How is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The Birthmark’ a story that resonates with Augustine’s and Jonathan Edwards’s understanding of sin?
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote himself “there is something truer and more real, than what we can see with the eyes, and touch with the finger” (Hawthorne, Rappaccini’s Daughter 1974, 120).All his books follow this train of thoughts and are somehow related with religious topics and the way they affected and shaped the Puritan society he lived in. ‘The Birthmark’ is a clear example of a narrative about that issue. In this short story the topic of carnal love and sin are unmistakably related. He was influenced by the ideas of the society he grew in, from the Augustinian theories to more modern movements of that time, and that is what is going to be analysed in this paper: how the idea of original sin was seen in his community and how it is reflected in his works.
The first page of the short story opens with the description of Aylmer’s character. He is the male protagonist of the narration and is presented as a master of the sciences who has put that field aside for a moment in order to focus in more spiritual issues. It is in that same page where the special matter is mentioned: his wife. Right from the beginning “it was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of women” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 36)she is presented as a distraction from what should really be Aylmer’s main concern.
It is not until they get married that Aylmer brings the topic of the birthmark up, the key issue of the story. Until that very moment there is no acknowledgement of the mark but once it is first mentioned he will not be able to forget it. It could be said that this is in a way like the topic of the apple in Eden, once the Devil told Eve to eat it; she could not erase the idea of her mind. The fact that the issue is not brought up until they got married is very important because it is not until that moment that they are fully united. The original sin and the temptation presented in Georgina’s character, does not affect Aylmer until they are actually married. This could be interpreted as a sign of how Aylmer’s character was innocent and did not know anything about evil until he married his wife.
The fact that she is presented as an almost flawless creature is very important as well because it shows the reader that even the most perfect woman is not free from the original sin. Augustine is the creator of the theory of the original sin. According to his theory all women carry the original sin within themselves and nothing can be done to get rid of it.
Augustine has a misogynist view of the original sin; he blames only Eve for it. With sentences such as “the nature of semen is shackled by the bond of death” and“for we all were in that one man, since all of us were the one man who fell into sin through the women who was made for him” (Augustine 426), he tries to convince the reader that sex should not be seen as a fun activity but a merely act intended to keep the human race alive. The famous anxiety over the body and over desire marks Augustine’s works as well as the ones of the early American writers, and in this case, Hawthorne.
In the beginning of the story it can be appreciated that Georgina is not worried about the birthmark and she has never thought about removing it. This is a crucial factor to take into account because it is a clear representation of how the society of that time worked. At first Georgina was happy with herself and she even saw the mark as a kind of beauty charm. However, because of her husband’s obsession she ends up hating the birthmark and consequently her body and, at the end; even herself. Once Aylmer’s starts being obsessed with the mark he cannot stop thinking about removing it. His unhealthy obsession is so, that makes Georgina, who had been comfortable with her body, begin to feel insecure. He wants her wife to be perfect “you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature that the slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect of beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 37). It is right after that affirmation that the confidence of Georgina starts to crumble down to the point that she even starts to question the reason why he “take me from my mother side” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 37). The anxiety over the body that characterizes the Puritan society makes an appearance in this moment and will continue until the end of the story with terrible consequences for the female protagonist.
The fact that the mark has the shape of a little hand could be seen as a miraculous sign but also as a reminder of the role of God as a creator. When Aylmer tries to use the science to erase that mark he faces an almost impossible task. God’s powers are above all human actions and erasing the mark could be seen as a defiant action. According to Augustine every human being is deformed; what is more, our will power was design to betray us. If it is left to ourselves, we will always do what is bad for us. Our will is deformed and stained unless God choose to save us. Trying to defy God is not worth it because we could never reach his level of power. That is why Aylmer is unable to get rid of the mark, he is trying to use science, a man-made tool, to erase a divine creation. After Aylmer first start to think about the mark, he could never stop and it turned from a slight bother into a tormenting sign. He even began to have nightmares in which the “odious hand” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 39)haunts him. These nightmares not only affect him but also Georgina who feels so bad about it that she reaches a point in which she is constantly trying to hide her mark from her husband’s gaze.
Another interpretation of the hand can be taken from Jonathan Edwards’ ideas. Edwards believed that God was angry because human beings do not deserve his grace and therefore, the hand can in a way convey the idea that even the most perfect creature is marked by the sin. The hand can thus be a symbol of the presence of God in all humans but also a reminder of our impurities and flaws.
Aylmer’s character can be seen as a representation of the American Good Man who is both tempted and frightened by the divine representation. As was already mentioned before, Aylmer is since the beginning of the nightmares dreaming about getting rid of the mark. This is very meaningful because he is putting himself in the power position. He is the hero that has to rescue the woman who is in this case the victim but also the offender at the same time. The female character is portrayed as being in need of help but also the cause of that need. The woman is anyway the “wrong” piece in the puzzle and Aylmer’s paternalistic mentality puts him in the hero position where he is obligated to save her from her own nature.
It is when both Georgina and Aylmer are first talking about the birthmark that the reader realizes about the importance of it. Georgina is worried when she says to her husband that “it may be the stain goes as deep as life itself” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 41). This is a clear reference from the author to the idea of the original sin being something that will always be present in women. The idea is reinforce when she continues asking him about the “possibility, on any terms, of unclasping the firm gripe of his little hand which was laid upon me before I came to the world?” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 1974, 41). The reference to the mark being something she was born with is very important. As was already mentioned before, the original sin is something all females are born with according to Augustine’s theory and the fact that the mark is described as a feature she was predestined to have is thus very symbolic.
To sum up, this short story manages to successfully convey the idea of how the original sin was seen in the American Puritan society of the Nineteenth Century. Women were seen as the bearers of sin and men were both tempted and scared by them. The only way women were able to get rid of the sin they were born with was to end their lives. Although Hawthorne does not try to scare the reader with frightening ideas such as the ones Jonathan Edwards used, he is certainly advising us to be weary of all women.
Sources:
- Augustine. The City of God.Roman Empire, 426.
- Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Northampton, Massachusetts, 1741.
- Gale, Robert L. A Nathaniel Hawthorne Encyclopedia.Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1991.
- Gaustad, Edwin Scott. The Great Awakening in New England.2. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” In Mosses from an Old Manse, edited by William Charvat, Roy Harvey Pearce and Claude M. Simpson, 91–128. New York: Ohio State University Press, 1974.
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark.” In Mosses from an Old Manse, edited by William Charvat, Roy Harvey Pearce and Claude M. Simpson, 36–56. New York: Ohio State University Press, 1974.
- Miller, Perry. “Revivalism.” In Jonathan Edwards, 133–164. New York: Dell Publishing, 1967.
