"The Birthmark" takes place in the late 1700s in the home and laboratory of the fictional scientist Aylmer. Hawthorne never specifies a geographic location, and this ambiguity only enhances the story's sense of isolation.
Within Aylmer's dwelling are two main spaces: the laboratory and the boudoir. The laboratory represents the spiritual realm, as Aylmer uses it to transcend earthly reality by creating optical illusions, making plants grow, and finally attempting to remove his wife's birthmark. The boudoir represents the physical realm as it houses Georgiana, who remains an earthly being until her attainment of physical perfection. It could also be argued that the gorgeous boudoir represents the physical perfection with which Aylmer is obsessed. However, both spaces remain imperfect, as the laboratory contains records of his past failures, and the boudoir remains a mere makeshift apartment for his new wife. The two main locations also suggest the juxtaposition of a male (laboratory) and female presence (boudoir), implying that men exert power while women are relegated to private spaces—while also suggesting a certain ambivalence about the effects of male power.
The nonspecific setting allows Hawthorne to focus on the story's warning about the perils of scientific conquest and seeking perfection—a salient warning in a period (the mid-19th century) that tended to be optimistic about the potential of emerging science and technology.
