A Dual Criticism Look at Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"
A Dual-Criticism Look at The Birthmark
Literature is many things: provoking, heartwarming, emotional, traumatic, poetic, maybe even life-changing. Literature can also be incredibly ambiguous. While literature can be “simply read”, when one takes a step back and looks at a piece through specific lenses, the work can take on an incredibly different, deeper meaning. Taking the lead of criticisms such as formalist, psychoanalytical, biological, feminist, Marxist, etc., one can dig deeper into a text and discover new meanings and morals from it. Not only can this confirm obvious written meanings, it can also take a seemingly black and white concept and fill it in with shades of grey, providing new possibilities and interpretations that might conflict, support, or enhance an initial reading. For the purposes of delving deeper into multiple possible interpretations, looking at a piece through the lenses of multiple different criticisms can be incredibly helpful. Not only can this give you alternative ways of looking at things, it might also be able to explain subtleties or behavior through a much more concrete understanding. This concept is especially the case with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark. From an initial reading, The Birthmark seems to be rather clear. There are many elements in play, and all of them have something incredibly important to say. Like most literature, however, the absolute meaning of the story is debatable. There can be many different interpretations of the story: is it propaganda against the advances of science? Is it comparing the power of science with the power or nature? Is it reflecting on the fatal flaws of mankind? Is it a comparison of earth/body versus spirituality/soul? There is no set answer. However, looking at even just one passage from the points of view from two different types of criticisms, we can find multiple different meanings and morals laved through the action of the story. The Birthmark follows a brilliant but
Literature is many things: provoking, heartwarming, emotional, traumatic, poetic, maybe even life-changing. Literature can also be incredibly ambiguous. While literature can be “simply read”, when one takes a step back and looks at a piece through specific lenses, the work can take on an incredibly different, deeper meaning. Taking the lead of criticisms such as formalist, psychoanalytical, biological, feminist, Marxist, etc., one can dig deeper into a text and discover new meanings and morals from it. Not only can this confirm obvious written meanings, it can also take a seemingly black and white concept and fill it in with shades of grey, providing new possibilities and interpretations that might conflict, support, or enhance an initial reading. For the purposes of delving deeper into multiple possible interpretations, looking at a piece through the lenses of multiple different criticisms can be incredibly helpful. Not only can this give you alternative ways of looking at things, it might also be able to explain subtleties or behavior through a much more concrete understanding. This concept is especially the case with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark. From an initial reading, The Birthmark seems to be rather clear. There are many elements in play, and all of them have something incredibly important to say. Like most literature, however, the absolute meaning of the story is debatable. There can be many different interpretations of the story: is it propaganda against the advances of science? Is it comparing the power of science with the power or nature? Is it reflecting on the fatal flaws of mankind? Is it a comparison of earth/body versus spirituality/soul? There is no set answer. However, looking at even just one passage from the points of view from two different types of criticisms, we can find multiple different meanings and morals laved through the action of the story. The Birthmark follows a brilliant but
Cited: Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandel. Literature – Reading, Reacting, Writing. Boston: Wadsworth Publishers, 2004. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Birthmark. 1843