How Does Hawthorne Describe Aylmer's Character

Aylmer: Hawthorne uses Romanticism to describe Aylmer’s character by focusing on his personal ideals. He is an egotistical maniac who risked the life of his wife in order to remove a birthmark that she has lived with and even been complimented about. His focus on science instead of love is his true wrongdoing. He gives her a potion to remove the birthmark and she starts to feel ill but Aylmer says, “ ‘Poor? Nay, richest, happiest, most favored’” (Hawthorne 409). Her sickness does not even matter to him, just the fame and wealth he has accumulated over time. His fame for making potions to remove freckles drives him to experiment with removing the birthmark. He is a famous scientist for his creations, and his egotistical attitude leads to the demise of Georgiana. Aylmer talking about his potion being the happiest of potions shows that he does not care that his potion is killing her.

Georgiana: Hawthorne uses romanticism to describe Aylmer’s false love for her as well as show how she is not a typical woman.

She believes he loves her and that she loves him back, but really he only loves his science. She is a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman who cannot see Aylmer’s true feelings. She always submits to Aylmer’s demands even if she is scared. She is not a typical woman in a story in the time period because she is highly intelligent and Hawthorne even describes her as reading in her free time. She also does not apologize for entering his laboratory, “You mistrust your wife; you have concealed the anxiety with which you watch the development of this experiment” (Hawthorne 406). She is angry because she believes he is hiding something from him and he wants an apology for entering the lab, but she sticks her ground and refuses. This is not typical behavior for a woman in this time

period.
Aminadab: Hawthorne uses romanticism by showing how he cares more for Georgiana than Aylmer does. Aminadab is completely against the experiment to remove the birthmark from Georgiana because he sees the true beauty in it as well as the danger that the experiment could cause. He is the opposite of Aylmer because he is physically strong, and he is against experimenting on Georgiana. He is a loyal assistant to Aylmer, but is absolutely disgusted by what Aylmer wants to do, “If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birthmark” (Hawthorne 402). Aminadab sees the true beauty of the birthmark because no one is perfect. Perfection is not achievable and Aminadab sees this and does not want to harm Georgiana. Rather than risk her life, he would rather keep the mark as a sign of mortality.