Aylmer's obsession with Georgiana's birthmark makes her feel ugly. His desire to remove the birthmark creates a great chasm, and his wife, is frightened by the things he tells her..... his dreams. As a result, she practically begs him to rid her of something that never before bothered her, and in the end, his elixir ends her life. Source(s)
Full Answer
How does Aylmer make up for the death of Georgiana?
To make up for the plant’s death, Aylmer creates a portrait of Georgiana by a scientific process similar to early photography. However, the image comes out blurry except... (full context)
Can Aylmer treat Georgiana’s birthmark?
Aylmer is impressed, and reveals that he has already been treating the birthmark, but to no avail. There’s only one option left to try, and it could be dangerous. Georgiana retorts that the only danger lies in the continued presence of the birthmark, which would make both of them go mad.
What happens when Georgiana enters the inner laboratory?
When Georgiana enters the inner laboratory, science is revealed to be far less elegant and perfect than Aylmer has made it seem through his demonstrations for Georgiana. In fact, it is far more dependent on Aminadab’s physical, earthy abilities than Aylmer would have it seem.
What would Aylmer do if Georgiana weren't perfect?
Why does Georgiana say she didn't need Aylmer?
What does Aylmer tell Georgiana about?
What is Aylmer's wife's birthmark?
What does Georgiana awakened by?
Where is the birthmark on Georgiana's left cheek?
Who reads the books in his laboratory?
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Why can't Georgiana survive the removal of the birthmark What explanation does the story provide for her death?
What explanation does the story provide for her death? -Georgina cannot survive the removal of the birthmark because he is removing a piece of her. She says, "I am dying." Find three examples throughout the story that foreshadow Georgiana's death.
Why is Aylmer trying to rid Georgiana of the birthmark if he succeeds What will it mean to him again Hawthorne tells you right in his story?
Why is Aylmer so repulsed the birthmark? If he succeeds in removing it, what will it mean to him? He wants to remove it, because he thinks that the birthmark is nature's way of showing Georgiana's mortality and necessary humanity.
What kind of alterations does Aylmer make to his laboratory in preparation for Georgiana seclusion?
What alterations does Aylmer make to his laboratory to prepare for Georgiana's seclusion? He comes up with many things to try and make her feel comfortable in there. What is the function of Aminadab? Why is Georgiana willing to risk death for the removal of the birthmark?
What bothers Aylmer most about the birthmark on his wife's face?
She wants her husband to love her, and feels as though you cannot love what shocks you. As time passes, Aylmer is more and more bothered by his wife's birthmark. He grows to find it utterly intolerable, this "fatal flaw of humanity" which Nature has stamped upon her face (8).
What does Georgiana learn about Aylmer's experiments?
Georgiana realizes that Aylmer has been doctoring her food or making her inhale something in the air. Her body feels strange. She reads the books in his scientific library, as well as his accounts of his own experiments. She realizes that his achievements always fall short of the goals he originally sets.
What is Aylmer's true motive for removing the birthmark?
Aylmer reasons that the birthmark is Nature's way of showing Georgiana's mortality and necessary humanity. He wants to remove the mark, then, not because he doesn't like the way she looks, but because of what the symbol represents to him (see "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory").
What was Aylmer's reaction to the sight of Georgiana's birthmark?
Aylmer saw the mark as a sign of his wife's eventual sadness, sickness and death. Soon, the birthmark caused him more pain than Georgiana's beauty had ever given him pleasure.
Why does Aylmer create a secluded abode within his laboratory for Georgiana?
This attempt to shelter Georgiana is both misguided and impossible; just as his attempts to remove the birthmark are really an attempt to remove her humanity, so Aylmer's desire to shelter her from evil is a desire to shelter her from her own humanity.
What is the first thing that struck Georgiana in the lab?
passage in "The Birthmark" recounts Georgiana's discovery of her husband's laboratory: The first thing that struck her eye was the furnace, that hot and feverish worker, with the intense glow of its fire, which by the quantities of soot clustered above it seemed to have been burning for ages.
How does Georgiana feel about her birthmark?
Although every other man she has encountered has swooned over her beauty and many would risk death for the privilege of touching her birthmark, Georgiana cares only about Aylmer's opinion of her. Because he is horrified by her appearance, she discards years of praise and becomes disgusted with herself.
What does the birthmark represent for Georgiana?
