The Birthmark

Over the course of time, man has always looked for new ways to expand across the horizon. Taller monuments, faster cars, more beautiful women; man has been on a quest for an indistinguishable grail; perfection.  Through the literary technique of allegory, Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this destructive endeavor for perfection in his narrative “The Birthmark.” Although Aylmer is portrayed as a monstrous, if not demon-like scientist, it is, in reality, his human nature to pursue the unachievable.

            Perfection is not a specific thing, but more an unobtainable caliber. Science, as represented through Aylmer, is a passion to understand, and control. Man wishes to understand nature, and all of its miracles; simple curiosity drives man to limits previously thought unfathomable. This same curiosity is in a sense, a curse. When does one simply “give-up” on the quest for this level of perfection, when competition is coursing through our veins? “What will be my triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work!” (Hawthorne, 222). Aylmer, like many others, is a victim to this impossible quest.

            One of the motifs used throughout the narrative is “the crimson hand.” As the reader we understand this to be symbolic of God’s working hand. “Many a desperate swain would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand.” (Hawthorne, 219). The hand’s impression on Georgiana’s cheek marks her beauty as the work of God. However, interestingly, Aylmer rejects even God’s work as perfect.

            The pursuit of the unobtainable is without a doubt one of the greatest flaws of the human nature. Paradoxically, Hawthorne has presented Aylmer with nature’s level of perfection, and yet, the curiosity for a higher caliber lingers even stronger. “Until the philosopher should lay his hands on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself. We know not whether Aylmer possessed this degree of faith in man’s ultimate control over nature.” (Hawthorne, 218).

            Man’s Curiosity for perfection is a dangerous quest that simply cannot be completed. With every new development, there will always be desire for improvement. Sanity of the human mind must be found in compromise. Balance between “what one has, and what one wants,” can allow man kind to accept that which is feasible, and that which is not. “You have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent that, with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best earth could offer.” (Hawthorne, 231).

            With advancements in science and technology, man must answer on question, when have we reached the difference between the “A-“ and the “A?” When do we recognize perfection?