Nathanial Hawthorne does an excellent job of incorporating the human struggle for perfection in his short story, The Birthmark. Georgiana was a beautiful woman, “almost perfect”, as her husband told her repeatedly; however on her cheek was a small birthmark. While many men found this birthmark to be charming, her husband was repulsed by the small facial marking. “Ah, upon another face perhaps it might,” replied her husband; “but never on yours. No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection.” (Hawthorne, 1843, p1) Georgiana’s husband, Aylmer, began to obsess about this and actually would visibly shudder at the sight of her birthmark. This slowly but surely managed to break down Georgiana’s confidence to the point where she could not even look at herself in the mirror! Aylmer’s quest for human perfection resulted in Georgiana agreeing to have several scientific experiments performed on her in order to rid her of the birthmark. “Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust, -- life is a burden which I would fling down with joy. Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!” (Hawthorne, 1843, p2) Georgiana’s life has become all about this small mark on her face. It no longer mattered what kind of person she was or who she was inside; the birthmark controlled her entire existence. The once happy newlywed was now a shell of her former self, becoming obsessed with her imperfection as well. In the end, Aylmer succeeds in removing the mark on her face, but as the birthmark fades, so does his wife. While he does achieve the perfection he sought, he lost his beautiful wife in the process. The struggle with perfection is one that many people suffer from daily. Women always want to be thinner, prettier, and look like the celebrities they see on television and in the movies. Men are not absolved from these thoughts either. The amount of eating disorders and plastic surgery that are reported in the United States daily is enough proof of the problem with the idea of perfection in our society. It is all around us everyday and it is difficult to not be drawn in to the hype. I used to struggle with my weight regularly. When I lost ten pounds, I was a whole different person. I was more confident, outgoing, and funny. When I would gain the weight back, I was miserable. I was introverted, self conscience, and very hard on myself. I tried every fad diet under the sun to achieve this ‘perfect’ body I saw on television. Eventually I was down to 85lbs, and while I thought I looked great, I became very ill and had to be hospitalized. That incident made me realize that ‘perfection’ is not without its consequences. Now, ten years later, I have learned to be happy with who I am on the inside as well as outside. It is much more important to be happy and healthy because nobody is perfect. It is often the imperfections that make a person special.
References
Hawthorne, Nathanial (1843). The Birthmark. Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/125/.
