Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Birthmark

Essay on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story â€Å"The Birthmark† In his celebrated short story â€Å"The Birthmark†, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces us to Aylmer, the main protagonist of the story, as a man of science and an eminent natural philosopher, who is married to the beautiful Georgina. Despite her exquisite beauty, Georgina had a small defect, present in her cheek in the form of a small red birthmark shaped like a tiny hand. â€Å"Many a desperate swain would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand. It must not be concealed, however, that the impression wrought by this fairy sign manual varied exceedingly, according to the difference of temperament in the beholders. Some fastidious persons -- but they were exclusively of her own sex -- affirmed that the bloody hand, as they chose to call it, quite destroyed the effect of Georgiana s beauty, and rendered her countenance even hideous.† (Hawthorne). The idea of romanticism detailed interpretation of nature and its various forms of beauty. As a Romantic author of the Gothic period, Hawthorne uses these details to impress upon Georgina’s individualism in view of light versus darkness, and marks her difference from the rest of the society. However, as Aylmer gets more and more bothered by this apparent deformity in his otherwise beautiful wife, he finally asks her one day if she has considered removing it – thereby summarising the entire undercurrent of the story by demonstrating mankind’s eternalShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Story Of An Hour And Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Birthmark1010 Words   |  5 PagesKate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birthmark† examine the complex relationship between a husband and wife. The two works take two different approaches to convey the same message: Marriage is not a fairytale, it requires sacrifice and u nselfish behavior in order to work. Relationships are difficult to begin and harder to maintain. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and Aylmer and Georgiana are two relationships that shatter the surreal perception of marriage and expose readersRead MoreThe Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay1399 Words   |  6 PagesThe Birthmark Criticism Analysis The short story â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in 1843 at the beginning of the largest feminist movement in the United States of America which occurred between the years 1840 and 1920 (National). Furthermore, during the 1830s and 1840s there were many women who spoke out about women’s rights. They argued for many changes with one of them being a social change in their duties to be subdominant to males. They rallied around the prohibition by fightingRead MoreA Separate Peace, By Nathaniel Hawthorne996 Words   |  4 PagesHumans should balance and understand the difference between good and evil. Good and evil are the superficial ideas that permeate society in many ways. However, one does not get to do in depth analysis so as to encounter such in lifestyle. As an example, at this point the planet is at the verge of a war. Humans have completely different views and perceptions of the implications such events would bring around the planet. There ha s always been an unending struggle of deciding between good and evil.Read MoreA Small Good Thing By Raymond Carver And The Birthmark Essay1877 Words   |  8 PagesA Small Birthmark with Vampiric Communion In the stories â€Å"A Small Good Thing† by Raymond Carver and â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne there are obvious differences between the two tales. While â€Å"A Small Good Thing† has to do with a family dealing with the injury and then loss of their â€Å"The Birthmark† is a scientific quest to remove a birthmark. The analysis of these two stories show both similarities as well as the differences between the main themes of Vampirism, Communion. These two main themesRead MoreAnalysis Of Hawthorne s Conception Of Human Nature Through His Stories1347 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Hawthorne’s Conception of Human Nature through his Stories Nathaniel Hawthorne was a brilliant writer of many stories, especially dealing with the nature of human beings, with themes including religion, perfection, and the natural world. His works have been lauded for their treatment of the human condition. Several stories, such as â€Å"The Birthmark†, â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter†, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, and â€Å"The Black Veil†, have been chosen to explain Hawthorne’s understanding of human nature