Essay Sample on "The Birthmark"

Introduction

Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark” focuses on Aylmer, a brilliant and a loner scientist who forsakes his scientific works to pursue and marry a beautiful lady, Georgiana. Contrary to the "perfect "lady Aylmer had theorized in mind, he is surprised to find that Georgiana had a mark in her right cheek. Aylmer enquires from Georgiana whether she had ever thought of getting rid of the mark. Georgiana replies that she has never thought of the same as many of the men she had a relationship with considered the mark charming. Aylmer is convinced that his wife's face is next to perfect, and the mark is rendering it imperfect. Aylmer decides that he has to get rid of the mark to have the perfect lady of his life. The Scientist can remove the mark, which results in the death of the lady.

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Although many scientists view science and technology as the mother of nature, a closer examination of the technology's state during the industrialization era when Hawthorne wrote "The Birthmark" suggests that nature is invariant and attempting to alter its adverse effects to human beings. In “The Birthmark” novel, Hawthorne utilizes literary devices such as imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism to show that nature is invariable attempting to alter it renders to negative implications.

Consequences

Nobody ever did, nor ever will, escape the wrath and consequences of tampering with nature. Hawthorne's Novel, The Birthmark, utilizes imagery in greater depth to support the theme. Throughout the whole novel, it is all clear that nothing good comes from tampering with nature. One aspect of imagery in the novel is the flower that Aylmer shows to Georgiana, proof of perfection's elusiveness. In her dream, when Georgiana tries to pluck the flower," the whole plant suffered a blight, its leaves turning coal black as if by the agency of fire" (Hawthorne, 11). The Birthmark Novel depicts Georgiana as a flawed individual who tries to obtain a perfect flower but instead causes the flower to die. Georgiana's touch is a presentation of the imperfections that are inherent in all human beings. By Aylmer muttering, "there was too powerful a stimulus" (Hawthorne, 11). This stimulus symbolizes the flaw in Georgiana.

The touch of the imperfect makes the flower start dying off slowly, a proof that an object similar to a flower in perfection cannot suffer or live the touch of the imperfect. Hence a solid proof that nature is unalterable. The symbol of the birthmark, located on Georgiana's cheek, depicts the flaws in human beings. Aylmer's view on Georgiana's birthmark was "the visible mark of earthly imperfection" (Hawthorne, 5). This implied that the differences between earthly and heavenly beings are the flaws and sins with the most ultimate way of getting rid of them being death. On the other side, Aylmer being a scientist is ready to do everything at all costs to achieve the perfect idealized being of his mind. Aylmer's description of the birthmark as "singular" confirms how severe a single imperfection in a human body can ruin the whole outlook. This shows that mortality and flaws are highly linked with humanity to the extent that it is impossible to separate them. Besides Almer being alerted to this and abandoning the idea of removing the mark, his mania makes him overlook the repercussions of performing the surgery, which results in Georgiana's death. Hence nature is unchangeable, and when changed, the consequences are unbearable.

Human Perfection

Human perfection is scientifically unattainable because flaws and mortality are naturally connected to humanity, where it is impossible to detach the two. Hawthorne uses foreshadowing in his story of "The Birthmark" to show the readers that Aylmer's obsession with separating the birthmark from his wife's right cheek was impossible without causing fatalities (Resetarits). At the beginning of the story, Aylmer dreams about how Georgiana’s birthmark was rooted deep in her heart. The dream foreshadowed that cutting open Georgian's heart to eliminate the mark would lead to her death. Aylmer makes a flower that quickly weathers when it is touched by Georgiana, which foreshadows Aylmer's wife's inevitable demise (Resetarits). Another foreshadow is evident when Aylmer makes a metal plate that looks like his wife's face, and the same mark appeared on it.

Aylmer quickly threw the metal plate in the acid. This foreshadows that Georgian’s death would be as a result of his husband’s fault. When Aylmer attempted to remove the birthmark, he was successful but at the expense of Georgian’s life. After failing in his operation, Aylmer remembered his previous dream, “Aylmer now remembered his dream. He had fancied himself with his servant Aminadab, attempting an operation for the removal of the birthmark. But the deep went the knife, the deeper sank the hand, until a length its tiny grasp appeared to have caught hold of Georgiana's heart. However, her husband was inexorably resolved to cut or wrench it away" (Hawthorne, 06). The reality of Georgiana's death due to removing the birthmark shows that it is impossible to attain perfection by interfering with nature.

