The Birthmark Literary Analysis Essay Sample
Beauty in society is set as a standard by what is expected of someone to be more than what they already are. People cause harm to their bodys by trying to change how they look because they want to be liked by society. This is done by plastic surgery, editing enhancements, unhealthy eating habits, etc. The fiction short story “The birthmark” by Hawthorne accentuates this very harsh opinion of beauty through the character Alymer wanting to change his wife, Georgiana, by giving her a chemical solution to drink to take away the “hideous” birthmark. Hawthorne uses characters and setting to reveal a theme of obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful can lead to negative effects.
The characters of “The birthmark” by Hawthorne exhibit qualities that shape the story's theme of obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful can lead to negative effects. Alymer, the husband of Georgiana, is very obsessed with changing his already beautiful wife. People claim that she is so perfect and there was nothing wrong with her. Alymer has a manipulative and obsessive character shown by his thoughts throughout the story that contributes to the not so happy ending. Alymer has been so obsessed with removing the birthmark and he even begins to dream of doing it: “When the dream had shaped itself perfectly in his memory, Alymer sat in his wife's presence with a guilty feeling” (Hawthorne). Likewise he shows that he feels guilty but also is so compolussed to remove it that he even dreams about it. He goes into detail explaining how the negative effects ultimately leads her to die in the dream which shows some sort of foreshadowing of what really will happen. His negative thoughts about his beautiful wife are damaging her and causing her gloomy state. He has a sort of malicious intent without realizing it. She was extremely beautiful but not in the eyes of Alymer. The “imperfection”of Georgiana also causes their marriage to despair into thin air which is another negative effect of changing beauty. Hawthorne shows Almyers inner thoughts about Georgiana, “But, seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect growing more and more intolerable, with every moment of their united lives” (Hawthorne). He grew so fixated on one thing that it ultimately hurt themselves rather than just choosing to ignore a minor thing. His character very obviously shows that he likes to control things but when he can not even control his experiments the only thing left is his wife. Almyer and Georgiana are a very exaggerated example of what can happen to two people. Ultimately, a failed marriage and death were the result of obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful which leads to becoming negative.
The Lab and Garden of “The birthmark” by Hawthrone that continue the obsessive tone contributing to the story's theme of obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful can lead to negative effects. The short story takes place in a cold ominous lab and no light is ever let in. The reason the light is never left is because that is a part of nature. This exemplifies his love and devotion to science but hate for nature's power. As the home of Alymer and Georgiana is being pictured it also shows the seclusion they really do live in: “They were to seclude themselves in the extensive apartments occupied by Alymer as a laboratory, and where, during his toilsome youth, he has made some discoveries in the elemental powers by Nature…” (Hawthorne). They built their own little part of the world for themselves to help Almyer better understand the world even though his experiments never went well. When he can not fix his wife's birthmark he knows it is the one thing he couldn't fix or understand out of all of his experiments. Alymer can be seen as being too critical of things in his life. Georgiana finds the logs of his experiments and Alymer catches her: “So deeply did these reflections affect Georgiana, that she laid her face upon the open volume and burst into tears. In this situation she is found by her husband.” (Hawthorne). As his wife is going into his lab she discovers his books logging his experiments in the past. Furthermore,what she discovers is shocking… he never really discovered the experiments but his failed ones turn into a different result than what he expects.. Georgiana expresses her fearful tone and wonders what will happen to her. Aylmer manipulates Georgiana but she thought she has to be better for him. In some ways she could be compared to the garden and the light not allowed into the lab because of her beauty. This could possibly be why she is never allowed in the lab unless she is getting tested on. In the end, the experiment, the lab and garden were a symbol of the true meaning that obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful can lead to negative effects.
Light can be considered a beauty in creating rainbows, happiness, positivity, etc. which could be intended to be a symbol of “The birthmark” by Hawthorne. The tone of the short story can be perceived as morose. The theme is epitomized by Almyer the cat wanting the mouse in a tiny hole of a house. The characteristics exhibited by Almyer were disdainful and made him not a likable character which concludes to the negative theme. The laboratory and garden were key figures in developing the story that leads to the climax. Therefore the theme can be proven to be true. The author's intent is to show obsessing over a topic can lead to negative outcomes no matter how little or serious. In final thought, the use of obsessing over changing something that is already beautiful can lead to negative effects is exemplified throughout the short story “The birthmark” by Hawthorne through characters and setting.
