The Birthmark (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- First Published: 1843
- Type of Plot: Allegory
- Time of Work: The late eighteenth century
- Setting: New England
- Principal Characters: Aylmer, Georgiana, Aminadab
- Genres: Short fiction, Allegory
- Subjects: Philosophy or philosophers, Science or scientists, Sin or Original sin, Surgery or surgeons, Death or dying, Aesthetics, Mad scientists
- Locales: New England
The Story
The protagonist of this tale, Aylmer, is a scientist “proficient in every branch of natural philosophy.” The plot is set in motion when he marries a beautiful young woman, Georgiana, who bears a curious birthmark on her cheek in the shape of a tiny crimson hand. Envious women sometimes say it spoils her beauty, but most men find it enchanting. Aylmer, however, becomes obsessed with the birthmark as the one flaw in an otherwise perfect beauty. When Aylmer involuntarily shudders at the appearance of the birthmark, which waxes and wanes with the flushing or paling of...
[The entire page is 1405 words long]
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