The Birthmark

3 Pages 697 Words

The Birthmark
Imperfections are found in everyone. The difference is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Those in true love, love unconditionally. The flaws they find in those they love are found to be unique, and make them more amazing to their lover. If someone is not in love, but they believe they are, the quirks and flaws they find in the person can be found to completely destroy the perfect picture they had created for themselves. In the story, “The Birthmark,” by Hawthorne, the flaw of the Georgiana starts to nag at Aylmer, he forgets all that he loves about her which allows him to be disgusted with her flaw will and drive him completely insane
Although the two characters, Aylmer and Georgiana, in “The Birthmark” believe they are in love, Aylmer is not. In the beginning of their relationship, Aylmer believes Georgiana is gorgeous, but shortly after their marriage, he begins to pick at her most noticeable blemish. The hand shaped birthmark on her left cheek was thought by her other lovers that a fairy had pressed a tiny hand to her face at her birth and this impression was left. At first Aylmer didn’t mind her minor flaw, but soon it began to drive him mad. When she blushes, it conceals itself among her rosy cheek, but when she is pale, it sticks out at him. He finds her now to be imperfect and will risk her life to change her appearance and to make it perfect.
Knowing how many times he has failed at most of his experiments, Aylmer will still put Georgiana’s life in danger in order to succumb to his own needs. This in essence shows us that he truly does not care about Georgiana, while she on the other hand is so blindly in love with him that even knowing the consequences still goes along with his experiment. She cares more about Aylmer’s happiness then she does of her own which shows that she loves him unselfishly. At first she is very upset by his suggestion that she should get it removed, b...