The Theme Of Characterism In 'The Birth-Mark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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"The Birth-Mark", written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a tale filled with humans need to control things and an unhealthy marriage. The two main characters, Aylmer and Georgina, are intertwined with the husbands need to get rid of his wife's flaw. His story, The Birth-Mark, explores the depth of human imperfection and a man need to play God.

In the story, Aylmer is a man who aims for perfection.
He is a scientist when it comes to the physical world. " a man of science, an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy " (211). When it comes to the spiritual world, his methods are a bit disturbing.
He plans to create the perfect women out of Georgiana by removing her birthmark because, in his mind, her birthmark is her only flaw. Once it is removed, Aylmer believes that Georgian is" fit for heaven without tasting death!"
(223). Meaning …show more content…

Based on the era they are living in, Georgiana is the ideal women and wife. The men in her past found her beautiful and found her imperfection worth dying for. When Aylmer first asked her if she would ever remove her mark, her response was "No indeed. To tell you the truth, it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to image it might be so" (212). At first, she was very fond of her birth-mark. Even though she has had men praise her for her beauty, its Aylmer's opinion she cared about the most. Soon, she becomes disgusted with herself. She was willing to do anything to make him happy. She changes her living situation, breathing weird fumes, and basically give up her free will to please her husband. She acts if Aylmer is her God. She even said, "it has made me worship you more than ever," when Aylmer told her it not to look at his journal filled with his notes (221). When she finally took the odd potion her husband gave her, it solidified her fate. Even after all her love and devotion, her reward for being a good wife, was

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