The Birthmark

There is one thought that has been forged in my mind about The Birthmark by Alfred Kazin, which is that this story described the destruction of Earth by the hand of man. In the pursuit of modernization, people will use the technology they possess to push forward in their endeavors for perfection but inter will kill the very thing that would help them every step of the way, Earth.

The symbolism in the main characters is key; Aylmer the husband clearly stands for science, but can also industrialization and civilization. However, Georgina can be a symbolic for Earth or Mother Nature. "you came so nearly perfect from Nature. . . "(Nathaniel Hawthorn 85) Her close resemblance of nature is placed to makes the audience think of her beauty as of nature or organic so Earthly.”. . .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." (Nathaniel Hawthorn 85) The obsession of man in transforming landscapes and nature into beauty is something that makes people wonder why.

"Perhaps removal may cause carless deformity; or it may be the strain goes as deep as life itself." (Nathaniel Hawthorn 87)The obsession in making things perfect on Earth even if it may cause fatal disasters such as Global Warming that are hard to remove after so much pollution. Transforming nature with industry, modernization, and the creation of cities and modern entities will cause people to think they are doing the best interest of Earth when it will cause death like the fall of Georgina.