Aylmer’s Motivation in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” | National Humanities Center

America in Class Lessons

Aylmer’s Motivation in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”

Advisor(s): Richards, Eliza (NHC Fellow, 2010–11)

By Schramm, Richard R. (NHC Vice President for Education Programs, 1984–2016)

Aylmer, the protagonist of Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” undertakes to remove the blemish from his wife’s cheek to satisfy his own spiritual strivings and to redeem what he sees as a failed career.

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Subjects

Literature / Fiction and Poetry / Education Studies / Short Stories / American Literature / Plot / Characterization /