Question

in " the birthmark," what dose the birthmark represent for the two main characters, Aylmer and Georgiana? at the end of the story , what dose the birthmark come to symbolize?

Answer 1

1) For Georgiana the birthmark represents the idea of mortality. This symbol can be seen throughout the whole story, through the search of perfection and realization of imperfection as a part of human being. But her husband interprets the birthmark as the prospect of death.
2) Aylmer was also assured  that the birthmark represents Georgiana’s moral flaws. He was wrong because she had never done anything sinful. In the end of the story, this mistakenly defined symbol of death on her cheek encounters with her generosity and good spirit.

Answer 2

The birthmark for Georgiana was a symbol of being human and for Aylmer it was a mark of imperfection. By the end the birthmark comes to symbolize the innate quality of being imperfect, being human which is a part of Nature and cannot be defied by science.

Further Explanation:

‘The Birthmark’ is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in the year 1843. The story depicts the life of Aylmer was a scientist a philosopher who marries Georgiana. Georgiana, as shown in the book, has a birthmark like the shape of a hand on her cheek. Her birthmark had been a reason for attraction for many men and a reason for jealousy among a number of women. Georgiana however, found the birthmark to be agreeable to her countenance. After being married to Aylmer she felt disheartened when he said that he wished the birthmark could be removed. She started to feel ugly in front of her husband which was leading them to an unhappy married life. However, in order to make her husband happy, Georgiana allowed him to remove the birthmark with the help of an elixir. Even though the birthmark significantly disappeared from her cheek, it finally led to the death of Georgiana.  

Hawthorne uses the birthmark as symbolism in his story. For Georgiana, it could be seen as a symbol of being a human. In the story, it is mentioned several times that the mark is ‘deeply interwoven’ on her cheek. Being human is being imperfect in nature. The mark being interwoven in her being shows that it is inherent in mortals to be flawed. The depth of the birthmark is also seen in the dream that Aylmer has of removing the birthmark from her cheek which kept on going deeper and deeper until it reached her heart. The birthmark symbolizes Georgiana’s aspect of being an imperfect being, a human. However, Aylmer who is a scientist searches for imperfection in everything that he sees. For him, the birthmark needs to be removed in order to make Georgiana perfect. Aylmer overestimates his scientific knowledge and goes against Nature. He loses Georgiana because she loses her quality to be a mortal any further. In the end, the birthmark then symbolizes that the future need not be destroyed in the light of a brighter present and that Aylmer was lacking real wisdom and gave up a good thing when he already had it.  

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Answer Details:  

Grade: Secondary

Subject: English Literature

Chapter: the Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Keywords: Aylmer, scientist, Georgiana, Nathaniel Hawthorne, birthmark, imperfection, mortal, human, symbol, scientific, Nature.