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"The Birth-Mark" is a romantic short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that examines obsession with human perfection. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4 1804 – May 19 1864 was an American novelist and Short story writer 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. Mosses from an Old Manse was a Short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846

Contents

Plot summary

Georgiana, the beautiful woman in the story has a single hand-shaped birthmark on her cheek. A birthmark is a Blemish on the Skin formed before Birth. A little over 1 in 10 babies have a Vascular birthmark Men are invariably attracted to Georgiana, and many find the birthmark attractive. However, her husband Aylmer, a scientist, begins to detest the birthmark more intensely with each passing day.

Eventually Georgiana comes to share his obsession, mostly because she sees how much its presence makes her husband react, and the couple decides to try to remove the birthmark. Aylmer takes Georgiana to his laboratory, where he is assisted by his assistant Aminadab. The name "Aminadab" can either relate to A far distant ancestor of Jesus Christ, mentioned in the Bible. Aminadab helps with the operation, although he mutters to himself that if Georgiana were his wife, he would not want the birthmark removed. Aylmer takes several days to perform tests on Georgiana and analyze her "condition", but only prepares one liquid for her consumption. Once she drinks this, the birthmark, which is referred to as the bond that ties together her heavenly spirit with her near-perfect body, fades. Aylmer achieves his one moment of perfection before she dies a painless death, which Hawthorne had alluded to by centering Georgiana's thoughts about how Aylmer could only have one moment of perfection, because in the next moment he would already be striving for "something that was beyond the scope of the instant" (Hawthorne).

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. The Old Manse is an historic House famous for its American literary associations [1] 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". [2] Written shortly after Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody, the story emphasizes the husband's sexual guilt disguised as superficial cosmetology. Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne ( September 21, 1809 &ndash February 26, 1871) was a painter and Illustrator as well Cosmetology (from Greek grc κοσμητικός kosmētikos, "skilled in adornment" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study [3] 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, in which he can not cut deep enough to remove the birthmark.

Hawthorne may have been critiquing the epoch of reform in which he was living and specifically calling attempts at reform ineffective and the reformers as dangerous. [4] Other critics read the story as a critique of 19th century positivistic 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. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Positivism is the Philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. Still others see it as a defence of vitalism as against materialism -- that one cannot find the essence or soul in mute bodily matter. Vitalism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from physicochemical The Philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that can be truly proven to exist is Matter, and is considered a form of Physicalism. In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living

The story is often compared to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oval Portrait". Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, " The Oval Portrait " is a Short story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a Portrait in a chateau [5]

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ Miller, Edwin Haviland. Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991: 250. ISBN 0877453322
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 331.

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