Dark Romanticism In 'The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a descendant of Puritan ancestors. Since his family suffered a long and shameful violent history, Hawthorne added a “w” in his last name when he was in his early 20s. William Hawthorne, one of the first Puritan settlers who arrived in New England in 1630 was among Hawthorne’s ancestors. His father was a ship captain who died of yellow fever when he was just four years old. Due to his father’s death, his mother became very protective of him and left him in very isolated settings. Hawthorne was a very shy and a book worm which is also visible in his life as a writer. A leg injury at an early age left Nathaniel immobile for a several months during which time he acquired a ravenous appetite for reading and adjusted his sights on becoming a writer. With the help of his wealthy uncles financially, Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College from 1821 to 1825. While going to college, Nathaniel Hawthorne missed his mother and two sisters very

much and after graduation, returned home for a 12-years stay. During this time, he set out to write with purpose and soon establish his “voice” self-publishing several stories, among them The Hollow of the Three Hills and An Old Woman’s Tale. By 1832, he had written My Kinsman, Major Molineux and Roger Malvin’s Burial, which were two of his greatest tales. And in 1837, he wrote Twice Told Tales, which is also one of his very famous book. Though his writing got him some notoriety, it didn’t offer a dependable income and for a time he solved for the Boston Custom House weighing and gaging salt and coal. Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody who was a painter and an illustrator on July 9, 1842 and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. He had three children from his wife Sophia.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories include "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" (1832), "Roger Malvin's Burial" (1832), "Young Goodman Brown" (1835), and the collection Twice-Told Tales. He is best recognized for his novels The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). His role of parable and symbolism make Hawthorne one of the most read authors. He wrote The Scarlet Letter in 1846, which was a story of two lovers who fought with Puritan moral laws. The book was one of the first off-the-shelf publications in the United States and its wide circulation made Hawthorne very famous. During the 1852 elections, Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce. In return, when Pierce was elected as a president, he appointed Hawthorne as an American Consul to Britain as. Hawthorne stayed in England with his family from 1853-1857. In 1860, he finished his last novel The Marble Faun and that same year he also moved back to the United States with his family. After the year of 1860, it was becoming seeming that Hawthorne was moving past his prime time as an author. His health started to give out and he seemed to age considerably, hair becoming white and experiencing slowness of thought. For a long time, he refused to seek medical help and died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, at Plymouth New Hampshire.
“The Birthmark” is one of a portrayal of Dark Romanticism written by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

It is a portrait of society which shows the importance of science due to its development during the eighteenth century. Hawthorne’s stories explore how people being inherently good, can easily divert to committing sin due to lack of sensible judgement. Like many of his other works, the “The Birthmark” also take place in the past century. In this story, Hawthorne uses Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory, Setting, and Dark Romanticism to communicate lots of ideas about the range of themes like the power of science and a message about what happens to the unsuccessful attempt of human fight against nature. The message that Hawthorne is trying to convey through “The Birthmark,” probably has connections to the common culture and the social dislocations due to industrialization during that time. The consequences of altering what is given by nature is far worse than accepting the call of

nature.
At first glance “The Birthmark,” seems to be a very simple story with a very simple moral but, as we look closely we discover it to be very complex and very opposite to our perception. Hawthorne begins the story giving a little background information about the time period this story took place. He is probably trying to give a general idea about the influence of science on people during the eighteenth century. Before the birthmark comes into the story, the narrator gives a background picture of the main character and introduces Aylmer as a genius scientist and natural philosopher who has abandoned himself from his profession to marry a beautiful women Georgiana. From the very beginning of the story when Aylmer is married, until the end in which he loses his wife, all the incidents occurring give a sign of a doomed marriage. Their marriage is totally dominated by Aylmer who thinks of his wife’s birthmark as an imperfection of nature and then, in striving to improve her, kills her. He shows his dominancy over Georgiana with very ease and convinces her by praising her beauty but disliking her birthmark. For Georgiana, who has thought of her birthmark as a charm, completely accepts her husband’s valuation for her and agrees to go through the removal process. Hawthorne seems to suggest dramatically, the role of women in the nineteenth century, whereby a women turns submissive towards her husband.
Aylmer wants to use his wife as a tool of science to experiment with. Hawthorne uses foreshadowing through the dream sequence of Aylmer whereby he gives us a hint of what will be the outcome if Aylmer proceeds to alter with nature. Georgiana, for the sake of her love, unwillingly agrees to undergo the process of removing the mark. Before going forward with the procedure of removing the mark, Hawthorne introduces a new character, Aminadab, who is an assistant to Aylmer and helps him with his experiment. Although he is shown as a man of low stature though his physical characteristics, it conveys a message that the person cannot be judged by his appearance. Aminadab is uses as a foil character since his ideas about the mark are in contrast with his master, Aylmer. The setting of the lab and boudoir is also contrasting each other and Hawthorne uses this setting to distinguish characters of Aylmer and Georgiana. While Georgiana is placed in the boudoir waiting for her husband as he is preparing to cure her mark, she goes through different emotions. Although Georgiana is nervous about what is going to happen to her, nonetheless she agrees to go through the procedure at the cost of her life. This shows how a wife is devoted to her husband and is ready to happily risk her life for the sake of her love. Throughout the number of hours spent in the lab, Aylmer uses various options to soothe Georgiana and does not think about reconsidering his idea of removing the mark. Being mindfully aware about the failures of his previous experiments he is taking chance thus risking the life of his wife. The use of Pygmalion as an illusion illustrates the results accomplished by the artist and Aylmer.
The climax of the story is very emotional and reveals self-realization of Aylmer after the procedure is concluded. The laughter heard by Aylmer at the end of the procedure over the death of his wife seems like the nature laughing on the failed attempt of the scientist. The incapability to achieve perfection over nature tears both couple apart forever. Hawthorne clearly shows the effect faced by a women due to the scrutiny of men. The “Birthmark” clearly illustrates the consequences of actions to everyone who shows a sign of dissatisfaction towards nature’s phenomena and tries to alter it with unsuccessful attempts. It also powerlessness of women whereby they are considered as an object to face the cruel and dominant nature of men to make them perfect. Although Aylmer succeeded in his project, he had to pay the price of his beloved’s life.