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Annotated bibliography on mental illness in literature
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Aylmer is a scientist devoted to his studies and his job until he marries Georgiana.
Georgiana's birthmark symbolizes Aylmer's insecurities and his need for everything to be
perfect.
Georgiana has a small, almost red colored birthmark on her right cheek. Its shape
resembles that of a small hand. It seems that Aylmer really doesn't think much of this birthmark
until him and Georgiana are married. Aylmer brings up the topic of the birthmark, and removing
it, many times with Georgiana. Although Georgiana did not want to hear of it, because the man
she married is supposed to love her even with her flaws, she listened to what he had to say. For
a while after that they didn't speak of it, but by the way Aylmer looked at his wife,
It was not only her fault, but Dev as well, since he led her on into falling in love with him. She could try to get to know him and ask him questions. The main character is not trying to get to know his wife at all. Even if he does not have any feelings for her, he could try to learn to love her. It feels like he does not want to try to and needs someone to show him that his wife is very important to him.
told him that it was all scheme. She and the doctor were having an affair. He
Her emptiness toward her husband may be seen in the way she interacts with him. She
feels that bothers her so. Her husband expresses his love for her but at the
“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 ...
The advancement of industrialism, economic growth, science and medicine, and wars all donated to the contributions of many writers during the Romantic Movement. This is true of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, short story, “The Birthmark”. The obsession with perfection is just as evident today; as it was back in the 18th and 19th centuries. The detrimental effects of amplifying science and romance are clearly defined between the relationships of Aylmer, his wife Georgiana, and Aminadab -his assistant in his lab. Romantic literature puts a higher significance on the value of intuition and imagination instead of fixating on objective reasoning.
with him was his niece Geli who he fell in love with and she was
The Birthmark and Symbolism Cloudy headed and conflicted describes Georgina, one of the main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark.” In this eerie short story Georgina, who is seemingly perfect, is convinced by her husband, Aylmer, who is a scientist obsessed with perfection, that the small birthmark on her face is her only source of imperfection. While others have told her that this birthmark is a sign of magical endowments, Aylmer is disgusted by the sight of the birthmark, referring to it as a defect (Hawthorne 304-5). Georgina is taken aback by this comment and resents her husband for it. As the story progresses, Aylmer convinces Georgina to allow him to try and rid her of the mark.
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.
Our society has many ways of manifesting its obsession with physical perfection. In our society people go to extreme lengths to achieve perfection. The 'Birthmark';, written more than a century ago, is an early version of our modern obsession with physical perfection.
Aylmer is trying to get rid of Georgiana’s birthmark to boost his scientific ego and human arrogance. If he accomplishes the removal, not only will his wife be perfect in his eyes, but he thinks he will gain the respect of many. “ ‘Ah, wait for this one success,” rejoined he, ‘then worship me if you will. I shall deem myself hardly unworthy of it. But come, I have sought you for the luxury of your voice. Sing to me, dearest.’ “ (page 15) This excerpt connects with the idea of Aylmer being self centered. He believes his wife and other people will worship the grass he stands on if he succeeds with the removal. In this quote, he tells Georgiana to worship him if she would like, but in his head, he knows she will do more than just that. He expects
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”, is the story of a crazed scientist whose strive for perfection not only leads to the death of his beautiful wife, but the attempt of man to have power over nature. It follows the story of Aylmer and his obsession with removing the birthmark off his beautiful wife, Georgiana. “His unnatural fixation to his wife’s birthmark even consumes him in his sleep as he dreams of cutting it off much like scraping an apple off its skin.” (Snodgrass 29). This narrative explores the themes of perfection, and the conflict between science and the natural world.
Aylmer and Guy wishes to achieve their goals, yet their desires come with unexpected consequences. Aylmer urges his wife Georgiana to remove the hand-shaped birthmark on her