the birthmark

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall Our society tends to be obsessed with the idea of physical perfection. Why does our society manifest that obsession? How is "The Birthmark" an early version of our modern obsession with physical perfection? Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these questions to obsess Aylmer to construct a life threatening experiment on his beloved. This obsession shows how the thirst for scientific knowledge can be a dangerous and deathly course. In the "The Birthmark", …

…dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!"(13) These procedures enable society to achieve what they call, "outward perfection", much like Georgiana longed for in the "The Birthmark". The story "The Birthmark" is a perfect example of an early version of our modern obsession with physical perfection. Georgiana and Aylmer manifested their obsession with physical perfection much like we would today. The result was a simple lesson, do not mess with the person God has created.