What is beauty? Who is beautiful? It is very difficult to answer these types of questions. Beauty has different meanings in different people, different cultures and different countries. It also changes throughout time. However, many of us judge beauty only in terms of physical appearance. We can see similar scenarios in the stories “Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus, and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Judging beauty in terms of physical appearance is not the best way to describe beauty. Without looking perfect, a person still can be wonderful with his or her great virtues. So, a human being with a good heart, kindness, intelligence, love and happiness is beautiful. Therefore, beauty varies from person to person. Physical structure can be …show more content…
According to the Oxford Dictionary “beauty” is a noun, meaning, “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” In the article “On Beauty” by Lindsay King-Miller mentions Taylor’s explanation that “Beauty exists; standards do not. Beauty is undefinable, is subjective, is intrinsic to humanity." If a group of people is asked “what does beauty mean to you?” they will most probably reply the dictionary meaning. However, if the same group of people is asked individually what kind of shape, color and form constitutes beauty, each one of them will come up with a different answer. Some like based on hair, some like based on skin color, some like based on height etc. This is because there are a lot of types of shape, color and form, and everyone has a different preference for the shape, color and form. For this reason, Georgina from “The Birthmark” was regarded beautiful by most of the people except her husband, who didn’t like the birthmark. The husband thought Georgina would be perfect if the birthmark were removed. Aylmer says, “dearest Georgiana, 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, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection"(Hawthorne 305). So, Georgina’s husband and other people had different opinions about her birthmark. Aylmer’s assistant Aminadab says "’If she were my wife, I'd never part with that birthmark’” (Hawthorne 305). Since everyone can’t agree on whether a person is beautiful or not in terms of physical appearance, it can’t be the only factor of beauty. On the other hand, if beauty is judged in terms of values of a person like that of kindness, manners and other behaviors than everyone will be able to come to the same conclusion. That is because, a person is simply either kind or unkind and well
She unfortunately had a birthmark shaped like a hand on her cheek but most men thought she was still beautiful. Other woman in town thought that it “quit destroyed the effect of Georgiana’s beauty” because they were jealous. Her husband on the other hand thought that it as “being the visible mark of earthly imperfections” and thought it should be removed (304). After hearing her husband thinks she is not as beautiful as he once thought because of this birthmark, is devastating to her. She is no longer the absolutely perfect and beautiful woman she has been her whole life.
Beauty can be defined as the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or pattern, or something else. In “The Birthmark” it is a tragic and upsetting example of what beauty, gender, and science represent. Georgiana was devoted to make her husband Alymer happy by jeopardizing her life so he wouldn’t suffer from considering her birthmark. Thus potential perfection is not worth a life.
Dr.Kesiraju Ramprasad said that “Beauty isn't about having a pretty face. It is having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and most importantly a beautiful soul”. However, truthful the Doctors quote may be, it is often not what is viewed as important in real life situations. In society, beauty
Well, firstly… What is beauty? By Oxford dictionary’s definition, beauty is defined by the “combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic
Georgiana’s birthmark represents the sole flaw that prevents her purity to Aylmer. The narrator states, “Seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect grow more and more intolerable…it was the fatal flaw of humanity…the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (Hathorne, 213). Even though others found her imperfection appealing, Aylmer views the birthmark as a visible reminder that separates any woman or man from perfection. Georgiana has innocently looked upon her birthmark as her “charm” because of the opinions of others around her. Aminadab, Aylmer’s lab assistant, even comments on how he would leave the birthmark untouched if Georgiana were his wife (Hawthorne, 216). Unfortunately, Aylmer cannot come to terms with this horrifying defect and is determined to fix it.
Society shapes people in many instances, perhaps more than we realize. From personal development, to others perception of our bodies. The desire to have the perfect body image is rapidly increasing today. In “The Birth-Mark” a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne he displays the life of a scientist that despises a birthmark on the face of his wife. Aylmer would take any precautions to make his wife perfect in his eyes.
The fact the whole story is about removing a physical flaw from Georgiana’s face when she is already obviously beautiful demonstrates the degree to which Aylmer has allowed this pursuit of knowledge and culture to destroy his ability to perceive nature’s beauty. In this text, Georgiana and her birthmark represent nature, and culture is represented by Aylmer. Culture has taught men to question the flaws of women that they once found intriguing, therefore Aylmer is challenging nature when he tries to remove it. Aylmer is so wrapped up in this culture that he treats Georgiana as property. Her opinion about the removal of the birthmark was of little concern to him. Therefore, culture asserts that it is not only a separate entity from nature but that it has superior qualities.
We shall begin with Georgiana, the women with this so called “imperfection”. She went most of her life thinking that this birthmark wasn't a curse, but as a blessing. She considered it a charm as if you would say a nice smile as a charm. Many people regarded this birthmark as a mark of a tiny fairy who left an imprint of its hand on her cheek when she was a mere infant. Though her beauty ran through everything, but this crimson hand on her left cheek.
What is beauty? The dictionary definition of beauty is a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, which pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. The definition of beauty varies from person to person, however Mary Shelley sees beauty as a quality of virtue that visually unappealing objects or beings can possess. Mary Shelley argues that people are unable to identify such beauty in the novel Frankenstein.
In my adaptation paper, I decided to rewrite the short story, “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, because I wanted to show how one imperfection can change everything in someone’s life. How could one birthmark drive someone to death? The idea of imperfection should not exist in an ideal perfect world, and never understanding someone’s ideas and words can damage a beautiful soul and mentality. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne used his short story to show how a husband’s approval and beauty ideas were more important than showing his wife true acceptance of every beauty flaw. The only option in the husband’s eyes was the removal of the Crimson Hand birthmark, or as Aylmer sees the birthmark as “hideous” (Hawthorne, 419). Even though, the result
Beauty is constantly changing to fit every person, every situation, every possible rendition that could ever be thought of. Yes, the girl with legs that go for miles is a pleasant thing to look at, but once she opens her mouth her face seems less important. How is that beauty if she brings nothing but ugly into the world? No one considers the so called "loner" at the back of the classroom, who at best would be rated a four, beautiful, though every night they are up talking their friend out of suicide because the blonde told them they are meaningless. Building others up while you feel like you are falling, is beautiful. Lipstick and eyeliner is not
Just what is beauty? We all have our own definition of beauty because everyone has there own distinctive style and attractiveness. Therefore, we must respect why some people find beauty in things while others would not simply because beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Now we all are attracted to all sorts of things, but have you ever asked yourself why? Is it simply because it is beautiful or does the meaning go beyond that? I tend to believe the latter is true so lets take love for example. It is the most beautiful thing in the world because you get a sense of being, are likely attracted to the person you are in love with, it stimulates you and you probably feel complete. However, beauty
What is beautiful? How do people define beauty? People view differently. Usually, we judge people, first, from his or her appearance then to their inherence. It is a common fact that appearance has an indirect
The definition of beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty has negative and positive influences on mostly people. Beauty is described by the inside and outside of us. Due to beauty, our self-esteem has been hurt dramatically, especially towards girls. Beauty is not always about our outside looks but it’s about our inside personality also.
What is beauty? How do we decide who is attractive and who is not? Society is full of information telling us what is beautiful, but what fact is that information based on? The topic of beauty has been studied, analyzed and controversial for centuries. We all know the feeling you can have when you hear a beautiful song that brings joy to your heart, stand in a field of flowers that excites your eyes, or admire a face that is visually pleasing. As human beings, we are all drawn to beauty, but what is it that makes something beautiful? The controversial issue that surrounds beauty is that some believe that true beauty is defined by someone’s outer appearance, while others believe it is something that is experienced through a person’s