Compairing the Ministers Black Veil and the Birthmark

Comparing "The Birthmark" & "The Ministers Black Veil"

Don't try to hide your secret sins. Nobody is perfect. These are the two themes in the Ministers Black Veil and The Birthmark. These stories are similar and different in many ways in Romanism, hypocrisy, intolerance and plot.

In TB, there is a theme of imperfection. Her husband is so disgusted by her birthmark that he said she had to get it removed. Since she loved him so much, she agreed. This decision ended up killing her. After her death, her husband realizes that she was fine the way she was and didn't need to be changed. There were three ways that romanticism was shown in this story. The basic goodness of people corrupted by society: because her husband wanted her to have her birthmark removed. Emotion over intellect: because she wanted her husband to be happy and so she lets him remove it, so she will be perfect. Love of nature: because Aminadab seeing her nature beauty with the mark.

"Georgiana," said he, "has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?"

"No, indeed," said she, smiling; but perceiving the seriousness of his manner, she blushed deeply. "To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so."

"Ah, upon another face perhaps it might," replied her husband; "but never yours. No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the had of Nature that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection."

"Shocks you, my husband!" cried Georgiana, deeply hurt; at first reddening with momentary anger, but then bursting into tears. "Then why did you take me from my mother's side? You cannot love what shocks you!"

In TMBV, there is a theme of sin, secret sin.

"The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them. A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought."

The home life in The Birthmark is not very good. Seeing as her own husband doesn't