Humans have been known to strive for perfection/true beauty for centuries, but there has always been a limit to these endeavors. Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" shows us the extent of action an obsessed scientist will take, even toward his own wife, in hopes of achieving perfection without knowing the depth of true beauty. Aylmer becomes disgusted/obsessed with his wife Georgiana's birthmark which is shaped like a small crimson-colored hand. He acknowledges that his wife is beautiful and the narrator states/suggests that she would be perfect without the birthmark marring her pretty face ("The Works"). Hawthorne uses the theme of the relentless pursuit of perfection, symbolizes the birthmark and other elements of the story, and foreshadows the conclusion of the story throughout the play, ultimately producing this complex psychological struggle that passes through the protagonist. The main theme is that of persistent determination to achieve perfection, which is reflected in the main character Aylmer's drive to perfect his wife's appearance by removing Georgiana's crimson stain. This goal engulfs Aylmer's thoughts to the point that he dreams about it and, coincidentally, sleep-talks when Georgina listens, she too is tasked with confronting his discomfort with his imperfection/flaw (Hawthorne). In general, the author tries to suggest to the reader that perfection can only be achieved in the heavenly world, as on earth humans are reminded of our imperfections by the flaws we have. In the process, Aylmer not only kills his wife, but he also destroys himself because his obsession with perfection prevents him from seeing the good wife he had. Georgiana appears to be...... middle of paper...... Hawthorne). This point is further emphasized when Georgiana tells him that "[he] had rejected the best that earth could offer" and later the narrator compares Aylmer's potential happiness with "heavenly" happiness (Hawthorne). Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The birthmark.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2013. 340-351. Print.Herzog, Kristin. “Women, Ethnicities, and Exotics: Images of Power in Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Fiction.” » Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature 39.2 (1985): 147-148. JSTOR. Internet. January 1, 2014. Rosenberg, Liz. “The best the Earth has to offer”: The birthmark, the story of a newlywed. Studies in Short Fiction 30.1 (1993): 145-151. Full text of human sciences. Internet. January 1, 2014 “The works of Nathaniel Hawthorne”. The North American Review 99.205 (1864): 548-549. JSTOR. Internet. January 1. 2014.