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The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Could you please help me with some ideas to start an essay on Nathaniel Hawthorn's The Birthmark regarding this topic:

What does this story illustrate about what men and women find attractive or unattractive in each other? Give at least two examples from the story.

Thank you.

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Solution Summary

This solution discusses how Nathaniel Hawthorn's "The Birthmark"'s theme revolves around men and women's differential conception of attractiveness and beauty with specific examples to illustrate this position.

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This is a very good question. In fact, it is interesting to note that not much has changed about what men and women find attractive (or unattractive) in each other over the centuries since this has been written. It is obvious that much like today, men are superficial and only see the outer beauty of women. In the story, Alymer is so obsessed with the imperfection on Georgina that he cannot see the truly beautiful person that she is inside. "With her whole spirit she prayed that, for a ...

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