature that focused on equality and the inherent goodness of all mankind. The period ushered in the beginning of widespread movements toward race and gender equality. Out of Sentimental Romanticism came several very successful female writers who used emotional appeals to relate the plights of women to readers. The Transcendentalists who held a philosophical understanding of equality based on human nature rather than characteristics of individuals, asserted that all people are equal by nature, yet didn’t particularly concern themselves with inequality of women. In thought, the Dark Romantics shared the same belief in equality as the other groups of Romantics.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”, was a dark romanticism full of drama and suspense. The short story’s twisted plot line and daring characters made for a great read. Hawthorne’s use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and third person omniscient tence to helped the readers deeper understand what his meaning behind the
Many of the great Romantic authors wrote gothic literature at some point in their literary careers and some even created their literary legacies, perhaps unintentionally, with their tales of horror and suspense. One of the most notable authors during the Romantic period that is well known today for creating one of the greatest literary ...
Georgiana is a fine wife, and a seemingly beautiful one, too. Aylmer expresses deep affection towards his wife, but it is hinted from the beginning that his two passions in life will eventually have to come in conflict. The meaning of the birthmark shifts suddenly in the end, but in the beginning, it is viewed as Georgiana’s ability to be imperfect and to sin. It is in the shape of a human hand because an angel supposedly has a grip on her, linking her to the other world. That is most men’s reactions, but some women viewed it as disastrous to her beauty. Although Aylmer is not initially concerned with it, it eventually gets to him, obsessively occupying himself with it. He would stare at it whenever he had a chance, and tried to be candid about it. When it became apparent that Aylmer was quite concerned with this, Georgiana asked him to elaborate. He was more disgusted by the mark than Georgiana assessed. Her most significant reply to him was “You cannot love what shocks you!”
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark” is written in third person omniscient. This means that we the reader are able to see and feel each character’s thoughts and feelings, giving us the full story. Aylmer, the protagonist, is a mad scientist who is overly obsessed with trying to control Nature though his experiments. His wife, Georgiana, is, in Aylmer’s eyes, the perfect woman except for a hand shaped birthmark that resides on her cheek. Throughout the story Aylmer attempts numerous scientific experiments in order to remove Georgiana’s birthmark. In the end, Georgiana’s birthmark is removed, but she dies, and Aylmer is left alone. It is clear in “The Birthmark” that Nature will never be defeated man, no matter how powerful man may seem to be.
In the 'Birthmark';, a story that is more than a century old Georgiana and her husband Alymar are searching for physical perfection, much like we do today. In addition they manifested their obsession with physical perfection much like we do today. Georgiana was born with a crimson birthmark in the shape of a hand. This birthmark was on her cheek. One day Georgiana discovers that this birthmark 'shocks'; her husband and he is deeply bothered by it. Georgiana finally realizes this after Alymar says 'Georgiana . . . has it ever occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?'; After discussing the birthmark several times with her husband, a talented scientist, Georgiana decides to have it removed by him. It is never stated in full detail exactly how Alymar is going to remove this birthmark, we assume that it will be a surgical procedure. At one point in the story Georgina says to her husband 'If there be the remote possibility of it .
“The Birthmark” is a short story written by author Nathaniel Hawthorne. This short story is filled with symbolism and destructive criticism. It follows the scientist Aylmer and his obsession of removing his wife Georgina’s birthmark. The crimson hand-shaped birthmark on the face of an otherwise perfect, beautiful woman contains deep meanings. Through the use of symbolism, Hawthorne demonstrates the issues and themes of the unattainability of perfection, science and nature, humanity’s flaws, and mortality.
Of the Romantic Movement, two of the most well-known Gothic literature writers were Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. Gothic writers mainly wrote about themes that showed that they did not believe that people were ‘good’ by nature and the stories they wrote focused on the evils and flaws of mankind. These two authors presented their respective stories “Bartleby the Scrivener” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” as novels that explore the lives and behaviors of other human characters. Although the stories have different perspectives and settings, they both reveal more about how the other human characters are and what dark or unusual traits and motives they have.
In "The Birthmark," Aylmer sets about the task of ridding his wife of the one imperfection she has. By attempting to perfect her, the readers get the idea that somehow Georgiana is not adequate and this inadequacy lies in her appearance. The message to the readers seems to be that women need to be perfect on the outside as well as on the inside, which Aylmer claims is flawless. Aylmer decides he is going to "fix" Georgiana. Feminists look at this as a male control issue. There are several mentions of Georgiana as being "otherwise so perfect," in both appearance and soul - save for this birthmark. This idea of having to have the most beautiful wife is very degrading view of women. It plants the idea in our minds that men are superior to women, and that men are the ones who can "fix" females in the attempt to bring them up to the level of me...
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