Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark” introduces a “man of science,” Aylmer, who leaves behind his scientific inquiries to marry the beautiful Georgiana (1021). Eventually, Aylmer becomes disturbed by the presence of a hand-shaped birthmark on his wife’s right cheek that previously did not bother him. As time goes on, the birthmark occupies Aylmer’s thoughts increasingly and begins to damage Georgiana’s beauty in his eyes. Georgiana’s birthmark transforms from a mark that Aylmer “contented…with washing away” to something that he chose to be the “symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (1022). The growing distress of Aylmer’s feelings and Georgiana’s anxieties towards the birthmark reach the point where
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Whereas Aylmer, being an “eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy,” represents the world of science (1021), Aminadab, with his “indescribable earthiness,” can be seen as the more natural aspects of man (1025). This contrast illuminates Hawthorne’s sentiments towards science altering nature: Aylmer “rejected the best the earth could offer” and consequently also rejected the imperfections of man (1032). Contrastingly, Aminadab utilizes his one example of significant speech to say that he would “never part with that birthmark,” emphasizing how he differs from his master (1025). Aminadab is a crucial character in this story due to the implications of the direct contrasts that he has with Aylmer. While Aminadab represents the brutish side of man’s nature, by looking at the religious origins of the name Aminadab, it is possible to discern greater tensions between science and religion. The tensions between science and religion are exacerbated further when Hawthorne elects to align spirituality with “the higher intellect” as opposed to spirituality’s traditional alignment with religion (1021). What does this shift in spiritual alignment convey about Hawthorne’s overall intentions? Hawthorne’s contrasting characterizations of Aylmer and Aminadab in conjunction with his redefining of spiritual alignment …show more content…
By including him, it is important to inquire about what Hawthorne intends for Aminadab to symbolize. The story explicitly states that “he seemed to represent man’s physical nature,” but even this explicit statement creates uncertainty in the symbolic meaning of Aminadab by using the word “seemed” (1025). Does he represent more than just man’s physical nature? In the Bible, Aminadab is a high priest, but Hawthorne abases the name from being a high priest to becoming a servant in his story. Aminadab becomes more than just a foil in terms of physical features to Aylmer; he also represents how religion has been relegated below science in the world portrayed by “The Birthmark.” Although Aminadab symbolizes religion, he is never described in terms of spirituality. However, Aylmer’s “slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of spiritual element” (1025), and he even speaks to Georgiana about religion when he states that she is “fit for heaven” (1031). Because spirituality is traditionally associated with religion, the decision to characterize Aylmer, the embodiment of science, in terms of spirituality while declining to describe Aminadab, the religious symbol, as spiritual creates irony. This irony forces a distinction between spirituality and religion because Hawthorne has made them mutually exclusive in the
Whereas Aylmer, being an “eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy,” represents the world of science (1021), Aminadab, with his “indescribable earthiness,” can be seen as the more natural aspects of man (1025). This contrast illuminates Hawthorne’s sentiments towards science altering nature: Aylmer “rejected the best the earth could offer” and consequently also rejected the imperfections of man (1032). Contrastingly, Aminadab utilizes his one example of significant speech to say that he would “never part with that birthmark,” emphasizing how he differs from his master (1025). Aminadab is a crucial character in this story due to the implications of the direct contrasts that he has with Aylmer. While Aminadab represents the brutish side of man’s nature, by looking at the religious origins of the name Aminadab, it is possible to discern greater tensions between science and religion. The tensions between science and religion are exacerbated further when Hawthorne elects to align spirituality with “the higher intellect” as opposed to spirituality’s traditional alignment with religion (1021). What does this shift in spiritual alignment convey about Hawthorne’s overall intentions? Hawthorne’s contrasting characterizations of Aylmer and Aminadab in conjunction with his redefining of spiritual alignment …show more content…
By including him, it is important to inquire about what Hawthorne intends for Aminadab to symbolize. The story explicitly states that “he seemed to represent man’s physical nature,” but even this explicit statement creates uncertainty in the symbolic meaning of Aminadab by using the word “seemed” (1025). Does he represent more than just man’s physical nature? In the Bible, Aminadab is a high priest, but Hawthorne abases the name from being a high priest to becoming a servant in his story. Aminadab becomes more than just a foil in terms of physical features to Aylmer; he also represents how religion has been relegated below science in the world portrayed by “The Birthmark.” Although Aminadab symbolizes religion, he is never described in terms of spirituality. However, Aylmer’s “slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of spiritual element” (1025), and he even speaks to Georgiana about religion when he states that she is “fit for heaven” (1031). Because spirituality is traditionally associated with religion, the decision to characterize Aylmer, the embodiment of science, in terms of spirituality while declining to describe Aminadab, the religious symbol, as spiritual creates irony. This irony forces a distinction between spirituality and religion because Hawthorne has made them mutually exclusive in the