The Birthmark

“His love for his young wife might prove the stronger of the two; but it could only be by intertwining itself with his love of science, and uniting the strength of the latter to his own.” 

Aylmer’s primary character flaw is introduced early in the story. Though he is credited with loving his wife, the narrator points out that the success of his marriage depends on his ability to intertwine his passion for his wife with his love for his scholarly scientific studies.

“‘Shocks you, my husband!’ cried Georgiana, deeply hurt; at first reddening with momentary anger, but then bursting into tears. ‘Then why did you take me from my mother's side? You cannot love what shocks you!’” 

This passage contains elements of gothic fiction. Georgiana’s shock at Aylmer’s revulsion is tied to the experience of horror. Gothic writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries employed moments of shock and revulsion in order to enable readers to have an emotional experience while reading.

“[The birthmark] was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain.” 

Nature, personified as female, is Aylmer’s antagonist in the short story. He positions himself in conflict with nature when he states his determination to remove the “flaw” stamped on Georgiana before she was born. Aylmer’s decision to challenge nature suggests that he feels he is as powerful as nature, and his pride in his own self will lead to a tragic outcome at the conclusion of the story.