Georgiana's birthmark symbolizes mortality. According to the narrator, every living thing is flawed in some way, nature's way of reminding us that every living thing eventually dies. The hand-shaped mark on Georgiana's cheek is the one blemish on an otherwise perfect being, a blemish that marks her as mortal.
Why is Aylmer so obsessed with perfecting Georgiana?
Aylmer loves Georgiana, but he cannot stand this one aspect of her that falls short of perfection. Aylmer becomes so obsessed with making Georgiana absolutely perfect that her one supposed imperfection comes to blind him to everything else good about her.
Georgiana Character Analysis in The Birthmark | SparkNotes
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Why does alymer marry georgiana if he hated the birthmark so ... - Answers
Alymer did not notice the birthmark until after the marriage. He gradually began to notice Georgiana's birthmark, depicting it as a crimson blotch on her marble white skin.
The Birthmark: Character List | SparkNotes
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The Birthmark Full Text.pdf - Google Docs
Page 3 of 10. 3 When the dream had shaped itself perfectly in his memory, Aylmer sat in his wife's presence with a guilty feeling. Truth often finds its way to the mind close muffled in robes of sleep, and then speaks with
The Birthmark Themes | LitCharts
The narrator describes Georgiana as perfect in every way except for the birthmark on her cheek. Aylmer loves Georgiana, but he cannot stand this one aspect of her that falls short of perfection. Aylmer becomes so obsessed with making Georgiana absolutely perfect that her one supposed imperfection comes to blind him to everything else good about her.
What would Aylmer do if Georgiana weren't perfect?
If Georgiana weren’t so perfect in every other way, Aylmer wouldn’t be so bothered by the birthmark.... (full context) ...or sitting around the fire at night, Aylmer always sees the birthmark and remembers that Georgiana is human rather than divine.
Why does Georgiana say she didn't need Aylmer?
Georgiana says she didn’t need Aylmer to prove the liquid’s effect, because she trusts him completely. ... (full context) Aylmer pulls back a curtain, and sunlight falls on Georgiana ’s cheek. He hears Aminadab laughing and congratulates him on their mutual success, saying that earth... (full context)
What does Aylmer tell Georgiana about?
In between his hours working on the treatment, Aylmer tells Georgiana about alchemy, the early branch of science that sought to turn various materials into gold.... (full context) Georgiana hears Aylmer talking to Aminadab in the inner room of the laboratory.
What is Aylmer's wife's birthmark?
Georgiana is Aylmer ’s wife and the subject of his experimentation. Although she is very beautiful and much admired by men, she has a small, reddish, hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Its visual prominence depends on the paleness or blush of the surrounding cheek at any given moment.
What does Georgiana awakened by?
Georgiana is awakened by the powerful fragrance in the beautiful room that her husband has prepared... (full context) Georgiana pleads with Aylmer not to look at the birthmark. To cheer her up, he gives... (full context) Next, Aylmer presents Georgiana with a pot of dirt. As she watches, a plant sprouts and flowers.
Where is the birthmark on Georgiana's left cheek?
One day soon after Aylmer and Georgiana are married, Aylmer asks his wife if she has ever considered trying to remove the... (full context) The narrator describes the birthmark, which is small, pink, hand-shaped, and located on Georgiana ’s left cheek.
Who reads the books in his laboratory?
While Aylmer works, Georgiana reads the books in his laboratory, which recount the achievements of famous scientists throughout history.... (full context) Aylmer finds Georgiana reading his books and scolds her for it, saying that reading his journal almost makes... (full context)
How does Aylmer make up for Georgiana's death?
To make up for the plant’s death, Aylmer creates a portrait of Georgiana by a scientific process similar to early photography. However, the image comes out blurry except for the shape of the birthmark, which dominates her cheek. Aylmer hastily destroys the image. He’s embarrassed by these failures.
What does Aylmer do to Georgiana?
The next day, Aylmer tells Georgiana his plan to bring her to his laboratory, where he can closely monitor her while he treats the birthmark. Over the course of his life, Aylmer has used his laboratory to successfully investigate numerous aspects of nature, including the sky, mines, volcanoes, and springs.
What does Aylmer tell Georgiana about poison?
Georgiana is horrified, but Aylmer tells her that applied carefully, the poison can also work to remove skin blemishes.
What does Georgiana feel about Aylmer?
The fact that Georgiana feels she might be in the sky adds to the sense of Aylmer acting as God, with this as his heavenly lair. Additionally, Aylmer’s sudden supposed love of the birthmark demonstrates that uniting his love of science and his love of his wife is already strengthening his love of both. Active Themes.
