The relentless pursuit of human perfection has always been an intrinsic quality of human nature and science has been a means to accomplish it. This statement brings us to the principle thought of Hawthorne's short story "The Birth-mark." It shows the story of a scientist who is obsessed with the expulsion of his significant other's skin pigmentation, considering it a symbol of her human imperfection. "The Birthmark" is possibly affected by Hawthorne's times where science began to pick up information about our reality and was considerably celebrated, through scientific examination, humankind can discover, know, and do just about anything.
As the narrator explains, "In those days when the nearly ongoing discovery of the power and other fellow mysteries of Nature seemed to open paths into the district of supernatural occurrence, [… ] in its profundity and absorbing energy" (Hawthorne 209). The creator's story presents some basic issues about what it signifies to be human, how much science can inform us regarding the world, what happens when human beings endeavor to subvert nature through science, and possibly more significantly, should we attempt to "play God" in this manner.
"The Birth-mark" like different stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne provides us with moral allegories and a large part of the meaning is through Hawthorne's use of symbolism that addresses the themes such as manipulation of science, humanity's flaws, and obsession with perfection.
Hawthorne uses a captivating plot and one of a kind portrayal to show lessons the imperfectability of humans by inspecting the misuse of science. Since Hawthorne is engaged with the recounting an ethical story, it is suitable to consider in this essay the ways "The Birth-mark" takes the good to caution its readers about the dangers of science and obsession with perfection. Along these lines, this essay will discuss the meaning of the more obvious lessons that Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark" suggests, the flawed idea of humankind, the limitations that science has, and the happiness that humans should have on what they as of now possess.
The principal character Aylmer, "a man of science ̶ a prominent proficient in each branch of regular philosophy" (Hawthorne 209), suffers from a visually impaired obsession about a little red pigmentation resembling the shape of a hand that his gorgeous spouse Georgiana has on her cheek. As Aylmer declares: "Ah, upon another face perhaps it may," answered her husband; "yet never on yours. No, dearest Georgiana, you came so almost amazing from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible deformity ̶ which we hesitate whether to term a deformity or a wonder ̶ shocks me, as being the visible sign of natural imperfection" (Hawthorne 209). He seeks to eliminate his significant other's pigmentation, the symbol of necessarily defective humanity, and make her ideal.
Georgiana's pigmentation represents man's imperfections, the very imperfections that make her human. The pigmentation is profoundly instilled in her face. "It was the tragic defect of humanity which Nature, fit as a fiddle or another, stamps indelibly on the entirety of her productions, either to suggest that they are transitory and limited, or that their perfection must be fashioned by toil and agony" (Hawthorne 211). We can assume that, symbolically, this passage implies that man's imperfections are profoundly implanted in his tendency. "The Birthmark" illustrates the flaws of mankind, yet its most significant presence is that to be human is unavoidably to be imperfect. To struggle for perfection is to deny human nature, to deny what makes us human, and to accomplish such perfection is essentially impossible. It becomes clear when the narrator of the story describes Georgiana's passing "The deadly hand had wrestled with the mystery of life and was the bond by which an angelic spirit kept itself in association with a human edge.
As the last crimson color of the pigmentation that sole token of human imperfection–blurred from her cheek, the splitting breath of the now amazing woman passed into the atmosphere, and her soul, waiting for a second close to her husband, took its skyward flight" (Hawthorne 222), by disposing of Georgiana's imperfection, Aylmer also liberates her of her humanity. When she is awesome, when she is not, at this point imperfect, Georgiana can not, at this point live. Hawthorne's message is that being flawed is just important for being human. On the off chance that you are not defective, you are not human anymore. It seems at that point; that the focal lesson and hidden good message behind this passage are that attempting to put a small mistake far up messed up, trying to make something awesome, just destroys something worth being thankful for and leave us with the deadly consequences that accompany the senseless obsession of pursuing perfection.
Another illustration of an ethical lesson that Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark" suggests is that science does have its limitations. There are sure things that humans are not special to know or fit for doing. It is arrogant, the story seems to suggest, however dangerous to attempt to play God. "Much as he had accomplished, she couldn't, however, observe that his most splendid successes were almost perpetually failures [… ] His brightest diamonds were the merest pebbles and felt to be so without anyone else, in comparison with the inestimable gems which lay covered up past his compass" (Hawthorne 217). Aylmer cannot discover everything about Nature; he has fizzled in his past experiments and he will bomb again with Georgiana. One of the many morals of the story is that Nature cautiously protects her secrets and cannot be survived or even coordinated by man.
As we discuss in the presentation of this essay, Hawthorne expressed "The Birthmark" when the scientific technique was being celebrated and individuals were starting to think science truly could take us anywhere we wanted to go. "The Birthmark" is presenting Nature as the personified creator of all things, as a divine being. There are implications in the story about good moral issues as science tests new drugs in human beings for instance, or scientists playing to be divine on account of human cloning. At last, it delivers the good about what happens when human beings endeavor to challenge and adjust nature that can and often will end in lamentable consequences.
Aylmer's gorgeous spouse, Georgiana is exceptionally desirable because of her magnificence. The narrator describes her, announcing: "Georgiana's lovers were wont to say that some pixie at her introduction to the world hour had laid her minuscule hand upon the infant's cheek, [… ] to give her such sway over all hearts" (Hawthorne 210). She is wonderful inside and out, aside from one minuscule imperfection that Aylmer can't acknowledge. "At all the seasons which should have been their happiest, he constantly [… ] opened his eyes upon his significant other's face and perceived the symbol of imperfection" (Hawthorne 211). Aylmer is increasingly more disturbed by his better half's skin pigmentation. He grows to discover it completely intolerable and even describes it "as the symbol of his significant other's risk to sin, sorrow, rot, and demise" (Hawthorne 211). The obsession with perfection blinds Aylmer to the genuine excellence and humanity of his better half, showing the struggle between tolerating her actual normal magnificence and man's powerlessness to see it and acknowledge what nature has bestowed upon him.
As the story reveals through this important statement "Don't apologize [… ] you have dismissed the best the earth could offer" (Hawthorne 222). Hawthorne's basic lesson is that Aylmer didn't perceive that he was so fortunate to have Georgiana. Toward the finish of the story, Aylmer is punished for being dissatisfied with a woman who vowed her adoration and entrusted her life to him, a woman whose internal and external excellence he was unable to see and his discontentment snatch away the most ideal thing in his life, Georgiana. Happiness on what we have is the focal lesson of this passage when sometimes; it is sufficient to just finish a task, regardless of whether it is not amazing because striving to make it wonderful could wind up spoiling many things in the process.
Toward the finish of "The Birthmark," Aylmer both succeeds and fails. He succeeds in that he at long last freed his better half of her pigmentation. He fails in that… she is dead. At long last, this story involves man's desire to consummate what is now awesome and the use of science as an imperfect tool to achieve this perfection. Sure, Georgiana dies right subsequently, yet the reality remains that Aylmer does succeed in eliminating the skin coloration from Georgiana's cheek. What does this say about man's capacity to overcome nature? "The end justifies the means." You can use terrible or corrupt methods as long as you accomplish something "great" by using them. It is satisfactory to plan something terrible for getting something great?