How did Aylmer remove Georgiana’s birthmark?
Aylmer uses Georgiana’s love and trust for him against her, turning her into a scientific experiment, and taking away her life. Aylmer tells Georgiana about his displeasure with her birthmark. After an initial shocked reaction, Georgiana quickly changes her mindset to agree with her husband and lets him know: “I know not what may be the cost of both of us to rid me of this …
How does Aylmer react when he sees Georgiana?
From "The Birth-Mark," What effect does Aylmer's treatment have on Georgiana? a) she refuses to accept his treatment b) the birthmark disappears, but she leaves him afterward c) the birthmark grows darker, and she dies d) the birthmark disappears, and she dies.
How does Aylmer congratulate Aminadab on Georgiana's success?
Georgiana. 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 is Hawthorne trying to say by comparing Aylmer and Georgiana?
If Aylmer is the villain of the story, Georgiana is the heroine. She acts as society says she should, trusting her husband absolutely, and her only reward for her obedience and deference is death. Perhaps Hawthorne is suggesting that although devotion is a laudable trait, women should not be expected to obey their husbands at all costs.
What is the result of Aylmer's attempt to remove Georgiana's birthmark?
She is very happy to almost be rid of burdensome birthmark, but once the birthmark, finally, completely fades, so does Georgiana. The potion that was used for the removal of her birthmark was poisonous and causes her to die.
Why is Aylmer so repulsed by Georgiana's birthmark?
-repulsed by the birthmark because "he saw her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect grow more and more intolerable. If he succeeds in removing the birthmark, it will mean she is perfect again. When does the birthmark begin to disturb Aylmer?
What is Aylmer's profession?
Aylmer. A brilliant yet misguided scientist and the protagonist of the story. Aylmer's experiments and creations have made him famous in the scientific community.
What happens to Georgiana's birthmark at the end of Nathaniel Hawthorne's the birthmark?
Georgiana has always liked it, until Aylmer brings up the topic one day soon after their marriage. He doesn't like the birthmark; he thinks Georgiana would be perfect if it were removed. Georgiana falls completely to pieces.
Georgiana Quotes in The Birthmark
The The Birthmark quotes below are all either spoken by Georgiana or refer to Georgiana. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ).
Georgiana Character Timeline in The Birthmark
The timeline below shows where the character Georgiana appears in The Birthmark. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Who is Aylmer's assistant?
Now he will resume his studies of the creation of life. As the couple enters the laboratory, Aylmer shudders at the sight of Georgiana, and she faints. Aminadab, Aylmer’s grotesque assistant, comes out to help. He says he would not remove the birthmark if Georgiana were his wife.
What did Aylmer dream about?
Aylmer remembers dreaming that he had removed the birthmark with a knife, plunging down until he had reached his wife’s heart, which he decided to cut out. Georgiana says that she will risk her life to have the birthmark erased. Thrilled, Aylmer agrees to try.
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.
Who is the protagonist in The Birthmark?
Aylmer, the protagonist of Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” undertakes to remove the blemish from his wife’s cheek to satisfy his own spiritual strivings and to redeem what he sees as a failed career.
What is the birthmark?
At first glance “The Birthmark,” published in 1843, seems like a simple story with, as the narrator tells us, a “deeply impressive,” and presumably easily understood, moral. Yet, as with all of Hawthorne’s mature stories, when we look closely, we discover that “The Birthmark” is not as simple as it seems. The narrator — cool and detached, like many of Hawthorne’s narrators — leaves us with questions. How, for example, can Aylmer be “proficient in all branches of” science when his journal is a record of failure? Why does Georgiana drink the potion when she has come to doubt Aylmer’s skill? And then there is perhaps the most intriguing question of all: why does Aylmer undertake to eradicate the birthmark? The analysis we offer here explores that last question and in so doing reveals the complexity of this “simple” tale.
What is the difference between Aminadab and Aylmer?
This contrast between them reflects the central conflict in the story, one between divine perfection and human imperfection.
What is Georgiana's birthmark?
The predominant symbol in the story is Georgiana's birthmark, which is a small red mark resembling a hand print in the middle of her cheek. "In the center of Georgiana's left cheek, there was a singular mark...It's shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest pygmy size.". (421)
What does the birthmark symbolize?
The birthmark symbolizes human mortality and the imperfection of human nature. For Aylmer, Georgiana came "nearly perfect from the hand of Nature" (421). The presence of the birthmark, therefore, deeply disturbs him because it reminds him of his wife's humanity and mortality when he is on a quest for divine perfection.
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.
Where is the birthmark in the book Georgiana?
The narrator describes the birthmark, which is small, pink, hand-shaped, and located on Georgiana ’s left cheek. It becomes less visible when she blushes, but is more visible when she is pale. Georgiana has had many suitors, and they have reacted to the birthmark in different ways. Some of them have yearned to kiss it.