Science integrated with technology has proved to be much safer while altering with a human being's general outlook (Russell). With the rapid growth in technology in the 21st Century, innovations in science have led to Computer-Assisted Imaging (CAI) and other technologies that have made it possible to tamper with the human body with much lesser risk (Wendling). In the reconstructive and cosmetics industry, utilizing CAI provides the surgeons with exact specifications of what perfectly matches every individual and the know-how of doing it (Wendling). Similarly, with the aid of the imaging systems, scientists such as surgeons can remove flaws, reconstruct the affected areas, and ensure that the tissues grow with the person. The power of science and technology has made it possible to eliminate flaws in a human body with a high degree of efficiency and accuracy (Liu et al.).

Perfection is among the most sought-after qualities in modern society. Individuals are ready to spend huge amounts of plastic surgery resources, training regimens, and dieting plans, all trying to be physically perfect. Nevertheless, nobody flawless. People may alter their physical looks to appearances that they believe are perfect; however, they will have non-physical faults that restricts their ability to accomplish perfection (Resetarits). Although modern technologies have been able to help people attain their perceived "perfection," there have been cases of technological failure leading to injuries and death of the people undergoing the procedures (Brown). Also, most of the physical changes that occur due to scientific intervention are temporary (Brown). Nature is the most powerful over science, and altering nature is either temporary or can cause fatal accidents. In "The Birthmark," the birthmark on Georgiana's cheek is used as what her husband perceived as imperfection. The obsession with achieving unrealistic perfection leads to Georgiana's demise (Resetarits). The birthmark is shown “the fatal flaw of humanity which nature […] stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain” (Hawthorne, 06). Therefore, it is evident that the efforts to change nature scientifically can lead to disastrous consequences.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story of "The Birthmark" can be seen as magical and scientific with various experiments. The story proves that nature is the most powerful thing, and if people cannot learn to love nature, then it is impossible to love others truly. People have been affectionate with fake things, like people altering their natural appearance to impress someone else. Aylmer is embarrassed about his obsession with trying to control nature by eliminating Georgiana's birthmark. Georgiana's birthmark reflects nature's power because it defines her, and any attempt to remove it, she suffers death consequences (Hawthorne). The birthmark was a symbol of nature, and both Georgiana and her husband should have loved it just the way she was, but due to their hatred of nature, it ended in unhappiness and tragedy. Therefore, nature is more powerful than science, and people should love and embrace nature.

Work Cited

Brown, Sasha. 7 Negative Side Effects of Plastic Surgery. 16 Aug. 2016,
www.lifehack.org/450603/7-negative-side-effects-of-plastic-surgery.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Birthmark (Unabridged): A Dark Romantic Story on Obsession with Human Perfection From the Renowned American Author of "The Scarlet Letter," "The House with the Seven Gables," & "Twice-Told Tales" (Including Biography). e-artnow, 2015.

Liu, Yinlong, et al. “A New Robust Markerless Method for Automatic Image-to-Patient Registration in Image-Guided Neurosurgery System.” Computer Assisted Surgery, vol. 22, no. sup1, 2017, pp. 319–325., doi:10.1080/24699322.2017.1389411.

Resetarits, C. R. “Experiments in Sex, Science, Gender, and Genre: Hawthorne's ‘Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," ‘The Birthmark," and ‘Rappaccini's Daughter.’” Literary Imagination, vol. 14, no. 2, 2018, pp. 178–193., doi:10.1093/litimag/ims041.

Russell, Bertrand. “The Scientific Outlook.” 2017, doi:10.4324/9781315085289.

Wendling, Lyle R. “Computer Assisted Imaging for Orthopaedic Surgery.” Computer Assisted Radiology / Computergestützte Radiologie, 2018, pp. 645–645., doi:10.1007/978-3-642-52247-5_103.