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”).
How does Aylmer feel when Georgiana asks him to remove her birthmark?
1. Aylmer had a dream that
Georgiana’s birthmark went all the way to her heart
and it had to be eliminated from her heart, which killed her. Georgiana hears him cry out during this dream saying, “It is in her heart now – we must have it out.”
Why does Aylmer talk with Georgiana about her birthmark?
Aylmer obsesses about the birthmark
What does Georgiana birthmark symbolize?
Georgiana’s birthmark symbolizes
mortality
. According to the narrator, every living thing is flawed in some way, nature’s way of reminding us that every living thing eventually dies. The hand-shaped mark on Georgiana’s cheek is the one blemish on an otherwise perfect being, a blemish that marks her as mortal.
What is the relationship between Aylmer and Georgiana?
Georgiana is
the wife of Aylmer
and, as Sarah Bird Wright puts it, the “doomed heroine” of the story. Georgiana agrees to allow Aylmer to experiment on her in an attempt to remove her birthmark—which turns out to be a fatal decision.
What is his intention in trying to remove the birthmark?
Aylmer, the protagonist of Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” undertakes to
remove the blemish from his wife’s cheek to satisfy his own spiritual strivings and to redeem what he sees as a failed career
.
How does Aylmer see the birthmark?
Aylmer absolutely detests the little red birthmark shaped
like a hand on his wife’s left cheek
. To him, it is a blemish on an otherwise perfect face.
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.
What is the moral of the birthmark?
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “The Birthmark,” there are several possible morals. … The moral to the story, then, is that
a man cannot play God or attempt to alter nature
; in addition, seeking perfection is a dangerous and deadly goal.
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 does Georgiana symbolize?
As the bearer of the birthmark, Georgiana is the embodiment of human imperfection and mortality, at least in her physical form. Beyond the birthmark, she represents
divine perfection
, as Aylmer himself goes so far as to say, “There is no taint of imperfection on thy spirit” (430).
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 is ironic about Aylmer’s dream?
What is ironic about Aylmer’s dream? The irony of Aylmer’s obsession and pursuit is that
he was a man whose “most splendid successes were almost invariably failures
.” Rather than obsessing over correcting his failures, he quickly forgets them.
What power does Georgiana have in the birthmark?
He believes he has powers from the knowledge of science. Georgiana is the main
power of natural
in the story. She is so in love with her husband that she is willing to put nature aside for science. Georgiana’s birthmark has the “power” of nature to destroy everything who sees it.
What does Aylmer love in the birthmark?
Throughout the story, Aylmer proves that his love
for her is unaccepting
, and on the other hand Georgiana shows a kind of admiring love that he cannot comprehend. She welcomes everything about him and in return all she gets is a husband who hates the very existence of her birthmark that is placed upon her cheek.
What was special about Georgiana’s birthmark?
A beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman, Georgiana is physically and spiritually lovely. Her only flaw is a small red birthmark shaped like
a tiny hand on her left cheek
. Georgiana worships her husband and submits to his unreasonable demands, despite her suspicions that they will kill her.
