The Death of Georgiana: Obsession With Perfection
             In the short story "The Birth-Mark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is a principle character in which all of the events unfold around. Georgiana, who is the wife of a noble scientist named Alymer, is a woman of natural beauty and has a classic love and desire to please her husband. Alymer can be described as a controlling man who strives for perfection in all aspects of his life. Georgiana's appearance can be described as nearly perfect, except for a small crimson, hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Through the context of this story, this birthmark will haunt Alymer which in turn haunts Georgiana. Alymer's unintentional brainwashing and personal disgust with the birthmark leads to Georgiana's own personal disgust with the imperfection. The disgust and insecurity that Georgiana develops combined with her obsession in pleasing her husband results in her own death. It can be said that Georgiana, in the end, is the cause of her own death.
             As the story opens the newly married couple is still making discoveries about one another. As a man of perfection, Alymer's love for Georgiana and decision to marry her was based on the fact that she was nearly perfect. As most newlyweds there were things about each other that were yet to be unfolded. Alymer in fact, made a discovery which he found to be a problem. The discovery he uncovered was a birthmark on Georgiana's left cheek, it was a mark which revealed her natural imperfection. Alymer arrogantly mentioned to his wife the idea of removing her birthmark. Georgiana replied, " To tell you the truth, it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so" (Hawthorne 29). This comment shows Georgiana's comfort and content with the birthmark. The birthmark is a small, crimson, hand-shaped mark, which became more indistinct as her face reddened...