Aylmers Sin and Guilt Essay -- Character Analysis, Georginas Birthmar

The sin that Aylmer shows throughout the story is in relation to Georgina’s birthmark, which dramatically and suddenly grabs hold of his character. Aylmer becomes egotistic in the ways of his actions and thoughts, not considering that he himself has a problem but that his wife’s imperfection is the problem. By Aylmer’s immoral and obsessive desire for perfection, he took Georgina’s liberty and self-confidence away, which reveales his sins. First, before the marriage, Aylmer had not been bothered by the birth-mark on Georgiana’s cheek. James Quinn and Ross Baldessarini note that â€Å"[s]oon after marrying, however, Aylmer discovered that he can think of little else but the birth-mark,† and that it disturbed him and took away from her true beauty. In relation, it is implied that this omission in Aylmer â€Å"seems to suggest that insights into human behavior are likely to be subjective, imperfect, unsatisfying† (Quinn and Baldessarini). Subsequently, Aylmer’s sin is presented through a dream in which he is conducting a surgery on Georgina to perfect her beauty. Aylmer’s idea of having a perfect wife â€Å"is characterized by Hawthorne as a mark of ‘original sin’† (Quinn and Baldessarini) or even that mankind’s race is born with imperfection. This is stated by Hawthorne as â€Å"the fatal flaw of humanity, which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her production . . . to imply that they are temporary and finite† (120). Most considerable is with the intention of Aylmer’s dream, clearly â€Å"suggests the intense, violent and remarkably sexual reaction the birth-mark evokes in Aylmer† (Quinn and Baldessarini). Alymer is so wrapped up in his own world that he forgets reality, for he â€Å"senses that escape from the human condition is hubr... ...n Aylmer’s obsession of removing her birthmark, so she encourages him to do what is required so that their lives won’t be torn apart by this birthmark of hers, as to have it removed, even if it is to take her life. Through the actions of Aylmer’s obsession, greed, guilt, sin, his intolerance to imperfection and his ability to not except himself for who he is, he must therefore, reap what he sowed. Giving Georgiana the poison to drink, watching as the mark faded away; Aylmer feels he had successfully rid himself from the imperfection that troubled him so, unknowing the birthmark was actually the key to Georgiana’s heart and her life. As the poison took hold of her life she said to Aylmer â€Å"do not repent that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer† (Fetterly 172) and then she died, leaving Aylmer alone and empty.