In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark", we are immediately introduced to a very unusual character. The protagonist, Aylmer, is portrayed as an obsessive mad scientist, that is constantly striving for perfection. His wife, Georgiana, seems to the surrounding world, to be perfect. One simple flaw, however, is what holds Georgiana from achieving perfection (in Aylmer's eyes). The birthmark is described consistently throughout the story.
"[In] the centre of Georgiana's left cheek there was a singular mark, deeply interwoven, a sit were, with the texture and substance of her face. In the usual state of her complexion--a healthy though delicate bloom--the mark wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined its shape amid the surrounding rosiness... Its shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest pygmy size. Georgiana's lovers were wont to say that some fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and left this impress there in token of the magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts." (85)
Hawthorne later implies that the crimson handprint upon Georgiana's face is what makes her like the rest of the "brutes" on earth, the only thing that separates her from the angels. Although it would have been a good story if it focused on Georgiana's life and how this enchanting birthmark affects her life, we are faced with a more interesting plot. Aylmer, Georgiana's husband, and his obsession to not only be perfect, but to rid Georgiana of her imperfection. Aylmer grows addicted to devoting his scientific work to concocting a potion that would erase the crimson handprint. Aylmer's assistant, Aminadab, is then introduced into the story.
Aminadab, although loyal to Aylmer, makes it apparent that if Georgiana was his wife he would never try to rid her of the birthmark. In this sense, I feel like Aminadab somewhat represents nature. Not only is he accepting of the natural birthmark that has planted itself upon Georgiana's face, but he finds beauty in the birthmark, and wishes that nobody would try to change her natural beauty.
The more Aylmer's desperation for Georgiana's perfection grows, the more Georgiana realizes that she does not have a problem with risking her life in order to perfect the imperfection, to make her husband happy. She speaks as though she would rather die than to remain imperfect in the eyes of the man she loves.
The crimson hand upon Georgiana's cheek is not only a trademark of her general appearance, but rather it has a grasp on her being, reaching beneath the surface, it is the fatal hand at the core of her being. In the end of the story, Aylmer's magical concoction kills Georgiana. "The fatal hand had grappled with the mystery of life, and was the bond by which an angelic spirit kept itself in union with a mortal frame."(99) This showed me that the birthmark was the bond by which the angelic is attached to the human, what keeps this angel from resorting to heaven, which graces the human race with her soul and spirit. The handprint that marked her cheek was holding on to her soul.
"[He] failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present." (99) This passage is discussing Aylmer and his actions. I believe that Hawthorne is trying to say that rather than enjoying this angelic woman while he had her, he only focused on the future, when she would be without imperfection. He failed to remove his focus from time (mastering time) and didn't realize that his time with Georgiana is what was really important.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story. The obsessive husband/mad scientist and the angelic human were all tied together in a very capturing way. I believe that even though Hawthorne probably didn't intend for this story to hold a cliche meaning, he created a question for the reader: Is perfection really worth the pain? And when we reach perfection, will we be able to enjoy it? Hawthorne definitely succeeded in showing his readers that beauty and vivaciousness lie within the acceptance of the imperfections.
“The more Aylmer's desperation for Georgiana's perfection grows, the more Georgiana realizes that she does not have a problem with risking her life in order to perfect the imperfection, to make her husband happy. She speaks as though she would rather die than to remain imperfect in the eyes of the man she loves.”
ReplyDelete- Cassandra
Cassandra, this is a great point. Upon first reading “The Birthmark” my perception of Georgiana was that she was a naïve, insecure woman, allowing her husband’s displeasure with her singular flaw dictate her own feelings about it. Yet, in fact, she is not naïve in the least bit, she was rather very perceptive; when speaking to Aylmer of removing the birthmark, she says, “Perhaps its removal may cause cureless deformity; or it may be the stain goes as deep as life itself” (p.87). I agree that it was out of her love for Aylmer that she permitted him to remove the birthmark, in spite of knowing that it could lead to the end of her and that such a conclusion was better than spending the rest of her life being an object of his scorn.
I also find it interesting Aylmer’s quest for perfection blinded him to true love; he failed to see the amount of adoration that Georgiana held for him. Throughout the story she reiterates this love and sense of abandonment to his will as result of her love, in such statements as, “Aylmer, I shall quaff whatever draught you bring me; but it will be on the same principle that would induce me to take a dose of poison if offered by your hand” (p.96). I further agree, that his fixation upon this one, insignificant flaw, caused him to overlook that which was truly significant, and possibly the closest encounter he had with perfection, Georgiana.
“Aminadab, although loyal to Aylmer, makes it apparent that if Georgiana was his wife he would never try to rid her of the birthmark. In this sense, I feel like Aminadab somewhat represents nature. Not only is he accepting of the natural birthmark that has planted itself upon Georgiana's face, but he finds beauty in the birthmark, and wishes that nobody would try to change her natural beauty.” Cassandra
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the view you have of Aminadab. When I first read the story I found myself asking how someone, who did not even know her the way Alymer did, could see more beauty than imperfection. Rather than loving the imperfect Alymer decides to let Georgiana’s one “flaw” rule his every thought about his own wife. After reading about Aminadab I also believe he was a character representing nature. He is able to see the imperfections as perfect. This raises the issue of the nature of beauty. On one hand you have Alymer who describes the birthmark using words such as “flaw,’ “frightful,’ and “mortality.” Contrary to Alymer’s beliefs, Aminadab and her other lovers, see her birthmark as fairly-like and having a much “brilliant-glow” (Hawthorne 85). Who gets to decide what is beautiful and what is not? Hawthorne’s story attempts to make the reader think about perfection. Accroding to Alymer perfection is possible and he is willing to go to extremes in order to create perfection. But is perfection realistically achievable while still being able to live?
Aminadab wishing no one would try to change Georgiana’s beauty is evidence pointing towards his view on human existence. The beauty of nature is not something that should be tampered with and he makes this clear. Even at the end of the story, after Alymer kills his wife in attempts to remove her birthmark, Aminadab cannot help but laugh at the situation. “Then a hoarse, chuckling laugh was heard again! Thus ever does the gross fatality of earth exult in its invariable triumph over the immortal essence which, in this dim sphere of half development, demands the completeness of a higher state” (Hawthorne 99). Alymer fails to live once for all eternity. He wants more and strives for perfection so much that he ends up killing his own wife. He cannot accept the idea that every living thing is flawed in some way and perfection is not at all possible.