Previous
Symbols
The story revolves around the small, pink, hand-shaped birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek. This symbol can be interpreted in a few different ways, which can all work simultaneously.
In one sense, Aylmer sees the birthmark as a symbol of sin and moral degeneracy, and he imagines it ingrained not only on his wife’s skin but on her heart, indicating a significance beyond that of her physical appearance. However, Aylmer does not realize that because it’s a flaw, the birthmark connects Georgiana to the physical, natural world. As her “sole token of human imperfection,” the mark allows her to continue living on the earthly plane. Its removal kills her because she becomes too perfect for the world of flawed humans.
The hand-shaped mark also represents the grip of mortality, a reminder that Georgiana, a human created by nature, will one day die. Aylmer’s anxiety around the birthmark shows his general anxiety at the idea of mortality, largely because death makes everyone equal. Even Georgiana, his almost-perfect wife, will be no better than everyone else when she’s dead and buried. This interpretation implies that the eventual death of humans is in fact the major flaw which nature forces on all her creations, and Aylmer’s quest to remove the birthmark may also be a quest – an impossible quest – to make Georgiana immortal.
Alternately, the birthmark can be read as an allusion to 1 Peter 1:19 in the Bible, which says the faithful are saved from their sins by the “blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Georgiana is entirely willing to die for Aylmer’s desire for perfection, essentially sacrificing herself for his happiness. According to this Bible verse, she becomes Christlike when Aylmer renders her “without blemish” by removing the birthmark, and she thus becomes the perfect sacrifice, like Jesus, to atone for Aylmer’s own sins in attempting to control God’s creations.
The Birthmark Quotes in The Birthmark
The The Birthmark quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Birthmark. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Birthmark Quotes
It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain. The crimson hand expressed the ineludible gripe in which mortality clutches the highest and purest of earthly mould, degrading them into kindred with the lowest, and even with the very brutes, like whom their visible frames return to dust. In this manner, selecting it as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death, Aylmer's sombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of soul or sense, had given him delight.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage explains Aylmer’s revulsion to the birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek, which drives the entire plot of the story. The birthmark is fundamentally a mark of nature, and it acts as a reminder that nature’s creations, particularly humans, can never attain perfection and will eventually perish. The narrator implies that the hand shape of the birthmark represents the hand of mortality grasping Georgiana. Despite Georgiana’s perfection in every other way, her mortality makes her ultimately no better or more important than all the far more flawed people who exist.Aylmer takes the birthmark not only as a reminder of Georgiana’s eventual Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Volu
I have already given this matter the deepest thought—thought which might almost have enlightened me to create a being less perfect than yourself. Georgiana, you have led me deeper than ever into the heart of science. I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless as its fellow; and then, most beloved, what will be my triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work! Even Pygmalion, when his sculptured woman assumed life, felt not greater ecstasy than mine will be.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Aylmer attempts to reassure Georgiana that he can definitely remove the birthmark as she has suggested he do. At the beginning of the story, the narrator remarked that Aylmer’s love of Georgiana could only match his love of science if the two loves were somehow joined together. Here, Aylmer expresses his delight that the two will, in fact, be joined as he uses his scientific wisdom to make his wife into a creature he can admire without reserve.Aylmer also exhibits the first suggestions of his dangerous pride here. He suggests that he’s come close to achieving the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic
"Why do you come hither? Have you no trust in your husband?" cried he, impetuously....
"Nay, Aylmer," said Georgiana with the firmness of which she possessed no stinted endowment, "it is not you that have a right to complain. You mistrust your wife; you have concealed the anxiety with which you watch the development of this experiment. Think not so unworthily of me, my husband. Tell me all the risk we run, and fear not that I shall shrink; for my share in it is far less than your own.... I submit... And, Aylmer, I shall quaff whatever draught you bring me; but it will be on the same principle that would induce me to take a dose of poison if offered by your hand."
