Man’s Eternal Struggle with Nature and Morality in Hawthorne’s The Birthmark
While most readers may recognize the name “Nathaniel Hawthorne” from his novels, most notably The Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne was also an avid writer of short stories including the one I’ll be discussing here: The Birthmark. In The Birthmark, Hawthorne tells of a couple dealing with the struggle for perfection and the scientific battle between man and mortality. The story opens with the couple discussing Georgina’s birthmark, a small hand-shaped birthmark that resides on her cheek and is seen as her only outward blemish, and if Almer should try to remove it. The story recounts Almer’s quest to remove the birthmark- to make Georgina a place among the immortals.
While many frame this story in light of the sexual nature of a young couple and the man’s quest to change the woman to his liking, there is another level to this conflict- one of the natural order of things. This can be traced back to Almer’s roots in science- that he studies the ancient texts of alchemists and Aristotle. This divides him from the other scientists of the time as he views man being above the animals and nature whereas his colleagues would instead place him on the same level as the animals. The texts of Aristotle, in particular, give elaboration onto the hierarchy that Almer views in his head that he must overcome. The only beings above man in the hierarchy are heavenly beings- those beings who are lauded as immortal.
This creates the central conflict of the story as Almer struggles with creating a cure for mortality. The birthmark itself is a reminder of his and Georgina’s mortal existence and leads Almer mad as he is forced to confront his own mortality as well as that of his wife. He shows his wife many of his special creations and discoveries that marvel her- but looking in his own books she finds that he is often not as successful as he claims. That most of his creations were not planned to be what they became, that Almer is not as in control as he thinks. This sentiment is echoed in Aminadab who works for Almer and is seen as representing a man connected with nature.
Aminadab is seen as someone who is inferior to Almer, but at the same time, Aminadab is ultimately right where Almer is wrong. Aminadab tells Georgina to keep the birthmark and to embrace who she is and her own mortality as she is a part of nature. Almer counters that through science man has achieved a loftier state among the heavenly beings and is above nature itself. Georgina ultimately follows her husband and drinks the drought that Almer claims will remove the birthmark. The couple go through with the removal despite any dangers it may possess and it ultimately leads to Georgina’s death.
Mortality can be defined as “the condition of being mortal or subject to death” (OED). However, its secondary definition is the one rooted in The Birthmark’s overarching themes as it is defined as “the mortal part of man” (OED). It is this mortal remains that Almer seeks to remove. In the story, the birthmark is described as “the sole token of human imperfection” and Almer’s quest leads to success in its removal- but not what it stands for because the mark is connected to the condition of being mortal. Yet, with the removal of it, Georgina still is subject to mortality and dies.
Throughout the story it is hinted at that Almer, who is the leading scientist of the time, is not as in control and powerful as he makes out. He is arrogant and views the science around him as being man’s “dim sphere of half development.” When Georgina finds his books and sees his failures it presents a realistic cause of her death- his failure in the making of the draught. However, the last paragraph instead changes to address the reader directly and gives the main theme of the piece in this coda: that we are “to find perfect future in the present.”
It is here where the narrator decides the outcome of man versus nature: Nature wins. Hawthorne makes use of a capitalized “Nature” to personify it. Almer’s foe is the last hurdle modern science has to overcome: Nature herself. Aminadab shows that Nature can benefit humans and work with science, but still possesses power over us. Almer represents man’s ambition and hubris- Icarus flying too close to the sun and Georgina represents the ideal present. Time to live and enjoy life, to be in harmony with nature and not push against it.
Hawthorne uses these different perspectives to frame a story that is not just about sexual desire and perfection- but also a battle over the soul and social hierarchy. Almer’s quest is to make a level playing field with the gods and to defeat nature. Almer wishes to become one of the immortals but ultimately cannot overcome mortality. His hubris is to be read as a warning to those who wish to usurp Nature. Because man is “temporary and finite” and remains still a subject to mortality.
Works Cited
1. “mortality, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, January 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/122442. Accessed 1 February 2018.