Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1842

Birthmark

Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" is an ironic story in which man's faith in science as the ultimate savior of humankind is demonstrated to be misplaced. Ever since science has come to the forefront of human knowledge, people have continually increased their faith and thus their dependency on it. In a way, science has become a new form of religion, one in which people place their faith to solve what they see as their everyday problems. However, too much faith in science's ability to solve problems has created a situation where people turn to science to solve problems that are not there. Because science has already solved many of life's major problems, such as certain diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries, people seem to look for new problems for science to solve for them. "The Birthmark" is a perfect example of how a person can turn to science in order to solve what they see as a problem, when in fact it is not really a problem at all. And when people use science in such a way, tragedy inevitably follows.

The focus of Hawthorne's tale, Aylmer, is described as "an eminent proficient in ever branch of natural philosophy." (Hawthorne) In other words, he is a scientist, but in the early 19th century, science was sometimes viewed as being surrounded with an almost mystic aura. Science was the means by which mankind might "ascent from one step of powerful intelligence to another, until the philosopher should lay his hand on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself." (Hawthorne) And while Hawthorne admits that he does not know if Aylmer believed that mankind, through science, could control nature, Aylmer's actions seem to reveal the truth. He may have been smitten for a while with is new wife, enough to barely notice the small birthmark on her face, but in time his love of science overcame his love of his wife.

When, not long after their wedding Aylmer told his young wife Georgiana that the small birthmark on her cheek "shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection," he revealed his true love. (Hawthorne) Science, to men such as Aylmer, was believed to be the means by which mankind could control and even remake nature as they saw fit. When Aylmer began to notice the birthmark, something that he overlooked when infatuated, and to think of ways to "repair" the deficiency, he was turning to science as the means by which man could overcome nature's mistakes.

And what was the major fault of nature that Aylmer wanted to repair? It was a small birthmark that could only really been seen clearly when Georgiana's skin was pale in color. If there was any rosiness in her cheeks, it was difficult to see, and "when she blushed it gradually became more indistinct, an finally vanished amid the triumphant rush of blood that bathed the whole cheek." (Hawthorne) The birthmark was so small that it could be covered completely with Georgiana's two fingertips; hardly a major physical ailment or deformity. But because Aylmer's true love was science, and its promise of complete control over nature and it's errors, a small birthmark became, to Aylmer, a symbol of nature's mistakes. And because Aylmer was a scientist, he believed that his science could solve what he came to view as a major defect when in reality it was only a small inconvenience. His belief that science could solve any problem ultimately clouded his vision and judgment.

This blurring of judgment can be demonstrated by Hawthorne's constant reference to the small and insignificant birthmark in extreme terms. It is referred to as a "fatal birthmark," and a "cureless deformity," and later Aylmer describes the birthmark to his wife as having "clutched its grasp into your being." Clearly this small blemish, as a fault of nature which Aylmer believes can be repaired through science, has become to Aylmer something much larger. Aylmer created a problem where there was none so that science could solve it.