The beauty and power of nature is awe-inspiring. As seasons switch, leaves change, wind blows, and temperature slowly drops. Mountain ranges that stretch for miles upon miles seem infinite in comparison to the cities and towns built around them. Oceans, which hold countless gallons of water, ebb and flow in the tide. Each element of nature is breathtakingly majestic in its own way, yet none is completely perfect. In his short story, “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne states the omnipotence of nature, using the disallowance and impossibility of true perfection within creation.
One instance where Hawthorne illustrates the theme of his short story is the pygmy hand shaped blemish “in the centre of Georgiana’s left cheek” (Hawthorne 1). This birthmark is the only flaw on her entire body and Aylmer, “seeing her otherwise so perfect...found this one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives” (2). The author creates Georgiana with a discoloration of the flesh in such an obvious area to represent the mortality that all humanity bears. Aylmer’s wife carried the liability to “sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (2). Georgiana ultimately symbolizes the entirety of humankind through her imperfection. Hawthorne …show more content…
The death of this beautiful plant is crucial to the theme of Hawthorne’s short story, because it also points to the conflict filled relationship between nature and science. Aylmer urges Georgiana to pluck a completely perfect flower and “inhale its brief perfume” (6) but “Georgiana has no sooner touched the flower than the whole plant suffered a blight, its leaves turning coal-black as if by the agency of fire” (6). Aylmer’s intent to improve upon nature is met with failure. Unfortunately, Aylmer does not take heed of nature’s subtle warning which foreshadows the death of his beautiful, lovely
One instance where Hawthorne illustrates the theme of his short story is the pygmy hand shaped blemish “in the centre of Georgiana’s left cheek” (Hawthorne 1). This birthmark is the only flaw on her entire body and Aylmer, “seeing her otherwise so perfect...found this one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives” (2). The author creates Georgiana with a discoloration of the flesh in such an obvious area to represent the mortality that all humanity bears. Aylmer’s wife carried the liability to “sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (2). Georgiana ultimately symbolizes the entirety of humankind through her imperfection. Hawthorne …show more content…
The death of this beautiful plant is crucial to the theme of Hawthorne’s short story, because it also points to the conflict filled relationship between nature and science. Aylmer urges Georgiana to pluck a completely perfect flower and “inhale its brief perfume” (6) but “Georgiana has no sooner touched the flower than the whole plant suffered a blight, its leaves turning coal-black as if by the agency of fire” (6). Aylmer’s intent to improve upon nature is met with failure. Unfortunately, Aylmer does not take heed of nature’s subtle warning which foreshadows the death of his beautiful, lovely