Essay Database

In "The Birthmark," Hawthorne described a young scientist who killed his own wife by pursuing "perfect future" (Hawthorne, 220) while trying to remove a birthmark on his wife?s face. His name was Aylmer. He was a good scientist according to any standard. He was smart, diligent, and "an eminent proficient" (Hawthorne, 203) in natural science. Hawthorne was not against science; he was against "perfect science," against the people who wanted a "perfect science." Aylmer was so …

…triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work!" (Hawthorne, 207) Also, "Aylmer appeared to believe that, by the plainest scientific logic, it was altogether within the limits of possibility to discover this long-sought medium." (Hawthorne, 211) But science can never solve all the problems, nor can human develop such a science. Even Aylmer himself, in his experiments, "Much as he had accomplished, she could not but observe that his most sp