Birth-mark vs. Beauty-mark

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birth-mark” provides a 19^th century view on the merge of mind and machine, and how the two merge through emotional conflict.  When the main character Aylmer settles his studies and devotes his new life to his beautiful wife Georgiana, his strive for scientific perfection cannot be ignored. Aylmer, an alchemist is described to have submerged his life fully into a world of science, constantly combining elements with no reasonable explanation. He seems to be reaching for answers that don’t exist. So when he marries Georgiana, his psychological battle begins when he is no longer striving for answers in science.

            Hawthorne writes, “It was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of a women in its depth and absorbing energy”. Aylmer believes the love of his wife can exceed the love of his work. Only when abandoning his work it shows that when submerged into such an infinite environment such as alchemy, that even love cannot divert the mind elsewhere.

The birthmark that lies upon Georgiana’s cheek was cherished and admired by her loved ones. She was taught to see the mark as a sign of beauty. Her view of this mark is changed when Aylmer describes it as an imperfection to her attractive face. As Aylmer dwells upon this mark, his subconscious brings him destructive dreams and a skewed perception of what actually lies upon Georgiana’s face. He is then convinced that he can remove the mark completely using science.  Aylmer finds an ecstasy in science that proves equal to or over comes his love for his wife.

            When Aylmer describes his thoughts on the mark, it alters Georgiana’s vision that this is no longer a beauty mark but is now a birthmark.  Aylmer disserted his science for Georgiana, only to return. His madness from her birthmark comes from a deeper subconscious relating to the abandonment of his work. He perceives the mark as a representation of the science that he had left behind. Retuning to his work and removing the mark was his gateway back to his first love.

            Aminadab, Aylmer’s assistant explains, “If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birthmark”. This reiterates how Aylmer is blinded by science, driven mad by striving for perfection, and over looks the beauty beneath the mark. Only when Aylmer is convinced the imperfection is connected to Georgiana’s soul, is when he searches for an opportunity to cheat nature.  His experiments have no rational outcome, but process is what fuels his work. Alchemistic goals have no finish line. They encourage combinations of incompatible elements to reach an unrealistic outcome. This practice precedes modern chemistry. When striving for an unreachable objective, ambition and focus can turn the mind unstable. As seen in “mad scientists” their devotion can become an obsession. Blinding the scientist of reality. Aylmer is an example of how first love cannot overcome a second. And when blinded for too long, it only takes time for beauty to subside to science. While for Aylmer, beauty lies in science, and imperfection is not an option.