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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Allegory
Explanation and Analysis—Conformity:
On many levels, "The Birthmark" is an allegory for conformity. The first prominent example is Georgiana's conformity to the feminine ideal. She adheres to the practices of female virtue in her submission to, praise for, and warmth toward her husband. Even on her deathbed, she speaks to him with gratitude and tenderness. Instead of accusing him of murder, she tries to console him:
My poor Aylmer [...] you have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!
Georgiana does not seem to mind becoming one of her husband's failed experiments. In fact, her admiration of his "high" and "pure" efforts only grows until the moment of her death. She accepts his rejection of her earthly form and even seems to pity "poor Aylmer" as if his projects are worth more than her own life. Her dramatic diction mirrors her continued belief in the loftiness of her husband's goals; she addresses him with the same level of reverence and respect despite being his victim.
The second example of conformity is Aylmer's hope that Nature will conform to his scientific ideal. Aylmer himself represents the ideal to which Nature and humanity are supposed—but ultimately fail—to conform. The narrator confirms this failure in the final paragraph:
Thus ever does the gross fatality of earth exult in its invariable triumph over the immortal essence which, in this dim sphere of half development, demands the completeness of a higher state.
Aylmer's strong desire to master divinity and immortality with science crescendoes as he tries to turn wife into a divine being. He anticipates the victory of science over nature and the conformity of the latter to the former. But his prediction is wrong. The "gross fatality of earth" invariably wins out over his elixir of immortality. It is also interesting to note that Aylmer's constant striving against Nature contrasts sharply with Georgiana's submission. She submits herself to his experiments completely, but Nature does not.
Related Themes:
