Birthmark

Birthmarks, are they a sign of imperfection or not? Are they a curse or something special?

In the 1840's when this story The Birthmark was written the social beliefs were heavily influenced by the Puritan religion. It was believed that religion was the answer to all problems which left no room for science, the two were totally incompatible. Another puritan belief was in the biblical creation theory which was basically that god created the earth, he was responsible for giving life and the taking it away. Science on the other hand, had to have everything explained in minuet detail, but when you explain away the magic you tend to destroy things. In the story the wife was perfect in every way except one; she had a little mark on her cheek. Some said she had been touched by the hand of a fairy before birth and was blessed, others saw it as a sign of nature's imperfection.

While social beliefs were heavily influenced by religion the area of science was making a distinct impression and coming into great influence as well. It challenged the biblical creation theory with the discovery of fossils. There were also ideas of science being the new savior of the world, with science there would be new medicines, new technology, and science could fix anything. The husband was a man of science and shortly after being married the birthmark began to bother him, so much in fact that it began to bother his wife as well. Every time he would look at her or causally comment on it she would become upset, eventually she confronted her husband about fix it or she'd rather be dead. Being the scientist he was and the belief that science could fix anything, he began working on a cure. As with all things finding a "cure" took time, during which time they remained secluded in his laboratory where a set of rooms had been converted to apartments and gorgeously decorated. Finally the husband came up with a cure