The Birthmark

Cortland Lowe Maine Paper #1 September 2,2000 The Birthmark Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote "The Birthmark" in the mid 1800's when society was dominated by Puritan beliefs. He was born in Massachusetts in 1804 and many of his writings reflect his Puritan upbringing. In "The Birthmark", Hawthorne tells a story of an eminent professor whose love for science could never be equaled by anything else on God's earth. Aylmer's belief that science is more powerful than nature is what causes …

…doing for the betterment of themselves, or will it benefit others as well? Hawthorne believes that by asking these kinds of questions it may make ones life a little easier. It will not make things perfect because mankind is not perfect, but it could make one realize what is really important. If Aylmer and Rappacini had taken this approach in their lives, their fates and that of their loved ones would certainly have been different.