What do the characters in the birthmark represent?

The birthmark symbolizes Georgiana’s aspect of being an imperfect being, a human. However, Aylmer who is a scientist searches for imperfection in everything that he sees. For him, the birthmark needs to be removed in order to make Georgiana perfect.

What is Hawthorne’s the birthmark about?

Hawthorne also uses Aylmer and the hand-shaped birthmark as symbols of this conflict and its resolution. It’s a story that reminds us of the power of nature and warns us that some things are better left alone, symbolized by Georgiana’s life fading away along with the birthmark.

What is the significance of the hand in the birthmark?

The hand-shaped mark also represents the grip of mortality, a reminder that Georgiana, a human created by nature, will one day die. Aylmer’s anxiety around the birthmark shows his general anxiety at the idea of mortality, largely because death makes everyone equal.

How does the birthmark represent sin?

Obsession in “The Birth-mark” and “Ligeia” He relates this imperfection to sin; “it was the fatal flaw of humanity… the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (Hawthorne, 633). Aylmer believes that if he can remove this imperfection, Georgiana will be a perfect, sinless human being.

Who is the real villain in the birthmark?

If Aylmer is the villain of the story, Georgiana is the heroine. She acts as society says she should, trusting her husband absolutely, and her only reward for her obedience and deference is death.

Why did Aylmer kiss Georgiana’s birthmark?

Her unblemished right cheek represents the ideal of perfection that he is fixated on. Aylmer is thrilled that Georgiana wants him to remove the birthmark, which is why he kisses her, but it is a kiss that shows he cannot ever love her wholly unless and until she meets his ideal of perfection.

Who is the antagonist in the birthmark?

In “The Birthmark” although it can be argued that the protagonist of the story is Georgiana or Aylmer, it is most likely that the protagonist is in fact Georgiana, and Aylmer is the antagonist of this story.

Why does Georgiana agree to the removal of the birthmark?

Why does Georgiana agree to the removal of the birthmark? Georgiana lets Aylmer attempt to remove the birthmark, despite the terrible danger, because she loves her husband so much and he is so troubled by the mark.

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 unpardonable sin the birthmark?

His vertical consciousness is dissociated from his heart and he commits the “Unpardonable Sin” defined in “Ethan Brand”: “The sin of an intellect that triumphed over the sense of brotherhood with man and reverence for God, and sacrificed everything to its own mighty claims!

What is the 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. He does not see that his wife’s inner beauty is what is really important.

What happened to Georgiana in the birthmark?

Although she is very beautiful and much admired by men, she has a small, reddish, hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Ultimately, she dies when the birthmark disappears because it was the only imperfect part of her, and thus her only link to the mortal world.

What is the irony in “the birthmark” by Hawthorne?

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.

Is “the birthmark” allegorical or symbolic?

In his short story, “The Birthmark,” Hawthorne utilizes foreshadowing and symbolism to portray the allegorical lesson that striving for perfection results in troubling outcomes. Hawthorne uses the device of foreshadowing to show how aiming for perfection results in an outcome that one does not expect.

What does Hawthorne think about “the birthmark”?

Hawthorne points out that the birthmark represents “the fatal flaw of humanity.” This flaw symbolizes the way in which all people are imperfect, namely that they are filled with flaws, weaknesses, and the inability to stop their ultimate fates of death.

What is the moral of ‘the birthmark’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, follows a man plagued by the obsession to remove his wife ‘s birthmark, in order to achieve perfection. This story ‘s moral is easily explained by the cliché, don ‘t look a gift horse in the mouth.