The Birthmark Mind Map

"The Birth-Mark" is a horror short story by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. 'The Birthmark' is allegorical: it is about the hazards of pursuing perfection, particularly human perfection, in all forms, because doing so risks destroying what makes us 'human' in the first place. Aylmer is a brilliant and recognized scientist and philosopher who drops his focus from his career and experiments to marry the beautiful Georgiana.

Aylmer becomes unnaturally obsessed with the birthmark on Georgiana's cheek. One night, he dreams of cutting the birthmark out of his wife's cheek (removing it like scraping the skin from an apple) then, realizing that the birthmark is deeper, continuing all the way to her heart. He does not remember this dream until Georgiana asks about what his sleep-talking meant.

When Aylmer remembers details of his dream; Georgiana declares that she would rather risk her life having the birthmark removed from her cheek than to continue to endure Aylmer's horror and distress that comes upon him when he sees her. Georgina's birthmark is a 'flaw' that distinguishes her not only as a human, but also as the woman Aylmer married. The birthmark does not become a problem for Aylmer until after he marries her, which is an intentional choice on Hawthorne's part. The birthmark also symbolizes Aylmer's ambition to employ scientific methods.

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Outline

The Birthmark

Overview

In the late 18th century Aylmer grows increasingly obsessed with his wife's birthmark and his attempts to perfect her beauty by removing it. Aylmer's passion for science and his belief that it can overcome human imperfections blind him to the foolishness of his quest to rid Georgiana's cheek of the mark.

Main Characters

Aylmer

Man of science seeking perfection

Georgiana

Aylmer's wife; a beauty whose birthmark is her only blemish

Aminadab

Aylmer's disapproving yet capable assistant

Themes

Science

Humans gain a sense of power over nature through studying it, but nature remains unfathomable.

Beauty

Opinions about what is beautiful vary from person to person, as shown in the differing views on Georgiana's birthmark.

Mortality

Despite Aylmer's hopes, immortality is not possible, even through science.

Symbols

Aylmer's Lab

Represents the toil, physicality, and risk of scientific discovery

Birthmark

Symbolizes mortality, imperfection, magic, and life

Georgiana's Rooms

Suggest magic and miracles by their enchanting arrangement

Numbering

Time Aylmer kisses his wife's hand-shaped birthmark

Stories in the collection Mosses from an Old Manse, including "The Birthmark"

Times Aylmer attempts to prove his scientific ability to his wife using a flower

1842

Year Hawthorne started renting Old Manse—a home owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson—where he wrote "The Birthmark"

Author

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE 1804-64

The 19th century was a time of significant advances in scientific knowledge, and Hawthorne, like other romantic writers, was intrigued by the idea that science might be able to change the course of nature. In "The Birthmark," Hawthorne probes and questions this notion.