FREE ESSAY ON THE BIRTHMARK

THE BIRTHMARK

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a time of great change in America. In the mid-nineteenth
century, Americans began to experience a shift in focus from the once stringent religious
outlook to a more scientific view of the world and its natural wonders. Americans,
however, did look at these new scientific discoveries with much hesitation, questioning
their long-term effects on society as a whole. Hawthorne' s work, "The Birth Mark echoes
these sentiments and combine natural faith with a confidence in science to make a very
interesting tale. This tale and its morality convey a message to the reader that there is
a price for tampering with the natural order of things.
This story opens by explaining how educated and knowledgeable Aylmer is, and the narrator
even suggests that he may have the power to alter nature. " We know not whether Aylmer
possesses this degree of faith in man's ultimate control over nature (Birthmark, 1262
)."As Aylmer tries to use science to alter nature, or in this case, the birthmark on his
wife's cheek, his plan backfires and his wife dies. The death of Georgiana shows that
knowledge is dangerous if used in the wrong way. The influence of the evolution of
culture has caused men to educate themselves, and learn extensive amounts about science.
However, some men like Aylmer take advantage of their intelligence and try to play the
role of God. Aylmer allowed his mind to consume his heart, resulting in the senseless
death of his beautiful wife. 
Culture teaches men that if they learn enough that they can manipulate nature; however,
in the Birthmark, Hawthorne shows that intelligence still can't overcome nature and thus
culture is self-destructive. The fact the whole story is about removing a physical flaw
from Georgiana's face when she is already obviously beautiful demonstrates the degree to
which Aylmer has allowed this pursuit of knowledge and culture to destroy his ability to
perceive nature's beauty. In this text, Georgiana and her birthmark represent nature, and
culture is represented by Aylmer. Culture has taught men to question the flaws of women
that they once found intriguing, therefore Aylmer is challenging nature when he tries to
remove it. Aylmer is so wrapped up in this culture that he treats Georgiana as property.
Her opinion about the removal of the birthmark was of little concern to him. Therefore,
culture asserts that it is not only a separate entity from nature but that it has
superior qualities.
Because of Aylmer's belief that culture is superior to nature, the Creator of nature and
culture alike chose to punish him. The punishment was not in an effort to be vengeful,
but to show him what should have been important to him was not the birthmark on
Georgiana's face, but the beauty that she possessed both inside and out that made him
desire to spend the rest of his days with her. "...he failed to look beyond the shadowy
scope of Time, and living once and for all in Eternity, to find the perfect Future in the
present (Birthmark, 1273);" therefore, he was forced to spend eternity without the one
that truly loved him-unconditionally.
WORKS CITED
Michelson, Bruce. Norton Anthology of American Literature. The Birtmark, pp1261-73.