Literary Analysis: "The Birthmark"

“The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story investigating one man’s strive for perfection. Aylmer, a scientist, becomes obsessed throughout the story to remove a small birthmark from his wife’s face. His wife, Georgiana, is a beautiful woman who is thought as perfect by her admirers, although, she too is driven towards obtaining perfection to please her husband. Aylmer can no longer see his wife’s beauty because he is so fixated on her birthmark and Georgiana will go as far as literally die to be perfect in the eyes of her husband.

Hawthorne’s use of foreshadowing plays a dramatic role in the story. He uses numerous examples, some more obvious than others, that foreshadow Georgiana’s death. Aylmer creates a flower that quickly dies after Georgiana touches it which is foreshadowing Georgiana’s inevitable death. Another example is when the birthmark appears on a metal plate of Georgiana’s face, which Aylmer immediately throws into acid. This foreshadows not only that Georgiana will die, but it will ultimately be Aylmer’s fault due to his strive for perfection.

My favorite aspect of Hawthorne’s story is his overall message that perfection is unattainable. This idea is hinted at throughout the story and then made definite when Georgiana dies after her birthmark disappears. The first time I read this story I found it disturbing because the thought of dying to be perfect in the eyes of your husband is ludicrous in my opinion. After reading the story for a second time and analyzing it further, I found Hawthorne was supporting my opinion. “The Birthmark,” shows the absurdity of striving for perfection and the inevitable conclusion that perfection does not exist. Instead it is the imperfections, like the birthmark, that make each human exactly what they should be, human.