figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element.

Aminadab is not merely physical but bestial. When he speaks (which he seldom does) his tones are "more like the grunt or growl of a brute than human speech." It is unsurprising, therefore that his laughter is "a gross, hoarse chuckle" and that it has a symbolic meaning, connecting with his bestial nature at the end of the story. Aminadab's second laugh, immediately after Georgiana dies, is described in the following terms:

Then a hoarse, chuckling laugh was heard again! Thus ever does the gross fatality of earth exult in its invariable triumph over the immortal essence which, in this dim sphere of half development, demands the completeness of a higher state.

This laughter might be regarded as demonic if demons were not more spiritual than Aminadab. It is a laugh of malicious triumph at the victory of the gross, physical fact of death over the beauty of Georgiana's spirit. Although Aylmer is described as being "a type of the spiritual element," it is his obsession with the physical detail of the birthmark that has led directly to his wife's death. At first glance, Aylmer seems like a spiritually developed character, certainly in comparison with his gross, bestial assistant. In fact, however, he has thrown away Georgiana's life and his own happiness because he cares too much about physical perfection and fails to appreciate his wife's spiritual qualities. This means that Aminadab's symbolic victory of the physical over the spiritual encompasses both husband and wife.

In "The Birth-Mark," Aminadab is Aylmer's laboratory assistant. He is a begrimed, earthy fellow with shaggy hair who does Aylmer's bidding, beginning with burning a pastil to help revive Georgiana after she faints. After he does so, he mutters under his breath that if Georgiana were his wife, he would "never part with that birthmark." Aminadab is strong and excellent at carrying out the tasks involved with Aylmer's laboratory experiments, though he is said to lack comprehension of the science involved. The narrator observes of Aminadab that

he seemed to represent man's physical nature; while Aylmer's slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element.

Hawthorne borrowed the name Aminadab from The Bible; he was an ancestor of David who is briefly mentioned in Genesis and Mark's gospel, and Michelangelo added his likeness to the Sistine Chapel.

Georgiana overhears Aylmer giving Aminadab instructions and Aminadab replying in "harsh, uncouth, misshapen tones" as he works to concoct the potion that will ostensibly remove her birthmark. Clearly, Aylmer believes himself godlike and certainly superior to Aminadab, for he calls him "thou human machine" and "thou man of clay" as if he lacks the animation that only Aylmer can bestow. When Hawthorne wrote "The Birth-Mark" there was growing interest in the accomplishments of scientists and fascination with how far science could be exploited. At the same time, religious faith was taking more of a backseat. Alymer represents a highly intellectual and self-important man who believes himself privy to knowledge beyond the understanding of most people and, in his arrogance, loses his wife in his quest to perfect her. Aminadab, for all his ignorance, seems to understand that perfection is not within the realm of human beings. His eerie chuckles at the end of Aylmer's ill-fated experiment suggest that he is meant to represent a spiritual man who understands that man's place in life is not to place himself alongside God.