Georgiana is beautiful and doesn't even think about the birthmark until her husband points to it and then goes into a deep state of misery because of that. In order to relief her husband of the misery, she agrees to drink the potion which leads to her death.
Emily on the other hand is not so obliging. Though she has suffered enough at the hands of her father who wanted to keep all men away from her so she could be a real lady, but Emily doesn't let her life end like Georgiana. She doesn't meet her death because of a man but instead takes his life and then meets her own death in due course of time. Emily was a victim of a stern father while Georgiana was a victim of a perfectionist. In both cases, these women suffer but while Emily takes revenge, Georgiana dies a silent death. Emily's victimization began at the hands of her father. She was a young woman, she wanted to be like other girls or so it appeared. Hoffman (1951) notes, "In the picture of Emily and her father together, framed by the door, she frail and apparently hungering to participate in the life of her time... Even after her father's death, Emily is not monstrous, but rather looked like a girl "with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows -- sort of tragic and serene." (p. 261-262)
Thus Emily could have been saved had Homer been a kind person. In much the same way, Georgiana wouldn't have met an untimely death had Alymer been different. Thus we notice that similarities exist in the way these women were treated. Both suffer not because of their own flaws or failures but because of the men in their lives. It is however heartening to see that Emily was not completely a victim. She was courageous enough to exact revenge and while it may be considered psychotic behavior, it only shows that sometimes enough is really enough.
The opening line of the story tells...
Birthmark Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" is an ironic story in which man's faith in science as the ultimate savior of humankind is demonstrated to be misplaced. Ever since science has come to the forefront of human knowledge, people have continually increased their faith and thus their dependency on it. In a way, science has become a new form of religion, one in which people place their faith to solve
To Aylmer, the birthmark represents more than an annoyance. He "possessed this degree of faith in man's ultimate control over Nature" and viewed the mark as an opportunity to demonstrate his dominion over Nature. Instead of appreciating Georgiana, Aylmer sought to transform her, to change an essential part of her being. As the narrator states, the mark was "deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her
Birthmark In his book, The Birthmark, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the conflict of science and nature that exists deep in the human psyche. Hawthorne's seemingly simple story of Aylmer, Georgiana and Aminadab reveals much about Hawthorne's attitudes toward science and progress. In the telling of their story, he creates an effective allegory about the role of science in the modern world. Ultimately, Hawthorne's story warns the reader of placing science on
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small, crimson birthmark on Georgiana's cheek represents humanity and its inherent flaws. It defines Georgiana as an individual, as a human. Aylmer saw the birthmark as a symbol of Georgiana's earthly mortality, and as "a symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death." Georgiana is seen as a perfect specimen of beauty, except for the birthmark. Without the birthmark Georgiana would be perfect at a divine
Anything Less Than Perfection Will Not Do in Hawthorne�s �The Birthmark�In �The Birthmark,� Hawthorne explores the theme of science vs. nature�but ultimately the story is about one man�s inability to accept anything less than perfection from his spouse. The protagonist, Aylmer, is a scientist who is obsessed with perfection and sees the birthmark on his wife�s cheek as a blemish that must be removed. He spends all of his time
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