What are some things said about the birthmark in the birthmark?
The Birthmark Quotes in The Birthmark
It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain.
What does the last line of the birthmark mean?
Hawthorne’s message is that being imperfect is just part of being human. If you’re not flawed, you’re not human anymore. This is the case with Georgiana, which is why her spirit goes up to heaven and leaves her body.
What does the birthmark symbolize?
Georgiana’s birthmark symbolizes mortality. According to the narrator, every living thing is flawed in some way, nature’s way of reminding us that every living thing eventually dies. The hand-shaped mark on Georgiana’s cheek is the one blemish on an otherwise perfect being, a blemish that marks her as mortal.
What is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the birthmark about?
‘The Birthmark’: analysis
Like many of Hawthorne’s stories, ‘The Birthmark’ is, at bottom, allegorical: it is about the dangers of seeking perfection, especially human perfection, of all kinds, because to do so runs the risk of destroying what makes us ‘human’ in the first place.
What is Hawthorne’s message in the birthmark?
‘The Birthmark’ focuses on the theme of obsession, particularly the moment when love becomes an obsession, making it dangerous—and even deadly, shown in Aylmer’s obsession with the birthmark and Georgiana’s obsession with Aylmer to the point of willing suicide by poison.
Why is Aylmer obsessed with removing the birthmark?
Aylmer reasons that the birthmark is Nature’s way of showing Georgiana’s mortality and necessary humanity. He wants to remove the mark, then, not because he doesn’t like the way she looks, but because of what the symbol represents to him (see “Symbols, Imagery, Allegory”).
What is the moral of the birthmark?
What was Aylmer first love?
We know these things about Aylmer from the beginning of the story: that his love for science rivals his love for Georgiana, and he has devoted his entire life to scientific inquiry.
What is the main message of the birthmark?
What is an example of irony in the birthmark?
The irony is that the elixir does remove her birthmark, but it also kills her. The elixir destroys her physical beauty in an effort to improve it. It is also ironic that Aylmer is a highly intelligent man, but has no wisdom.
What is the message of the birthmark?
What is Aylmer’s biggest flaw?
Aylmer is not satisfied with an earthly, ordinary love – he dreams of something greater. Of course, it is just this something greater that really gets out Aylmer into trouble. We’ve got him off the hook for superficiality, but we still have to deal with his big character flaw: ambition.
What meaning does Aylmer finally assign to the birthmark?
What meaning does Aylmer finally assign to the birthmark? For him it becomes the symbol of Georgiana’s flawed humanity.
What is Aylmer obsessed with?
Aylmer obsesses about the birthmark. For him, it symbolizes mortality and sin and comes to tower over Georgiana’s beauty in his mind. He can think of nothing else.
What is the main theme in the birthmark?
What is ironic about the elixir of life that Aylmer creates for Georgiana?
Ironically, Aylmer thinks the elixir would be harmful to the drinker, yet he can’t accept the mortality of his wife and in effect attempts to make her immortal by removing her one mark of mortality, the birthmark.
What is the irony in the birthmark?
What is the moral of the birth mark?
What is the moral of the story “The Birthmark”? “The Birthmark” deals with the concept of “playing God.” Aylmer believes his wife is perfect, except for the small birthmark on her cheek. Aylmer craves perfection. He believes that by using science, he can fix nature.
How does the birthmark relate to our society?
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. Society manifests its obsession with physical perfection by having surgical procedures done on daily basis.