What does Georgiana ask Aylmer about the birthmark?
One night, Georgiana brings up the birthmark herself for the first time, asking Aylmer if he recalls having a dream about it the night before. At first he doesn’t remember, although he admits that he was thinking about it when he went to sleep.
Why does Georgiana shrink from her husband's gaze?
Georgiana learns to shrink from her husband’s gaze, because he’s always looking at the birthmark with dislike.
Why did Aylmer give up on the birthmark?
However, he gave up on this attempt because nature makes it easy to mess things up, only rarely makes it possible to fix things, and definitely does not allow the creation of life from nothing. Still, to figure out how to remove the birthmark, Aylmer returns to his old pursuits concerning the chemical origins of life.
What does Aylmer tell Georgiana about Alchemy?
Between experiments, Aylmer tells Georgiana about alchemy. He believes that he could turn base metal into gold and create a potion that would grant eternal life if he wanted to, even though he says he knows that doing so would be wrong. He disappears for hours and then shows her his cabinet of wonders.
What does Georgiana realize about Aylmer?
Georgiana realizes that Aylmer has been doctoring her food or making her inhale something in the air. Her body feels strange. She reads the books in his scientific library, as well as his accounts of his own experiments. She realizes that his achievements always fall short of the goals he originally sets.
What is the birthmark in Georgiana?
The narrator explains that the birthmark in question is a red mark in the shape of a tiny hand on Georgiana’s left cheek.
What does Aylmer promise Georgiana?
She promises to drink whatever he tells her to drink. Moved, Aylmer says the mark goes deep into her body, and its removal will be dangerous. In her room, Georgiana thinks about how noble it is that Aylmer refuses to love her as she is, insisting instead to create his ideal version of her.
What does Aylmer obsess about?
Aylmer obsesses about the birthmark. For him, it symbolizes mortality and sin and comes to tower over Georgiana’s beauty in his mind. He can think of nothing else. One night she reminds him of a dream he had. He spoke in his sleep, saying they must take out her heart.
What does Aylmer discover?
They decide to move to the apartments where Aylmer has his laboratory. He has already made stunning discoveries about volcanoes, fountains, mines, and other natural wonders.
Can Aylmer kill someone?
One such wonder is a vial that holds a powerful perfume. Another is a poison that, depending on the dose, would allow Aylmer to kill someone instantly or after a long period of time. Georgiana is appalled, but Ay lmer says the pois on is more good than bad.
What would Aylmer do if Georgiana weren't perfect?
If Georgiana weren’t so perfect in every other way, Aylmer wouldn’t be so bothered by the birthmark.... (full context) ...or sitting around the fire at night, Aylmer always sees the birthmark and remembers that Georgiana is human rather than divine.
Why does Georgiana say she didn't need Aylmer?
Georgiana says she didn’t need Aylmer to prove the liquid’s effect, because she trusts him completely. ... (full context) Aylmer pulls back a curtain, and sunlight falls on Georgiana ’s cheek. He hears Aminadab laughing and congratulates him on their mutual success, saying that earth... (full context)
What does Aylmer tell Georgiana about?
In between his hours working on the treatment, Aylmer tells Georgiana about alchemy, the early branch of science that sought to turn various materials into gold.... (full context) Georgiana hears Aylmer talking to Aminadab in the inner room of the laboratory.
What is Aylmer's wife's birthmark?
Georgiana is Aylmer ’s wife and the subject of his experimentation. Although she is very beautiful and much admired by men, she has a small, reddish, hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Its visual prominence depends on the paleness or blush of the surrounding cheek at any given moment.
What does Georgiana awakened by?
Georgiana is awakened by the powerful fragrance in the beautiful room that her husband has prepared... (full context) Georgiana pleads with Aylmer not to look at the birthmark. To cheer her up, he gives... (full context) Next, Aylmer presents Georgiana with a pot of dirt. As she watches, a plant sprouts and flowers.
Where is the birthmark on Georgiana's left cheek?
One day soon after Aylmer and Georgiana are married, Aylmer asks his wife if she has ever considered trying to remove the... (full context) The narrator describes the birthmark, which is small, pink, hand-shaped, and located on Georgiana ’s left cheek.
Who reads the books in his laboratory?
While Aylmer works, Georgiana reads the books in his laboratory, which recount the achievements of famous scientists throughout history.... (full context) Aylmer finds Georgiana reading his books and scolds her for it, saying that reading his journal almost makes... (full context)