"My noble wife," said Aylmer, deeply moved, "I knew not the height and depth of your nature until now.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Georgiana enters Aylmer’s inner laboratory without his invitation, she finds him far more anxious than he let on before, and he gets angry when he sees her watching. Nineteenth-century standards demanded that an ideal wife would submit entirely to her husband’s will and devote her life to his happiness, and Georgiana here again displays the characteristics of a flawless wife. She tells Aylmer that he has much more to lose from the experiment than she does, thus sacrificing her own self-interest and health to his pride. She then goes so far to prove her trust in him and her Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam offi
The fatal hand had grappled with the mystery of life, and was the bond by which an angelic spirit kept itself in union with a mortal frame. As the last crimson tint of the birthmark—that sole token of human imperfection—faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere, and her soul, lingering a moment near her husband, took its heavenward flight. 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.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage occurs at the very end of the story, as the birthmark disappears and Georgiana dies. It finally becomes clear that the birthmark existed for a reason that Aylmer could not perceive. He has ignored the importance of Georgiana’s single flaw,which kept her living on the earthly plane, and now that the flaw no longer exists his wife cannot remain with him, a flawed man, but must ascend to the higher heavenly plane.Aminadab, however, does not seem surprised, and he even laughs at the scene. In fact, he might have known all along that this would be the result. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omni
Get the entire The Birthmark LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
The Birthmark Symbol Timeline in The Birthmark
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Birthmark appears in The Birthmark. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Birthmark
...are married, Aylmer asks his wife if she has ever considered trying to remove the birthmark on her cheek. Georgiana replies that she has not, and admits that she always thought...
(full context)
The narrator describes the birthmark, which is small, pink, hand-shaped, and located on Georgiana’s left cheek. It becomes less visible...
(full context)
...Georgiana weren’t so perfect in every other way, Aylmer wouldn’t be so bothered by the birthmark. But as time passes, he becomes more and more obsessed with it. He sees it...
(full context)
Whenever the couple should be happy, Aylmer ends up talking about the birthmark, until it becomes the center of their marriage. Whether they’re waking in the morning or...
(full context)
One night, Georgiana brings up the birthmark herself for the first time, asking Aylmer if he recalls having a dream about it...
(full context)
...awake. The dream makes him realize just how much he’s consumed by thoughts of the birthmark. Georgiana asks if it might be possible to remove it, acknowledging that the attempt could...
(full context)
...bring her to his laboratory, where he can closely monitor her while he treats the birthmark. Over the course of his life, Aylmer has used his laboratory to successfully investigate numerous...
(full context)
...Aylmer tries to comfort her, but instead shudders involuntarily when he catches sight of the birthmark. Georgiana faints, and Aylmer calls for Aminadab, his assistant, to help him. Ignorant of all...
(full context)
...it takes Georgiana a moment to remember where she is, and she automatically covers the birthmark with her hand. Aylmer reassures her that he now loves the birthmark because it will...
(full context)
Georgiana pleads with Aylmer not to look at the birthmark. To cheer her up, he gives her a demonstration of his more elegant scientific abilities....
(full context)
...to early photography. However, the image comes out blurry except for the shape of the birthmark, which dominates her cheek. Aylmer hastily destroys the image. He’s embarrassed by these failures.
(full context)
...fact, he’s only telling her about them to show that their current experiment with the birthmark is nothing in comparison.
(full context)
...work to remove skin blemishes. However, he won’t use it on his wife because her birthmark requires a solution that will go deeper than the skin.
(full context)
...of influence on her body that’s making her blood and heart feel odd. But the birthmark doesn’t look any different, and by now she hates it even more than Aylmer does.
(full context)
...admiration of him. He tells her to suspend judgment until after he has removed the birthmark, when he’ll actually deserve her praise. Aylmer then asks Georgiana to sing for him, which...
(full context)
...and accuses her of not trusting him. He even suggests that the presence of the birthmark in the room will ruin his work. Georgiana replies that he has deceived her by...
(full context)
...invested in the result of this experiment. Though he doesn’t know why, he kisses the birthmark, but still feels disgusted by it. Georgiana herself seems disturbed in her sleep by his...
(full context)
...has “rejected the best the earth could offer.” She reveals that she is dying. The birthmark was the only thing keeping her divine spirit connected to a human body, and as...
(full context)
