Tampering With Nature Explored in Term Paper

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This is an interesting point-of-view about Aylmer and it works with his character. Others identify Georgiana's birthmark as something that is essentially hers and therefore, should remain with her. Shakinovsky goes even further to say that it is a "metaphor for her identity, her sexuality, her being" (Shakinovsky). Aylmer is blind to this fact altogether. He cannot see that "in removing the mark, he removes all there is of her" (Shakinovsky). He could not accept the fact that he could not just remove a portion of her -- it was all or nothing.

Shakinovsky reinforces the point that all of the characters in "The Birthmark" realize that Georgiana cannot be separated from her birthmark, except Aylmer. However, as the story progresses, the birthmark becomes "Aylmer's object, and since, as the sign of her subjectivity, it represents Georgiana, it becomes she who is his object" (Shakinovsky). Again, we see how Aylmer's love of science overwhelms the love he feels for his wife. He is foolish enough to risk her entire life on what happens when he pours the elixir on a geranium. It is important to note that the geranium was covered with "unsightly blotches" (Hawthorne 611) because it illustrates Aylmer's impression of the birthmark.

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Georgiana's death is the final indication that her birthmark was a beautiful part of her life that should have never been removed.

In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "The Birthmark," is a frightening account of what can happen when human desire is allowed to run out of control. Blind desire knows no danger and Aylmer proves that attempting to perfect nature. This becomes his fatal mistake. Aylmer chooses to put his love for science above his love for his wife, which also proves to be a horrible mistake. Rosenberg says that Aylmer's tale "proposes that human nature is a compound -- a sacred mystery. The only way to effect a celebration of the body is not through distillation -- separateness, voyeurism, science, etc. -- but through unification, sympathy and love" (Rosenberg). Indeed, Aylmer's attempt to perfect something that nature deemed already perfect illustrates that mankind should recognize his place in the universe and live within the bounds that are set for him.

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"Tampering With Nature Explored In" (2004, November 21) Retrieved July 1, 2025, from
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"Tampering With Nature Explored In", 21 November 2004, Accessed.1 July. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/tampering-nature-explored-58951
   

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