How Plot Impacts The Theme In 'The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne
How Plot Impacts the Theme in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The short story “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne will have any reader feeling a variety of emotions. “The Birthmark” is simply about a woman, Georgiana, with an extremely unique birthmark on her left cheek that her husband, Aylmer, highly dislikes. Her husband is a scientist, and he is determined to find a successful way to get this hideous birthmark off of his wife’s cheek. The theme in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is highly dependent upon the plot of the story because without each part of the plot, the theme would not be clear to the reader.
In the beginning, the story is basically informing the readers about the the birthmark that sits upon Georgiana’s left cheek. The shape of the birthmark looks like a hand “of the smallest pygmy size” (Hawthorne 291). The birthmark was tiny, but Aylmer still looked at it as his wife’s only flaw. Most men “would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand” (291). These men thought of her birthmark as the most beautiful feature about her. Despite this, Aylmer still absolutely disliked the mark. Georgiana loves the birthmark in the beginning, but Aylmer’s hatred for it begins to rub off on her. It tells …show more content…
It is without a doubt impossible to be a perfect human. The author shows the theme clearly throughout the story by using the literary element, plot. Aylmer tells Georgiana that she would be an absolutely, one hundred percent, perfect person if it was not for her distinct birthmark on her cheek. The very second that the birthmark has permanently disappeared, Georgiana becomes what she believes to be perfect and is forced to leave the earth. The plot ends with Georgiana dying because of her perfectness, and this exceptionally impacts the theme of the story, which is that is altogether foolish to strive for
The short story “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne will have any reader feeling a variety of emotions. “The Birthmark” is simply about a woman, Georgiana, with an extremely unique birthmark on her left cheek that her husband, Aylmer, highly dislikes. Her husband is a scientist, and he is determined to find a successful way to get this hideous birthmark off of his wife’s cheek. The theme in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is highly dependent upon the plot of the story because without each part of the plot, the theme would not be clear to the reader.
In the beginning, the story is basically informing the readers about the the birthmark that sits upon Georgiana’s left cheek. The shape of the birthmark looks like a hand “of the smallest pygmy size” (Hawthorne 291). The birthmark was tiny, but Aylmer still looked at it as his wife’s only flaw. Most men “would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand” (291). These men thought of her birthmark as the most beautiful feature about her. Despite this, Aylmer still absolutely disliked the mark. Georgiana loves the birthmark in the beginning, but Aylmer’s hatred for it begins to rub off on her. It tells …show more content…
It is without a doubt impossible to be a perfect human. The author shows the theme clearly throughout the story by using the literary element, plot. Aylmer tells Georgiana that she would be an absolutely, one hundred percent, perfect person if it was not for her distinct birthmark on her cheek. The very second that the birthmark has permanently disappeared, Georgiana becomes what she believes to be perfect and is forced to leave the earth. The plot ends with Georgiana dying because of her perfectness, and this exceptionally impacts the theme of the story, which is that is altogether foolish to strive for