Treatment FAQ

what effect does aylmer's treatment have on georgiana?

by Prof. Betsy O'Keefe Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

What effect does Aylmer’s treatment have on Georgiana? a. The birthmark grows larger and she dies.

Full Answer

What happens to Georgiana in Aylmer?

Even as she knows she’s dying, Georgiana comforts and praises Aylmer rather than criticizing him for essentially killing her. Ironically, mortality triumphs precisely because the only sign of it on Georgiana has gone, and so she becomes too perfect to remain human.

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.

Why does Aylmer ask Georgiana to sing for him?

Aylmer then asks Georgiana to sing for him, which she does, and her singing makes him happy. When he returns to the inner room of his laboratory, Georgiana realizes she forgot to tell him about a strange feeling in the birthmark which has made her restless, so she follows him.

Why does Aylmer care so much about his failures?

Contrary to being oblivious to his failures, Aylmer seems to be very bothered by them, perhaps explaining why he cares so much about succeeding in this experiment so that he can have a perfect wife and come a little closer to perfection himself.

image

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).

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.

How is Aylmer described when he sees the birthmark disappearing?

How is Aylmer described when he sees the birthmark disappearing? He is still disgusted by it even though it is disappearing.

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 does Aylmer realize in the end?

At the end of "The Birthmark," Aylmer both succeeds and fails. He succeeds in that he finally rid his wife of her birthmark. He fails in that…she's dead.

Why does Georgiana agree to have her husband remove the mark?

For what reason does Georgiana agree to have her husband remove the mark? She hates it. Her husband hates it so much, she sees him turning from her. It is beginning to be a painful mark.

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.

How does Georgiana feel about Aylmer?

The ideal wife—at least according to the ideals of a bygone era—Georgiana considers Aylmer to be her master. 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.

What does Georgiana represent in the birthmark?

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.

What does Aylmer's name mean in the birthmark?

Aminadab symbolizes man's earthly, physical half; Aylmer symbolizes man's lofty, spiritual half. Our second tip-off is his name.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9