The Birthmark

February 13, 2007

Analyzing Hawthorne's The Birthmark

What is perfection? Can perfection be explained? In "The Birthmark," Hawthorne uses the birthmark to explain that Nature is perfection. The birthmark symbolizes a living breathing part of the body, and, although to some is a blemish or blight, it is necessary for continued life. And while this "blemish" may cause pain, suffering, or disfigurement, it is a required part of Nature's perfection--for Nature is perfection.

To have a fuller understanding of the birthmarks import, one needs to know and understand Aylmer. Aylmer is a man of science and spiritualism. Hawthorne describes him as a man who is "an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy" (1130). Aylmer also "handled physical details as if there were nothing beyond them; yet spiritualized them all, and redeemed himself from materialism by his strong and eager aspiration towards the infinite. In his grasp the veriest clod of earth assumed a soul" (1137). Aylmer can not separate the physical from the spiritual. They are intertwined and in his hand, the inanimate begin to live. To Aylmer, this joining of science and spiritual lends itself to perfection. Hawthorne further explains that although Aylmer has a "slender figure, and pale, intellectual face" he is "no less apt a type of the spiritual element" (1134). It is important to remember that Aylmer's duality, being both physical! and spiritual, is what allows him success in his experiments (although he often does not see his results as successes). As we review the symbolic significance placed on the birthmark, one realizes the irony that in seeking perfection in Georgiana, Aylmer goes against his own nature and separates the physical and spiritual. This ultimately causes her death. Hawthorne uses Aylmer's duality to bring the birthmark to the forefront.

Hawthorne personifies the birthmark by making it a living and breathing part of Georgiana. Hawthorne's personification of the birthmark is visible when the reader learns of other's perceptions of Georgiana's birthmark. Those of her own sex called her birthmark "bloody hand" (1131). Associating the birthmark with blood begins to animate it, to connect it to Georgiana and make it a part of her. It is further brought to life as Aylmer watches his wife and notes that the birthmark is "vaguely portrayed, now lost, now stealing forth again glimmering to and from with every pulse of emotion that throbbed within her heart" (1131). These passages bring the birthmark to life and give the reader the impression that the birthmark is as much a part of Georgiana as any of the other vital organs sustaining her life.

Hawthorne animates the birthmark and brings it to life. Because it is a part of Georgiana's person, it carries the same weaknesses and becomes susceptible to the same ailments as the rest of the body. We fully recognize the connectivity of Georgiana to the birthmark as it is ultimately removed: "the birthmark, with every breath that came and went, lost somewhat of its former distinctness. Its presence had been awful; its departure was more awful still" (1140). Although Aylmer despised the birthmark, it is more painful to him as he watches his wife die. The understanding that Georgiana's perfection, and connection to this life, is the birthmark. And as Georgiana finally passes we read, "As the last crimson tint of the birthmark…faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere" (1140). Hawthorne again affirms that the birthmark is a vital part of Georgiana. To remove the birthmark is to remove life