"The Birthmark" A Quest for Perfection
             In the short story "The Birthmark," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters, foreshadowing, and symbolism to demonstrate the theme that physical perfection cannot be reached through science and technology.
             Hawthorne uses the characters in "The Birthmark" as an instrument to fulfill his motives. Aylmer marries Georgiana and finds her only imperfection, a birthmark. This imperfection bears the resemblance of a tiny "crimson hand" and is visible on Georgiana's left cheek. Aylmer renders Georgiana birthmark "as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death" (Hawthorne 2). Aylmer breaks down Georgiana's self-esteem by convincing her with his involuntary shudders and nightmares that the birthmark upon her face is not the charm that she believed it to be. He views his wife as imperfect and becomes obsessed with this superficial imperfection. His obsession is self-created and becomes physically and emotionally damaging for his wife's well-being. When Georgiana comes into the laboratory unannounced, Aylmer grabbed her arm and left his finger marks on it. This violent activity may also insinuate that Aylmer might have a history of an obsessive personality, which is a brain disorder that causes problems in information processing (Scott 1). He is willing to risk Georgiana's life in order to gain scientific knowledge. This obsession shows how the thirst for scientific knowledge can be a dangerous and deathly course. Hawthorne includes a third character, Aminadab who "with his vast strength, his shaggy hair, his smoky aspect, and the indescribable earthiness that incrusted him, he seemed to represent mans physical nature, while Aylmer's slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element" (Hawthorne 5). Aminadab's intellect is clearly not as refined as...