The Birth-Mark

"The Birth-Mark" is a romantic short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that examines obsession with human perfection. It was first published in the March, 1843 edition of The Pioneer. It later appeared in Mosses from an Old Manse, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1846.

Contents

Plot summary

The narrator begins the tale by introducing Aylmer as a highly intelligent scientist that has chosen to put his scientific experiments on hold to take Georgiana, who is described as a nearly perfect example of beauty except for a small hand shaped birthmark upon her cheek, as his wife. Aylmer raises the question to Georgiana of whether or not she had ever considered removing the birthmark. Georgiana replies that she had not considered it because people had called it a charm enough to make her think that it may be just that. Aylmer suggests that, upon any other, less perfect face, the mark may be considered a charm, but implies that on hers, it is nothing more than a mark of imperfection. Georgiana is at first angry, but soon becomes despondent as she asks Aylmer how he could love something that shocks him.

As the tale progresses, Aylmer becomes more and more obsessed with the birthmark, which begins to disconcert Georgiana as well when she sees just how much her husband dislikes it. For Aylmer, the mark represents the natural imperfections of mankind and the material world, and because of this, he finds the mark to be completely intolerable.

Georgiana questions Aylmer about a dream he had the previous night in which he spoke in his sleep about having to remove her heart. Aylmer remembers the dream well. He remembers removing the birthmark with a knife and cutting so deep that he reaches Georgiana’s heart, which he also decides to cut out. Georgiana agrees to allow Aylmer to attempt to remove her birthmark, although she does not know what the cost may be to either herself or Aylmer.

Georgiana moves to the apartment at Aylmer’s laboratory where he begins his research on creation anew. Georgiana enters the laboratory and Aylmer, seeing her birthmark, shudders at her sight, causing Georgiana to faint. Aylmer’s assistant, Aminadab, vocalizes his opinion that, should Georgiana have been his wife, the birthmark would have remained.

When Georgiana awakens, Aylmer shows her some of his experiments, which include a beautiful flower that dies as Georgiana touches it as well as a creation that makes a portrait of her, which Aylmer destroys instantly because the likeness of her face is blurry except for the hand print upon her cheek. Aylmer then begins to show her some of his alchemical experiments which include a lotion that can be used to remove freckles. Georgiana questions whether this will be what he will use to remove her birthmark, and Aylmer responds that it will take something that can reach deeper than just the surface.

Aylmer asks Georgiana about how she feels, including how the temperature and being confined to her room are agreeing with her. These interrogations begin to make Georgiana wonder whether or not Aylmer has been drugging her either by the air she breathes or by way of food. As she explores the laboratory, Georgiana finds a book written by Aylmer in which he has recorded all of his past experiments. The book contains the original reason for each experiment as well as the result of the experiment which, unnervingly enough for her, is rarely the same. Aylmer walks in and finds his wife crying over his book. He calmly suggests that is it never a good idea to read books such as those and asks that she sing a song for him, which she does.

Aylmer begins working and finds Georgiana watching him. This aggravates him, and he accuses her of prying and of having no faith in him. Georgiana retorts, saying that it is he who has no faith in her. She demands that he tell her what is to happen, suggesting that he has more at stake than she does. Aylmer admits that he has been trying various cures on her without her knowledge, and that none have worked thus far. He tells her, however, that he has one more option, though it is dangerous. Georgiana replies that the only danger lies in the failure to remove the birthmark upon her cheek, because it will drive them both mad. Aylmer, agreeing with her, sends her to her room and returns to his work.

After a time, Aylmer brings her a solution to drink, which she does quite hastily. As Georgiana sleeps, Aylmer keeps a vigilant watch over her and notices that the birthmark is slowly fading into nothing. As Georgiana’s birthmark fades into non-existence, she too dies, telling Aylmer never to feel bad about rejecting “the best the Earth could offer”.

