How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
Aylmer had converted those smoky, dingy, sombre rooms, where he had spent his brightest years in recondite pursuits, into a series of beautiful apartments not unfit to be the secluded abode of a lovely woman. (29)
What else is made "feminine" and what is deemed "masculine" in "The Birthmark"? What does Hawthorne have to say on the divide between the sexes?
Quote #8
In the intervals of study and chemical experiment he came to her flushed and exhausted, but seemed invigorated by her presence, and spoke in glowing language of the resources of his art. (39)
Look through "The Birthmark" and circle all the lines where Hawthorne describes the pallor or flush of Aylmer or Georgiana. What does Hawthorne mean to emphasize by this sort of repetition?
Quote #9
He conducted her back and took leave of her with a solemn tenderness which spoke far more than his words how much was now at stake. After his departure Georgiana became rapt in musings. She considered the character of Aylmer, and did it completer justice than at any previous moment. Her heart exulted, while it trembled, at his honorable love — so pure and lofty that it would accept nothing less than perfection nor miserably make itself contented with an earthlier nature than he had dreamed of. (72)
Does Hawthorne revere Georgiana's love for her husband as noble, or does he point out the foolishness of her obsession with pleasing Aylmer?