Literature is one of the most beautiful kinds of art as it reveals all sides of human life in their complete brightness and darkness, negative and positive sides. Literature shows us the whole world in all its aspects which is why the classics of literature are considered to be the most talented and outstanding people, masters of their business. The writers’ talent to depict not only the objective reality but also the subjective sides of life, i. e. emotions, feelings of people, features of their different characters, and behavior.
In order to understand more clearly the signs and symbols hidden in this or that piece of writing, to see vividly what an author meant by a certain character or event it is necessary for a person to have some background knowledge, which must include cultural, historical, even psychological information. Of course, together with knowledge of literary tropes and stylistic means. In this essay, the main idea is in trying to examine the psychological point of literature. This means that we are going to discuss and compare the features of the character of certain literary works heroes in order to see the similarities and differences in their behavior, deeds, and motivations for this or that action. So that to reach the set goal it will not be out of place to address for help such a genius of literature as Nathaniel Hawthorne. This famous 19th-century American novelist and short-story writer were mainly known for his ethnic and nationally colored works but the side of his gift concerning short story writing presents no less interest for the reader (Wineapple, 2001). What we are going to analyze in this essay is the features of two of Hawthorne’s characters – the main heroes of his short stories. They are Ethan Brand from the story with the same title and Aylmer from the work called “The Birthmark”. But firstly, let us take a brief look at the plot of the stories in order to see the conditions and setting the above-mentioned characters lived and acted in.
The story under the title “Ethan Brand” is rather a philosophical one as it speculates on the fundamental problems of human life, such as pious living and life of sin, human values and their real price for those who saw the true dark side of life. The plot of the work develops in a small town where a lime-burner named Bartram tells his little son the tale of a man who dedicated his life to the search of the Unpardonable Sin. This man’s name was Ethan Brand and Bartram was afraid of Brand’s coming back to their town from his travel around the world where he tried to find that very Unpardonable Sin (Wright, 2006). All the people whom Ethan Brand met were curious about the results of his search. They asked questions if Ethan had found what he was looking for, and the searcher answered to all their questions that he had succeeded in his trip, he had found the Unpardonable Sin. All the people around were hostile to Brand as they said that he had communicated with the Satan himself, that is how he managed to realize where the Unpardonable Sin was. The result of Ethan Brand’s conflict with the society was his death. A lonely person turned out to be unable to fight successfully the united groups of rivals who did not want to listen to his words and had prejudiced opinion (Wright, 2006).
Taking into consideration another story by Nathaniel Hawthorne we face other events and other issues but the general slant and the underlying messages of the work resemble the ones from the first story. The plot of “The Birthmark” is the story of a young scientist who could not find his way in choosing what he loved more – his pretty wife or his perfect science. The idea of the work lies in the fact that Aylmer, the main character of the story, has a fixed idea to remove a little birthmark from the face of his wife. He considers her to be the perfection created by nature but the only thing that is the sign of her imperfection is that very birthmark. At first, Aylmer’s wife, Georgiana, refuses to take any measures to remove the mark from her face saying that he must love her whatever she is if he chose to marry her. But then poor Georgiana gives up and agrees to do anything only to be loved by her husband because she could not imagine her life without him. As a result of Aylmer’s scientific researches he seems to have found the magic mixture that will remove the birthmark without any pains for Georgiana but then it all turns out to be a mistake. Finally, the birthmark starts disappearing from Georgiana’s face but she pays for this with her own life and dies as soon as the last traces of the mark fade out from her pale face. (Wright, 2006).
Now, knowing the details of the two stories, we can deal with the comparison of their main characters – Ethan Brand, from the story with the same title, and Aylmer, the hero of “The Birthmark” story. We are going to examine a certain kind of connection existing between the obsessive pursuits of these characters tracing the similarities and differences in their character features, thoughts and ideas.
Considering the characteristics of Aylmer we see an odd combination of absolutely opposite features. On the one hand, Aylmer is a young and quite successful scientist who sees no sense in life without his science of chemistry or even alchemy, as it might be called: “The higher intellect, the imagination, the spirit, and even the heart might all find their congenial aliment in pursuits which, as some of their ardent votaries believed, would ascend from one step of powerful intelligence to another, until the philosopher should lay his hand on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself” (Hawthorne, 48). He explored the works by such famous ancient and medieval authors as Paracelsus, Agrippa and others and was considered to be one of the most advanced researchers of his time. He had a beautiful wife whom he loved and seemed to be a happy person thanks to this fact. But there was a thing that did not let him live peacefully and enjoy what he had – this thing was a tiny birthmark on a cheek of Georgiana, his wife.