Character Analysis

Aylmer is a scientist and husband to Georgiana. Robert B. Heilman suggests that Aylmer has taken science as his religion and that Aylmer’s views on "the best that the Earth could offer" (Hawthorne, 130) is "inadequate".[1] Heilman goes on to suggest that “the mistake Aylmer makes” is the “critical problem” with the story in that he has “apotheosized science” [2]

Georgiana is the wife of Aylmer and, as Sarah Bird Wright puts it, “doomed heroine”[3] of the story. Georgiana agrees to allow Aylmer perform experiments on her to attempt to remove her birthmark which turns out to be a fatal decision. Wright quotes Millicent Bell’s thoughts on Georgiana’s final words by saying they are “indicative of Hawthorne’s struggle with romanticism….he yearns to depict life as found”.[4]

Aminadab is Aylmer’s laboratory assistant who is described as being short, bulky and having a shaggy appearance. Wright refers to Nancy Bunge’s observation that “because Aminadab possesses vast physical strength and 'earthiness' he undertakes to perform unpleasant tasks in order to free Aylmer to 'cultivate delusions of transcendence'".[5] Judith Fetterley Suggests that “Aminadab symbolizes the earthly, physical, erotic self that has been split apart from Aylmer”[6]

Analysis

Like many of the tales Hawthorne wrote during his time living in The Old Manse, "The Birth-Mark" discusses the psychological impact in sexual relations.[7] The birthmark does not become an issue to Aylmer until after the marriage, which he suddenly sees as sexual: "now vaguely portrayed, now lost, now stealing forth again, and glimmering to-and-fro with every pulse of emotion".[8] Written shortly after Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody, the story emphasizes the husband's sexual guilt disguised as superficial cosmetology.[9] Some critics contend that the theme of the story is that human perfection can only be achieved in death and therefore not reachable at all, in that the trademark foreshadowing occurred during Aylmer's dream of cutting out the mark, in which he discovers the birthmark is connected to Georgiana's heart (which he elects to cut out as well in his attempt to remove the birthmark). Other critics, like Stephen Youra suggest that, to Aylmer, the birthmark represents the flaws within the human race which includes "original sin" which "woman has cast men into" and because of this, elects it as the symbol of his wife's "liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death".[10] While others suggest we view the story "as a story of failure rather than as the success story it really is - the demonstration of how to murder your wife and get away with it.[11]

Hawthorne may have been criticizing the epoch of reform in which he was living and specifically calling attempts at reform ineffective and the reformers as dangerous.[12] Other critics read the story as a critique of 19th century positivist science (positivism) situating the woman as nature and representing science as attempting to penetrate her/its secrets while ultimately destroying the object of its research. Still others see it as a defense of vitalism as against materialism – that one cannot find the essence or soul in mute bodily matter.

The story is often compared to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oval Portrait".[13]

References

  1. ^ Heilman, Robert B. "Hawthorne's "The Birthmark": Science as Religion." McIntosh, Ed. James. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. New York: Norton & Company, 1987. 421-427.
  2. ^ Heilman, Robert B. "Hawthorne's "The Birthmark": Science as Religion." McIntosh, Ed. James. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. New York: Norton & Company, 1987. 421-427.
  3. ^ Wright, Sarah Bird. Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2007.
  4. ^ Wright, Sarah Bird. Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2007.
  5. ^ Wright, Sarah Bird. Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2007.
  6. ^ Fetterley, Judith. "Women Beware Science: "The Birthmark"." Frank, Ed. Albert J. von. Critical Essays on Hawthorne's Short Stories. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. 164-173.
  7. ^ Wineapple, Brenda. "Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864: A Brief Biography", A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Larry J. Reynolds, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 26. ISBN 0195124146
  8. ^ Miller, Edwin Haviland. Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991: 250. ISBN 0877453322
  9. ^ Wineapple, Brenda. "Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864: A Brief Biography", A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Larry J. Reynolds, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 24. ISBN 0195124146
  10. ^ Youra, Steven. "'The Fatal Hand': A Sign of Confusion in Hawthorne's 'The Birth-Mark.'." American Transcendental Quarterly 60 (June 1986): 43-51. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Rachelle Mucha and Thomas J. Schoenberg. Vol. 89. Detroit: Gale, 2006
  11. ^ Fetterley,Judith. "Women Beware Science: "The Birthmark"." Frank, Ed. Albert J. von. Critical Essays on Hawthorne's Short Stories. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. 164-173.
  12. ^ Yellin, Jean Fagan. "Hawthorne and the Slavery Question", A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Larry J. Reynolds, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 148. ISBN 0195124146
  13. ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 331.

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