Hawthorne's a weirdy.

  Nathaniel Hawthorne is just one of those guys. You really don't know what to do with him; he's awkward and hard to read sometimes, filled with passion but a different duck nonetheless. At least the Birthmark was easy to read--I'm just thanking my lucky stars on that one.
  The Birthmark is definitely an interesting piece. It's dark, but it still sheds hope for Georgiana throughout the story. You think she's gonna make it and they'll live happily ever after, but actually she dies and it's all his fault.
  Hawthorne tries to portray science side by side with evil, or better yet bad consequences. I feel like he reminds me of the old Puritan authors whose only works were like sermons or judgement poetry, not because he preaches per se but because he condemns things practically. This guy really thought scientific anything was for the birds, and he let people know all about it. I have more to say about all that, but I'm saving it for this research paper that I have the pure joy of writing. ;)
  Moral of the story is, kids, you've gotta be pretty low to think your own wife is repulsive just because of a birthmark that she definitely had when you married her. Someone needs an attitude check if he finds the woman he loves to suddenly be disgusting to him--talk about potential heart shattering feelings. I know it's about more than that, but seriously. What is this guy thinking? Better yet, what is Hawthorne trying to portray through Aylmer here? This is a man who loves nothing more than his science. If he had to choose between the lovliest lady in all the land or science, he would pick science and, OH LOOK, HE DID!
  I mean, this story is filled to the brim with passion. I read that this was written shortly after he had become a newlywed himself. Now what does that tell me...I see a lot of romance in this story, but it's all of a grotesque kind. Maybe he had some secret disgust in regards to his own bride that he needed to vent about. That would be sad. I'll leave you with that, since it's pretty interesting and all.