No matter what she told him to convince him that the mark on her face only added to her charm, Aylmer did not believe her and was eager to create a medicine to remove that birthmark from Georgiana’s face: “To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so.” – “Ah, upon another face perhaps it might…but never on yours…you came so nearly perfect from the hand of nature that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, ass being the visible mark of earthly imperfection.” (Hawthorne, 48).
This obsessive pursuit of Aylmer influenced his wife so deeply that she started hating her birthmark and being afraid to look in the mirror: “Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life!” (Hawthorne, 52). Having the support of his wife, Aylmer decided firmly to do his best in science to remove the birthmark that was the only obstacle for him on his way to happiness. After the medicine was prepared and taken by Georgiana it brought unbelievably possible results. There were no limits to his joy, Aylmer felt on top of the world: “By Heaven! It is well nigh gone! I can scarcely trace it now! Success! Success!…” (Hawthorne, 75). The fixed idea seemed to have been successfully performed but then turned out to lead to Georgiana’s death: “My poor Aylmer…you have aimed loftily, you have done nobly,…you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!” (Hawthorne, 75). The mentioned pursuit of Aylmer did not bring him happiness as, although he became a wise, knowledgeable man of science, he lost the most valuable thing in life. Aylmer lost the love and the person who was ready for whatever in order to make her husband happy: “Yet, had Aylmer reached a profounder wisdom, he needed not thus have flung away the happiness which would have woven his mortal life of the selfsame texture with the celestial. The momentary was too strong for him; he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present.” (Hawthorne, 75).
Comparing the Aylmer’s fixed idea with one of Ethan Brand we can see some similarities, as well as certain differences. Ethan Brand was a curious person. The aim of his life was to find the Unpardonable Sin in which he finally succeeded: “…the scene of Ethan Brand’s solitary and meditative life, before he began his search for the Unpardonable Sin. Many years, as we have seen, had now elapsed, since that portentous night when the IDEA was first developed.” (Hawthorne, 22).
This man, Ethan Brand, was a rather known and controversial figure, people talked about him giving him various evaluations but, nevertheless, with respect: “Did you never hear of Ethan Brand, the man that went in search of the Unpardonable Sin?” (Hawthorne, 25). Parents were telling tales about Ethan to their children in order to fear them. Ethan Brand was said to have had a deal with the Devil who helped him to find the desired result. It did not matter for Brand in which way he would reach the set goal because the pursuit was obsessive and could not be resisted to. Ethan communicated with the Satan himself while spending nights at the kiln at the mountain-top, where the fiend taught him all the secrets of life and sin. Then Ethan Brand set off in his travel around the world looking for the Unpardonable Sin and returned, to the regret of his town’s citizens with the affirmative answer to the question if such a seen existed.
The most frequent question of the people who met Ethan was whether he had found what he had looked for. People wanted eagerly to know what could be called a the Unpardonable Sin, what they had to do not to hope for any mercy of God. Ethan answered them with in a confident voice: “It is a sin that grew within my own breast…A sin that grew nowhere else! The sin of an intellect that triumphed over the sense of brotherhood with man and reverence for God, and sacrificed everything to its own mighty claims! The only sin that deserves a recompense of immortal agony! Freely, were it to do it again, would I incur the guilt. Unshrinkingly I accept the retribution!” (Hawthorne, 35). The death of Ethan Brand at the end of the story seems to be a logical consequence of living on the edge and trying to know all the secrets of the world.
We can clearly observe similarities between the ideas of the two analyzed literary characters. They both had a fixed idea of changing the natural state of things in the world and both paid for this trying with the sense of their lives. While Ethan Brand died and took his ideas with him to another world, Aylmer lost his beloved woman, which is much more painful for a human being.
All the above considered facts lead us to the following conclusion. Obsessive pursuits and fixed ideas are good and bad at the same time. On the one hand, they make every person very ambitious and hard working for the only set purpose. On the other hand, these ambitions play practical jokes on people because they do not let them see anything and anyone else, they do not pay attention to other people’s needs and opinions and only do whatever they can to reach the goals they think to be the most important for them in life. The examples of Ethan Brand and Aylmer illustrate vividly all the sides of being captured by a certain idea.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Ethan Brand. Elibron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, pp. 22 – 48.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Birthmark. Elibron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, pp. 48 – 75.
Wineapple, Brenda. “Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864: A Brief Biography”, collected in A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Larry J. Reynolds, editor. Oxford University Press, 2001.
Wright, Sarh Bird. Critical Companion To Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference To His Life And Work. Facts on File: Library of American Literature, 2006.